Staff A-Z

Anna Pope studied with Maija Lielausis and later with William Bennett, after graduating from the University of Oxford with a First in Russian. She has given recitals in the Purcell Room and for music societies and festivals in this country, Italy, Germany and in Sweden where she made a series of broadcasts on Swedish Radio. She has freelanced with various orchestras and chamber groups, and her ensemble Pipe Dreams has recorded music for two flutes and piano.

Anna Pope studied with Maija Lielausis and later with William Bennett, after graduating from the University of Oxford with a First in Russian. She has given recitals in the Purcell Room and for music societies and festivals in this country, Italy, Germany and in Sweden where she made a series of broadcasts on Swedish Radio. She has freelanced with various orchestras and chamber groups, and her ensemble Pipe Dreams has recorded music for two flutes and piano.

Lucy Potterton is a highly sought-after soloist, backing singer, studio artist, songwriter and vocal coach. She has performed live alongside leading artists such as Florence Welch, Elizabeth Fraser, Jamie Cullum, Kurt Elling and Claire Richards.

Sarah Pring FHEA AGSMD has taught singing at Trinity Laban college for the last 8 years. She is also a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Sarah regularly coaches students and runs classes in several other conservatoires and is on exam panels at the Royal College of Music.

Gwyn Pritchard studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and much of his compositional activity has been based outside the UK. His many compositions include works for orchestra, ensembles, solo instruments, vocal works and pieces employing electronics.

Research interests and areas of supervision:

• Composition
• Festival and concert programming

Born in Santiago de Cuba, Omar learned his love of violin from his father. As a student at Esteban Salas, Santiago’s finest music school, Omar studied classical music under world renowned professors. At the age of 12, Omar left his family to travel alone to Havana and take up his place at the Escuela Nacional de Arte. The next six years were spent studying classical music by day under Russian and Cuban masters, and Cuban music by night in Havana’s famous music Halls. After graduating from the Instituto Superior de Arte (Cuba’s university for the performing arts), Omar joined the José María Vitier band and toured Cuba, Mexico, and finished up at the New York Jazz Festival. He joined the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba (NSOC) where he progressed to first chair. During this time he continued to play with other bands and made an operatic tour of Italy, played at Club Tropicana, made tours of Europe with Rubén González and Latin America with Guillermo Rubalcaba. He also began to develop a recording career, working with the likes of Orquesta Revé, Charanga Habanera, Pablo Milanés, Leo Brouwer and Silvio Rodríguez.

Matthew studied classical piano at Trinity College of Music with Christine Croshaw. He was he was awarded the Archer Scholarship and was pianist, composer & arranger with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. As a postgraduate he was awarded the Ronnie Scott Scholarship to study jazz at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Matthew has performed in several live televised BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra, of which some have been released on DVD. He has travelled with the orchestra to Europe and America and recorded for EMI at Abbey Road Studios.

He is musical director, pianist and arranger for baritone Simon Keenlyside CBE, with performances at Teatro Real Madrid, Smetana Hall Prague, Prinzregententheater Munich and the Edinburgh International Festival for BBC Radio 3.

Born in England to Viennese parents, Walter Reiter graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London and continued his studies in Israel with Rami Shevelov, a former Galamian assistant, and in Germany with Sandor Vegh and Michael Gaiser. Having studied towards a Master’s Degree in Violin Pedagogy at the Jerusalem Academy of Music (with Felix Andreiewsky, former assistant of Prof. Yankelewitch in Moscow) he completed his studies with Piotr Bondarenko, who had been DavidOistrakh’s assistant in Moscow.

Since arriving in London (via studies in Amsterdam) in 2006 Austrian-born guitarist Hannes Riepler has become an integral part of the London jazz scene. Passionate about forging new musical friendships and creating performing opportunities he established the Vortex Downstairs Jazz Night held every Sunday at the renowned Vortex Jazz Club. This weekly gig has attracted international attention not only for the incredibly high standard of music making but also as the place to “hang” for jazz musicians not just from London but any jazz musician passing through the capitol. One of these nights featured a set including New York saxophonist Chris Cheek and London based drummer James Maddren with bassist Oli Hayhust sitting-in. The energy and chemistry between the four musicians was so natural it led to a European tour (2015) and Riepler’s second album as a leader ‘Wild Life’ on the UK label Jellymould Jazz (2016). His first album ‘The Brave’ has earned international acclaim.

Venezuelan-born pianist Elena Riu “brings all the virtuosity, colour and refinement one could hope for in her interpretations” (American Record Guide). “The delicate precision of her playing leaves a wonderful sense of anticipation before every next move” (The Observer) Born and bred in El Sistema, Elena’s infectious enthusiasm for “boundary- jumping” (Time Out), and for bringing new music to a wider audience has brought her accolades all over the world. A leading exponent of the Hispano-American, her CD of Sonatas by Soler was released to great acclaim by the Spanish label Ensayo. She is a regular visitor to the Festival Latinoamericano.

Matt Roberts is a composer, trumpeter, orchestrator and conductor based in London. Raised in Darlington, County Durham, Matt’s early music education revolved around the brass band culture of the North-East. He would later develop a deep interest in Jazz and other improvised musical traditions. This has remained an area of compositional interest, with Matt regularly presenting projects at the London Jazz Festival and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.

Glasgow-born John Roberts has been based in London since 2008, where, after studying with the Royal Opera House’s principal oboe Christopher Cowie, he quickly became immersed in the city’s rich orchestral scene and was appointed principal oboe of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2013.

Phil Robson is a guitarist/composer based in London, UK. He is internationally regarded as a highly versatile and creative player who appears in all kinds of diverse settings. Born in Derby in 1970 Phil had already enjoyed music from the age of 14 onwards and rapidly became part of the house rhythm section in the local club with such visiting musicians as John Etheridge and Bheki Mseleku as well as with his clarinettist father, Trevor Robson. As band leader, Phil has received commissions for his octet from Birmingham Jazz and Derby Jazz. Phil co-leads Partisans with Julian Siegel (sax, bass clarinet) featuring Gene Calderazzo – drums and Thad Kelly – bass. Partisans was formed around gigs in London’s Vortex jazz club in 1996 and are considered one of the most important bands in the new jazz scene in Europe. They have recorded 3 CDs including the second Sourpuss on Babel with the bands latest , Max nominated for the album of the year in the 2006 BBC Jazz awards and for Best Ensemble in the 2008 Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Phil is also a member of the Liam Noble quartet with pianist Liam, drummer Tom Rainey, bassist Drew Gress. Alec Dankworth Trio with Alec – bass, Julian Arguelles – sax; Gerard Presencer Quartet and the BBC Big Band.

Internationally renowned, Joan Rodgers is equally established in opera, concert, and as a recitalist. She has appeared in concert with conductors including Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Charles Mackerras, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Simon Rattle and is a regular guest at the BBC Proms. Operatic engagements have included engagements at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Opera North and Glyndebourne in Britain, Paris, Munich, Brussels, Amsterdam and Vienna in Europe, and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Joan Rodgers has also appeared in recital throughout Europe and the USA including London, Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Moscow and New York. Joan Rodgers’ recordings include Mozart’s Da Ponte trilogy with Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic, The Turn of the Screw (Virgin), solo discs of Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Wolf (Hyperion), The Creation (Philips), Rachmaninov songs with Howard Shelley (Chandos) and Shostakovich’s Seven Romances on Verses by Alexander Blok with the Beaux Arts Trio (Warner Classics) and most recently a recording of songs by Prokofiev, Mussorgsky, Shostakovich and Britten (Hyperion).

Pascal Rogé exemplifies the finest in French pianism. Born in Paris, he was a student of the Paris Conservatory and was also mentored by Julius Katchen and the great Nadia Boulanger. Winner of Georges Enescu International Piano Competition and the Marguerite Long Piano competition, he became an exclusive Decca recording artist at the age of seventeen. His playing of Poulenc, Satie, Fauré, Saint-Saëns and especially Ravel, is characterised by its elegance, beauty and stylistically perfect phrasing.

Penelope Roskell is an extremely dedicated, inspiring teacher, who aims to guide each individual student to reach his/her full potential as a pianist- musically and technically – and as an artist in the broadest sense. She is extremely experienced in all aspects of advanced teaching, having taught at undergraduate and postgraduate level for thirty years.

She was a Professor of Piano at the London College of Music from 1982 until 1999 when she moved to Trinity College of Music. At Trinity, in addition to her piano teaching, she is involved in examining and auditioning and runs a regular class on piano pedagogy.  She frequently gives masterclasses at UK and foreign conservatories and has taught regular postgraduate classes at the Royal Academy of Music.. She has been resident at many summer schools including Chetham’s and Dartington International Summer Schools, and has been on the jury for major competitions such as BBC Young Musician of the Year.  Her London Advanced Piano Courses attract students from all over the world.

From 2000 to 2002 she was also Director of the EPTA Piano Pedagogy Course. She has a special expertise in the field of piano technique and is the only piano teacher in England registered with British Association for Performing Arts Medicine as dealing effectively with physical tension and injuries.