Staff A-Z

Bulgarian violinist and conductor Vasko Vassilev is Concert Master of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. He joined the Orchestra as Concert Master in 1993, the first person to hold the position.

Vassilev was born in Sofia and first began studying the violin aged five. He trained at the Moscow Conservatory, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music. He was appointed super soloist at the Lyon Opera House aged 21 and appointed Concert Master at the Royal Opera house aged 23. In 2005 he made his British conducting debut at the Royal Albert Hall, and was appointed Creative Producer of the Royal Opera House. He is Artistic Director of Trittico, for which he produces and performs both traditional and contemporary repertory with numerous artists, groups and orchestras. He is also Artistic Director of the Soloists of Covent Garden, London Chamber Orchestra and Laureate, an orchestra he founded made up exclusively of international prize-winners.

Vassilev’s wide discography includes, with Laureate, Total Immersion and Virtuoso Vivaldi; with Covent Garden Soloists, Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet and Andersen’s Fairytales; with Vanessa Mae The Original Four Seasons; and Voodoo Violin and Viva Vivaldi.

Singer/songwriter/pianist Paola Vera is a highly sought after and experienced performer, composer, musical educator, and vocal coach. She first started singing and playing the piano at the age of 13, later going on to continue her musical education at Trinity College of Music and then went onto graduate with Distinction in her Masters degree from The Royal Academy of Music after receiving the Elton John Scholarship.

Pianist and composer Andrea Vicari was born in Miami (Florida) and grew up in Birmingham (England). Educated at Cardiff University (Bmus(Hons) PGCE) she won a scholarship to study at The Guildhall School of Music in London. Andrea has to date eight albums in her own name and two musicals; and has contributed to others such as ‘Round Trip’ and “East and West’ with Jazz Extempore plus ‘The Vortex Foundation Big Band’; Claude Deppa and Trudy Kerr. She played a successful season at London’s ‘Bass Clef’ club with the late US sax innovator, Eddie Harris and gigged with US trumpet legend Art Farmer.

Rahel Vonmoos is a Swiss/British independent dance maker, performer and lecturer. She has created a substantial body of work, presented in theatres, galleries and site specific places in Europe and USA; at the Hayward Gallery, Dance Umbrella and Spring Loaded Festival in London. Her work To Find a Place, was a Compass Commission 2015, and premiered at GDA in January 2016. Her ongoing research deals with ‘mothers and sinks’. Since 2008 Rahel uses projections in her work.

Tilly trained at the Anna Scher Theatre and has worked as an actress since childhood.  Most recently she appeared as Momo in The Velveteen Rabbit on Apple TV (Christmas 2023), and as Hilda in Inside Man on BBC 1 and Netflix (2022).  Other screen credits include Ferryman, The Pact 2, Dalgliesh, The Chelsea Detective, Maigret, Vera, Call The Midwife, Teenage Health Freak, Holding On, Thomas Vinterberg’s Far From the Madding Crowd and Mike Leigh’s Peterloo, Vera Drake and Meantime.  She also starred in Jake Mann’s short film Karen and will soon be seen in Matterhorn shot in Switzerland, and in I Am Super, shot in Brighton.  She has also worked extensively on stage and was in the original production of Philip Ridley’s The Pitchfork Disney and in Tony Marchant’s Raspberry.   

Bozidar Vukotic is the founder member of the Tippett Quartet, with whom he performs regularly at Kings Place, Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, on BBC Radio 3 as well as playing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Opera House, Bridgewater Hall, The Sage Gateshead and at the BBC Proms. He has recorded extensively, to much critical acclaim, for EMI Classics, Decca, Naxos, Vivat, Signum, Guild, Dutton Epoque, Somm, Boosey & Hawkes, Classic FM Records and Peter Gabriel’s ‘Real World’ Records, covering a diverse repertoire of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky through to the complete quartets of Tippett, Górecki, Lutosławski, Penderecki, Rózsa and Bernard Herrmann.

Bozidar Vukotic is the founder member of the Tippett Quartet, with whom he performs regularly at Kings Place, Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, on BBC Radio 3 as well as playing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Opera House, Bridgewater Hall, The Sage Gateshead and at the BBC Proms. He has recorded extensively, to much critical acclaim, for EMI Classics, Decca, Naxos, Vivat, Signum, Guild, Dutton Epoque, Somm, Boosey & Hawkes, Classic FM Records and Peter Gabriel’s ‘Real World’ Records, covering a diverse repertoire of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky through to the complete quartets of Tippett, Górecki, Lutosławski, Penderecki, Rózsa and Bernard Herrmann.

Alexander Walker is a regular guest conductor with orchestras throughout the world. In the UK, he has conducted the BBC Philharmonic (broadcasting on BBC Radio 3), City of London Sinfonia, the New Queens Hall Orchestra and recently made his debut with the English Chamber Orchestra at London’s Cadogan Hall. In recent years, he also developed a relationship with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting them both in the recording studio and the concert hall, including the prestigious Elgar Birthday concert in Malvern. This year, he was awarded the Elgar Society awarded him their highest honour, the Elgar Medal.

His engagements internationally have included concerts with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Russian Philharmonic, Belgrade Philharmonic, Symphony Orchestra New Russia (Music Director Yuri Bashmet), George Enescu Philharmonic, Bucharest and North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted most of Poland’s major orchestras and works regularly with a number of orchestras in Finland, Denmark, the Balkans and elsewhere.

Byron Wallen (b. 1969) was raised in a musical family and as a child studied classical piano, euphonium, trumpet, flute, and drums. In the mid 1980’s the trumpet became Wallen’s primary instrument of choice. Wallen’s first major work, Tarot Suite (1994), was inspired by a love of mythology and symbolism, which reflected the archetypal journey of human life through an interdisciplinary pan-continental approach.

Byron Wallen (b. 1969) was raised in a musical family and as a child studied classical piano, euphonium, trumpet, flute, and drums. In the mid 1980’s the trumpet became Wallen’s primary instrument of choice. Wallen’s first major work, Tarot Suite (1994), was inspired by a love of mythology and symbolism, which reflected the archetypal journey of human life through an interdisciplinary pan-continental approach.

Errollyn Wallen CBE is a multi award-winning Belize-born British composer named as one of the world’s top twenty most performed living classical composers.

Raphael Wallfisch is one of the most celebrated cellists performing on the international stage. He was born in London into a family of distinguished musicians, his mother the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and his father the pianist Peter Wallfisch.

At an early age, Raphael was greatly inspired by hearing Zara Nelsova play, and, guided by a succession of fine teachers including Amaryllis Fleming, Amadeo Baldovino and Derek Simpson, it became apparent that the cello was to be his life’s work. While studying with the great Russian cellist Gregor Piatigorsky in California, he was chosen to perform chamber music with Jascha Heifetz in the informal recitals that Piatigorsky held at his home.

Tom Walsh, b. 1991,  graduated from the Royal Academy of Music’s Jazz Course in 2013, and since then has gone on to work with artists such as Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau & Randy Brecker. Tom has played with some of the premier large ensembles and orchestras in Europe, including WDR Big Band, BBC Big Band, Philharmonia Orchestra and the English National Ballet Orchestra. Alongside his role of Professor of Trumpet at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Trinity College of Music, he is an active session musician and arranger, having recorded on over 1000 tracks from his home studio.

Benjamin graduated from London Studio Centre in 2009 with a First Class BA Hons Degree in Theatre Dance. He has spent the most part of his career with Michael Clark Company, with whom he has performed extensively across Europe, Australia, and America (as well as in all seasons at the Barbican, London) in, come, been, and gone, animal/vegetable/mineral, and to a simple, rock n roll.. song since their creation. He still performs with the company on a seasonal basis.

Renowned as one of the top British jazz trumpet players both at home and on the international scene, Steve began his career while studying at Trinity College of Music, playing with the European Community Jazz Orchestra and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Since then, he has worked regularly on the British and European jazz scene with John Surman, Andy Sheppard, Tony Coe, Carla Bley, Don Weller and many others.

Cleveland was born in Hackney, East London to a Jamaican family. At age 16, he won twice in a local singing talent competition, hosted by “FatMan” of FatMan Sound System (North East London Based Roots, Reggae & Dub Sound System). Later he studied music at the London School of Singing and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama thereafter. He was taught by the most respected coaches in the industry.

He has worked closely and performed together with the diverse range of artists across the world, including Stevie Wonder, The Who, Richard Spaven Trio, Louis Moholo, Bobby McFerrin, Goldie, Björk, Talvin Singh, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Abdullah Ibrahim, Shabaka And The Ancestors, Nigel Kennedy, George Martin, Black Top, William Parker & Hamid Drake, Branford & Wynton Marsalis +JALC, London Community Gospel Choir, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra and many others.