Staff A-Z

Chris West is one of the few double bass players in the country to have reached the highest levels both as a soloist/chamber musician as well as in chamber orchestras, symphony orchestras, opera and film & TV sessions. This breadth of experience enables him to help students achieve their goals in whichever area of the profession they lie. His book Reaching The Heights – A Guide To Thumb Position on the Double Bass has been described as ‘an important contribution to the Double Bass technique repertoire’.

For over thirty years, Chris has appeared regularly as guest principal with many major UK orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Academy of St.Martin-in-the-fields and Britten Sinfonia and he can be heard on iconic soundtracks such as Downton Abbey, and Harry Potter films. His chamber music recordings have appeared on the RCA/BMG, Hyperion, Naxos and Somm labels.

Esmee (she/her) is a London based dancer, visual artist, theatre practitioner and creative researcher. Her PhD research predominately engages with expressions of femininity, Black-Mixed Race identity, sexuality and mental health.

Paul joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra at 16, and studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with James Merritt (principal bass, London Philharmonic Orchestra), and at the Royal Academy of Music with John Dankworth and Graham Collier.

Born in London but brought up in Kent, Philip started playing the trombone aged 8. At 13 he became a founder member of the National Children’s Orchestra and at 14 entered the junior department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Here he studied with Leon Taylor and two years later won the coveted brass prize. Upon leaving school, Philip went to the Royal College of Music, where he spent four years studying with John Iveson and Arthur Wilson. He graduated with a GRM Hons degree and a ARCM performing diploma.

Mary Wiegold is known for her committed performances of new music and has given over two hundred premieres. She has had many works written for her and in 1989 she started collecting a songbook of works by composers ranging from Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Milton Babbitt to Elvis Costello and Keith Tippett. She has sung in the festivals at Aldeburgh, the Almeida, Bratislava, Brighton, Cheltenham, Glasgow Musica Nova, Huddersfield, Montepulciano and many others.

Since 1990 Sioned Williams has combined her position as Principal Harpist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra with recitals, concertos, broadcasting, recording, researching and teaching both in the UK and abroad. As a soloist, Sioned has performed all the major concertos, as well as more unusual repertoire in major concert halls, on radio live and television, with orchestras such as the City of London Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Greg began his professional performance training at New College Lanarkshire, graduating in 2018 with a First-Class degree in Musical Theatre. Additionally, he was awarded the Transitions 20/40 Scholarship from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland which supported his early training in the arts. He has over five years of experience as a freelance production coordinator in the television industry, working on high-profile productions for the major UK/streaming broadcasters.

Most recently, Greg’s play was long-listed for the David McLennan 2024 Prize by ‘A Play, A Pie, A Pint’. As an actor, his professional credits include Jack at the Harlow Playhouse and King Rollo Barollo at the Hamilton Townhouse.

Ian Wilson is a member of The Burney Players and plays with The Flautadors, a recorder quartet particularly active in the commissioning of exciting new works for recorder from young British composers. He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in many prestigious venues in the UK such as the Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room and Barbican Hall in London and has played in several international festivals in Europe including the Innsbruck Early Music Festival and the Ancient Nesvizh Festival, Belarus.

Eva Woloshyn joined Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance as Director of Development and Corporate Affairs in 2006. Eva came to Trinity Laban from the arts sector in London where she had worked at a senior level for over 15 years. She led the Unicorn Children’s Centre capital campaign to build a new theatre for children next to City Hall in Southwark which opened in December 2005. She previously worked in the visual arts as Director of SPACE Studios, a leading provider of studios and other services for fine artists. She has provided consultancy and mentoring services on an independent basis, and is a member of the Institute of Fundraising, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Adrian Woodward completed a DIP TCL in trumpet in 1995. He has a wide and varied career playing both early and modern music and improvisation. Adrian has played and recorded with many period instrument orchestras including the Gabrieli Consort and Players, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the King’s Consort. He plays chamber music regularly with award winning trumpet virtuoso Alison Balsom OBE, has performed for the Royal Family on numerous occasions, recorded for music and film and worked with Sir Paul McCartney and Giles Martin at Abbey Road Studios. Adrian has been a Musical Director and multi-instrumentalist performer at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre since 1997. He has played period and modern scores in over 30 productions at the Globe Theatre including Hamlet, Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale and King Lear.

Sebastian regularly performs with many of the UKs most eminent singers including Dame Felictiy Lott, Christopher Maltman and Iestyn Davies and has given recitals at Wigmore hall with Sophie Bevan, Het Concertgebouw with Ian Bostridge and major festivals throughout Europe and the UK.

Critically acclaimed as an edgy and dynamic interpreter, the pianist Helen Yorke performed with Renée Fleming throughout America and Europe for over a decade. Helen trained as a soloist at the RNCM, and then specialised in ensemble playing on scholarships at the RAM and thereafter in Germany, at the Frankfurt and Cologne conservatoires, with Hartmut Hoell, Rainer Hoffmann, and the late Leonard Hokanson. She then lived and worked in New York for a decade, teaching at the Juilliard School, Westminster Choir College in Princeton, and at the Manhattan School of Music.

Alistair Young was born in London and studied with Geoffrey Parsons and Erich Vietheer. Since 1987 he has played with major symphony and chamber orchestras including; the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (where he has recorded with Sir Simon Rattle).

Alistair Young was born in London and studied with Geoffrey Parsons and Erich Vietheer. Since 1987 he has played with major symphony and chamber orchestras including; the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (where he has recorded with Sir Simon Rattle). He has toured the USA, South Africa and throughout Europe, performing at many prestigious venues and festivals including Salzburg and the Proms. He has made many film and commercial recordings including Lesley Garrett’s TV show. He is featured regularly on ‘Friday Night is Music Night’ for BBC Radio 2, where he can be heard as soloist and accompanist. He is involved with various vocal groups such as the award-winning Joyful Company of Singers. He has worked closely with many international artists, including; the late Leonard Bernstein, Jose Carreras, Nicolai Gedda, Christa Ludwig, and more recently, Jane Eaglen and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Alistair has also worked with Diana Montague, with whom he has recorded Bach and Handel arias for Chandos.