Staff A-Z

Described by the Guardian as “eclectic, eccentric, and unobtrusively erudite”, Bruno Heinen is a London-based contemporary improvising pianist, composer and educator.

Research interests and areas of supervision:

• Using twentieth century classical works as a springboard for new improvised jazz composition 
• Improvised counterpoint: counterpoint as a route to the surprising 

Andrew Hendrie began his playing career with his local brass band in Dalmellington and then with the Scottish C.W.S. Band in Glasgow. He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and the Royal Manchester College of Music and then to teacher training college. Before taking up a teaching post, he was offered the post of Co-Principal Trumpet with the English National Opera orchestra where he remained for seven years, before moving on to the BBC Concert Orchestra as Principal Cornet.

Andrew Hendrie began his playing career with his local brass band in Dalmellington and then with the Scottish C.W.S. Band in Glasgow. He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and the Royal Manchester College of Music and then to teacher training college. Before taking up a teaching post, he was offered the post of Co-Principal Trumpet with the English National Opera orchestra where he remained for seven years, before moving on to the BBC Concert Orchestra as Principal Cornet.

Born in Manchester, Melanie studied Saxophone, Clarinet and Flute at the Royal Academy of Music.

As a soloist and ensemble player Melanie has made numerous recordings and performed in concerts worldwide. She has performed with many orchestras in the UK, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed in productions at the Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Recent highlights include concerts and an album launch with the contemporary music group Sounds Positive, Jack and the Beanstalk at the Hackney Empire, a production of The Tempest (Globe Theatre) and tours with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Rambert and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Richard is a Bass Trombone specialist performing on hundreds of sessions in film, theatre, popular, commercial and TV sound tracks. He is known for his work in many large jazz ensembles, from 1940s big band swing to contemporary jazz orchestras and anything in between or outside. He spent many years touring and recording with the bands of two prominent and influential contemporary American jazz artists, Carla Bley and George Russell.

Johnny is a long-term member of the BBC Jazz award winning jazz-funk ensemble, ‘Badbone & Co.’, led by esteemed trombonist Dennis Rollins M.B.E.

Having toured worldwide with the band they’ve notably performed at Glastonbury, WOMAD, the Montreux Jazz Festival, The Royal Festival Hall and Ronnie Scott’s.

Rolf Hind has worked closely with living composers across a broad range of styles: from John Adams and Tan Dun, to Ligeti and Lachenmann; Xenakis and Messiaen, to Simon Holt and Judith Weir.

Born in London and now living there after studies at the Royal College of Music and Los Angeles, his career has many facets. He appears regularly at new music festivals throughout Europe: in Brussels, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Darmstadt, Vienna, Strasbourg and Paris. He is in demand as a soloist with all the major BBC orchestras and plays regularly with the London Sinfonietta. Further afield, he has made numerous appearances, including with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the South West German Radio Orchestra, the Stockholm Sinfonietta, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and orchestras in Holland, Italy, Ireland, Norway, France, Portugal and the USA. As a performer he has had a number of concertos written for him, by Unsuk Chin (BBC National Orchestra of Wales) Poul Ruders (London Philharmonic Orchestra) Bent Sørensen (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Danish Radio) and Simon Holt (London Sinfonietta).

Linda Hirst was born and grew up in Huddersfield, and studied flute and singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her career began during the early music revival of the early seventies, with Roger Norrington, John Eliot Gardiner and David Munrow. From 1974-78 she was a Swingle Singer, she then co-founded Electric Phoenix. With both groups she travelled the world, leading to work with many living composers, and a solo career of international renown, in particular for her performances and recordings of contemporary music.

Award-winning Scottish marimbist and percussionist Calum Huggan has captivated audiences and critics alike with his musicality and personality.

Award-winning Scottish marimbist and percussionist Calum Huggan has captivated audiences and critics alike with his musicality and personality.

Calum is an active and sought-after percussion tutor and workshop leader throughout the UK, Four Mallet Specialist at Trinity Laban, Percussion and a part-time lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Glasgow).

The Cornish-born baritone Richard Jackson is renowned as a concert artist and a performer of new operas. He was a founder member of The Songmakers’ Almanac, visiting the USA, Hong Kong and the festivals of Edinburgh, Bath, Aldeburgh and Bergen with the group, and taking part in their series of recordings for Hyperion. Early operatic successes included Gian Carlo Menotti’s Maria Golovin, directed by the composer at the Camden Festival, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas opposite Dame Janet Baker, Strauss’s Capriccio for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, and Eugene Onegin at Aldeburgh under Mstislav Rostropovich. He also collaborated with Pierre Audi in the British premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Jakob Lenz at London’s Almeida Festival and returned for the 1992 Festival in Stephen Oliver’s Mario and the Magician. Other opera projects have included Laurent in Thérèse Raquin, a new opera by Finnissy for The Garden Venture, Paul Barker’s La Malinche in Mexico City, Mozart’s La finta giardinera for Opera North, Finnissy’s Vaudeville for the Warsaw Autumn Festival, Evangelistitesto in Monteverdi/Weir’s Missa e Combattimento for Ensemble Interculturel at La Monnaie in Brussels, Nicola LeFanu’s The Wildman at the 1995 Aldeburgh Festival and Aeneas in Syria.

Carol Jarvis is a much in-demand freelance trombonist, who works almost exclusively in all fields of the profession. Whether playing trombone, keyboards or singing backing vocals, Carol can be found touring the world working with internationally renowned ensembles from the London Symphony Orchestra to the BBC Concert Orchestra, as well as performing regularly in London’s West End shows. If that wasn’t enough, Carol has toured, recorded and worked extensively with the likes of Sting, Queen, Seal, Rod Stewart, Amy Winehouse, MUSE, James Bay, Jess Glynne, Ellie Goulding and Bon Jovi.

A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, she studied with John Iveson, Christopher Houlding and Andrew Berryman, gaining the highest qualifications possible. During this time she gained many awards including major scholarships in the UK and USA, and won the Royal Over-seas League Music Competition with the chamber ensemble Bones Apart, which she founded.

Carol Jarvis is a much in-demand freelance trombonist, who works almost exclusively in all fields of the profession. Whether playing trombone, keyboards or singing backing vocals, Carol can be found touring the world working with internationally renowned ensembles from the London Symphony Orchestra to the BBC Concert Orchestra, as well as performing regularly in London’s West End shows. If that wasn’t enough, Carol has toured, recorded and worked extensively with the likes of Sting, Queen, Seal, Rod Stewart, Amy Winehouse, MUSE, James Bay, Jess Glynne, Ellie Goulding and Bon Jovi.

A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, she studied with John Iveson, Christopher Houlding and Andrew Berryman, gaining the highest qualifications possible. During this time she gained many awards including major scholarships in the UK and USA, and won the Royal Over-seas League Music Competition with the chamber ensemble Bones Apart, which she founded.

Edward Jessen is a composer of works for concert and theatrical traditions. His music is made from broad collaborative elements. Projects stem from conversational processes with players and directors, filmmakers and designers, astronomers and anthropologists. Edward is the recipient of commissions and awards from UBS, Meet the Composer, the Arts Council England, Performing Right Society/Bliss Trust, Britten-Pears Foundation, Sinfonia Foundation, British Academy, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music, British Council Grant Combined Arts Award, le Conseil Général du Nord de la DRAC and the Danish Ministry of Culture. Recent projects include Mother Tongue Tautologies for the London Symphony Orchestra, Chambre 119 for pianist Catherine Laws, Companion for the Black Hair Ensemble, Thype for Orkest ‘de ereprijs’, Körpertask for the English Chamber Orchestra Ensemble, Præda for the Orchestra of the Opera North and Braid for the Hilliard Ensemble.

Malcolm Johnston is in the enviable position of having vast experience in all forms of viola playing whether that be as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player or teacher.

He currently holds the Sub-Principal viola chair in the London Symphony Orchestra working with the world’s greatest conductors including Claudio Abbado, Sir Georg Solti, Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta and Seiji Ozawa to name a few. He is also Principal Viola with the European Camerata and has appeared as Guest Principal Viola with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

James Johnstone studied in London and The Hague with Jill Severs and Ton Koopman respectively. He has forged a career as a recitalist, continuo player and teacher.