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Orchestra Members Andy Meyers - Conductor Andy Meyers, KCO conductor Andy studied conducting at Trinity College of Music with Bernard Keeffe, and has worked in master classes with Diego Masson and Sir Charles Groves. In 1983 he was awarded the "Ricordi Prize" for conducting, and in 1985 he was a prize winner in the "Stroud International Composers Competition", with his Sonata for Oboe and Piano. He has written a number of works, including concertos for flute and recorder, and a number of children's musicals. In 2005 he was a runner-up in the St Martin-in-the-Fields / BBC Radio 4 Christmas Carol Competition. He was Head of Music at Finton House School for twenty years, and is now Head of Music at Homefield School, Sutton. Andy has conducted groups ranging from the "Enfield String Players" to the London Festival Ballet, and he is presently Musical Director of the Kingston Chamber Orchestra. In 1997 he was awarded an MA (Music Education) from the Roehampton Institute. Andy's recorder pieces are published by Peacock Press and some of his educational musicals are available from Watnots music. Cantilena, the piece he wrote in memory of Mark, Jean and Samuel Price is available on the Sibelius Music Store. Helena Ruinard - Leader Helena Ruinard, leader Helena read Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge and studied the violin with Yossi Zivoni at the Royal College of Music where she was supported by an award from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. She pursues a freelance career, performing with the City of London Sinfonia, the Ulster Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Welsh National Opera and a range of smaller orchestras and opera companies. As a chamber musician she has played at venues and festivals throughout the UK and abroad, including St James's Piccadilly, the Valence Festival and the Ryedale Festival. Most recently, she gave a recital with the Rosetta Trio in a series at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 2004 she performed a concerto with Southbank Sinfonia, the orchestra for young professionals, and she continues to be associated with this orchestra through its touring string ensemble. Education is an important part of her working life and alongside instrumental teaching she has led and assisted on workshops associated with the Spitalfields Festival, the Peasmarsh Festival, which is hosted by the Florestan Trio, and Blackheath Halls Young Artists Scheme among others. Helena is delighted to be returning to Kingston to lead the KCO. She went to school in Hampton and has strong memories of performing at Kingston Parish Church as a member of Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra. Guest Performers Jonathan Strange Jonathan Strange Jonathan studied the violin with Hugh Maguire and Frederick Grinke at the Royal Academy of Music and later with Roy Gillard. In a varied career, he has toured the world as a member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and other major orchestras, and was co-leader of the London Mozart Players. Along with Kenneth Essex and Denis Vigay, he is a member of the Lansdowne String Trio. In the studios, he works with the stars of rock and pop and on the scores of Hollywood movies. He performs on a Grancino violin of 1689. Lesley Shrigley Jones Lesley Shrigley Jones Lesley Shrigley Jones studied the cello, viola da gamba, piano and singing at the Royal Manchester College of Music and the The Royal Northern College of Music. Later she joined the master class of Antonio Janigro at the Staatliche Hochschule, Stuttgart, from where she was awarded the highest honours. Since giving her debut recital at the Purcell Room, under the auspices of the Park Lane Group, Lesley Shrigley Jones has played throughout the British Isles, Europe and Latin America. She has Broadcast on BBC, ITV and French Radio and appeared in Paul Tortelier’s Master Class series on BBC2. As a member of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' avant-garde chamber group "The Fires of London", she received a standing ovation for her performance of "Vesalii" Icones at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. She has also given several first performances of contemporary works and recordings include "Fantasia Concertante" for solo cello by Camilleri. More recent and current projects include performing the six solo Bach Cello Suites in a series of concerts with organ, a recording project entitled "The Cello in Song" and an exciting collaboration with Yekaterina Lebedeva in a series of concerts entitled "Fusion". Helen Oughtibridge Helen Oughtibridge Helen studied at Trinity College of Music with Hale Hambleton, Joan-Enric Lluna, Anthony Jennings and Michael Whight. She gained First Class Honours in 2003 and then completed a Postgraduate Course assisted by a Trinity College scholarship. Competition successes include the Wilfred Hambleton Award, the Gladys Puttick Improvisation Prize and woodwind finalist in the Tunbridge Wells Young Concert Artist Competition. Helen is co-principal clarinet in St. Paul's Sinfonia, principal clarinet in the Jersey Symphony Orchestra and is on the extra list of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. She also plays on a freelance basis with many orchestras. Helen is a member of several chamber music groups: Clariphonics clarinet quartet, the Acacia Wind Quintet, the Vena Reed Trio and a trio with violin and piano. Recent chamber music performances include appearances at the Hampstead and Highgate Festival, the Purcell Room with Joan Enric Lluna and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Helen also plays clarinet and saxophone in the jazz/rock band T.Mandrake, who opened the 2007 Hua Hin Jazz Festival, Thailand. Aside from playing, Helen is an enthusiastic teacher and currently teaches clarinet at Finton House School, Homefield Preparatory School and Merton Music Foundation. Leanne Alexander Leanne Alexander was born in 1987. She began to play the violin when she was five, and when she was only nine years old, she led the West of Scotland Independent Schools Orchestra with other members up to the age of eighteen! She joined the Yehudi Menuhin School in 1998, and she is now at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with a full scholarship to continue her studies with Simon Fischer until 2009. Leanne has performed Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor and the Sibelius Concerto with the Glasgow Symphony Orchestra, Saint-Saens' Havanaise, the Beethoven Concerto, the Brahms Concerto and Barber's Virtuosic Concerto with the Strathclyde University Orchestra. In 2002, Leanne gave a recital for the BBC Radio Scotland programme Grace Notes and in 2003, she reached the Quarter Finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. In November 2005, Leanne gave the World Premiere of a concerto that was written for her by Scottish composer Tommy Fowler in Adelaides, Glasgow and in February 2007 she performed Alban Berg's Violin Concerto with the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra. Leanne has recently formed her own string quartet, which has performed at many venues around London. The quartet have conducted a workshop for children between the ages of two and five at the Wigmore Hall. Emma Baldock, Kathryn Parry and Roy Stratford Emma Baldock (cello) was a music scholar at St Paul's Girls' School, co-principal of the National Youth Orchestra and National Youth Chamber Orchestra, and subsequently a music scholar at Cambridge University where she performed regularly as a soloist and continuo-player. She studied throughout this period with Margaret Moncrieff in London. Since graduating she has divided her time between music (performing and teaching) and PhD research in medical ethics at King's College London. Kathryn Parry (violin) read music at Selwyn College, Cambridge and studied the violin with Howard Davis at the Royal Academy of Music where she won several prizes for chamber music and was awarded the prestigious Dip RAM for ensemble playing. She has performed chamber music in recitals for music clubs and festivals all over Britain. As a member of the Bell' Arte Ensemble, she gave the inaugural chamber concert in Birmingham's Symphony Hall and played regularly with Sir Simon Rattle as pianist. She has played with many London orchestras, including the Academy of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London Mozart Players and City of London Sinfonia and was a member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She recently played with the Composers' Ensemble at the Aldeburgh Festival and Endymion Ensemble at the Purcell Room. Kathryn was a member of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and for eight years lived in Edinburgh with her husband and their three children. She still plays frequently with the orchestra, has appeared as leader of the Edinburgh Quartet, and is a regular guest of the Hebrides Ensemble. Roy Stratford (piano) studied music at Reading University where, in his final year he was appointed music director of the Opera Society and conducted four performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Snow Maiden." He went on as a postgraduate to the Royal College of Music to study conducting with Norman Del Mar and piano with David Ward. He also received advice and encourragement from Andrzej Panufnik and Sir Georg Solti. In l987 he was invited to participate in the "BBC European Conductors' Seminar" in Manchester and was selected to make his Radio 3 debut directing Constant Lambert's Piano Concerto. He also had the opportunity to work with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra during the course and was coached by Sir Edward Downes. He has since worked with many orchestras including the Royal Ballet, the London Philharmonic and has guest conducted many leading amateur groups. He has a wide interest in music education and has worked on the Baylis Programme at English National Opera, with the London Philharmonic's education programme and is currently undertaking a lecture series at the Wigmore Hall. He also runs lecture/recital weekends at West Dean College and at Jackdaws, near Frome in Somerset. He has taught piano at St. Paul's School since 1991 and in 2003 was appointed Head of Ensemble. He also teaches piano at Richmond College and runs a youth training orchestra for Richmond Music Trust as well as conducting the Woking Symphony Orchestra. He has had arrangements published by Faber Music and original compositions by Oxford Universitv Press. Andrew Nicholson, Flute Andrew Nicholson Andrew was introduced to the flute at the age of eight by Robin Soldan and later went on to be taught by Clare Southworth and Janet Alexander. At the age of thirteen he won the National Music for Youth Woodwind prize at the London Festival Hall, and was also regional finalist in the Shell L.S.O completion in 1984 in London. In 1985, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Chethams School of Music and in 1987 he was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. He went on to continue his musical education at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (RNCM), winning several major concerto awards including the Malcolm Sargent Award. Andrew began his professional career working with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and was appointed Principal flautist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1992. 1999 saw his return to England with his appointment as Principal flautist with the Halle Orchestra in Manchester. In 2000 he performed the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto, conducted by Kent Negano, and appeared as a soloist at the Bridgewater Hall as part of the Lunchtime Recital Series. He performed both the Nielsen Concerto and Mozart Flute Concerto in G with the Halle Orchestra conducted by Thierry Fisher, and it was as a result of these performances that Andrew was asked to record the Nielsen Flute Concerto with the Halle and Mark Elder CBE. In 2002, he moved to London after accepting the position of Principal flute with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Since his move to London, he has toured extensively with the orchestra and has also given masterclasses and recitals at the Royal College of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music. He has recently recorded a solo CD of John Rutter's music with John Rutter and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and has also recorded the Mozart flue concerto in G major. An more detailed biography of Andrew can be found here. Simon Callaghan, Piano Simon Callaghan What a wonderful pianist, who combines complete understanding of the style of music he is playing with a rare sublety and brilliance of execution -- Sir Roger Norrington Winner of the Prix Special in the 8eme Concours International Jean Francaix in Paris, the British pianist Simon Callaghan is establishing an impressive career as a solo artist, performing large-scale works in major venues and with many leading orchestras around the United Kingdom and abroad to high critical acclaim. Recent public performance highlights include concertos by Beethoven, Chopin, Francaix, Grieg, Hummel, Liszt, Mozart and Rachmaninov, including a début with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Gerard Schwarz playing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.1. Simon has also given numerous solo and chamber music recitals in London (Fairfield Halls, Steinway Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields), Manchester (Bridgewater Hall, Lowry Centre), Liverpool (Philharmonic Hall), Austria (Mozarteum), France, Sri Lanka, South Korea and on classical music tours worldwide. In 2006 he presented a charity gala concert with English National Opera principals John Graham-Hall and Mary Hegarty at Longborough Opera House and gave a debut recital at the Prestigious De Rode Pomp concert hall in Ghent, Belgium. Following this recital Simon was invited to record a disc of English piano music on the De Rode Pomp label, which will be released in Summer 2007. Simon has taken prizes in numerous other competitions, including the Liverpool Young Musician of the Year Competition and the Bromsgrove International Young Musician's Platform. In 2005 he was awarded the Colonel Howes Prize by the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra and won the Edward Dannreuther Prize and the Fortepiano Award at the Royal College of Music. Following his studies at Chetham's School of Music with Bernard Roberts, Simon became a scholar at the Royal College of Music studying under Yonty Solomon, from where he recently graduated with First Class Honours. In 2005, he gave the world premiere performance of his own restored arrangement of Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor for piano and string quintet, also playing Schubert's Trout Quintet. Simon has appeared on BBC Television channels 1, 2 and 3 as well as BBC Radio. He has received invaluable guidance from several eminent international artists including Dmitri Alexeev, Noretta Conci, Alicya Fiderkiewicz, Claude Frank, Stephen Hough, Peter Lawson, Sir Roger Norrington and Frank Wibaut. He recently brought out a CD of Victorian English piano music, including two world premieres, Clare Howick, Violin Clare Howick Clare Howick is at the forefront of a new generation of virtuoso violinists. As a student she shared a recital with Maxim Vengerov. Clare has also appeared as soloist with The Philharmonia and has performed in many leading concert venues, including the Wigmore Hall, St.John's Smith Square, Blackheath Concert Halls, and Windsor Castle, with a concerto series at St.Martin-in-the-Fields. She has performed at various festivals, both in London and around the country including the Covent Garden, Buxton and Petersfield Festivals, and in 2001 performed at the Cheltenham International Festival, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. As a champion of new music, Clare performed the London premiere of John McLeod's 'The Song of Icarus'. She has also performed works by Paul Patterson, Nigel Clarke and Gerard Schurmann (as part of the Schurmann Festival), in the presence of the composers. As a guest leader of many orchestras, she has led The Philharmonia, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony and Sinfonietta, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Ulster Orchestra, English Sinfonia, Northern Sinfonia and National Sinfonia. Clare Howick was a student of Maurice Hasson at the Royal Academy of Music, where she won all the major violin prizes and was awarded the highest accolade for performance. She also studied with Dorothy DeLay, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Zahkar Bron and participated in masterclasses with Ida Haendel, Gerard Poulet and Bela Katona. Clare's outstanding talent has been recognized by winning many other awards including The Worshipful Company of Musicians, The Tillett Trust, the Jellinek Award and the Countess of Munster Trust which also selected her for a nationwide series of concerts under their prestigious Recital Scheme. Clare performed the Dvorak Violin Concerto with us in March 2006. Margaret Cameron, Mezzo-Soprano Margaret Cameron studied at Trinity College, London and the Royal College of Music. On the concert platform she has appeared as a soloist with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir, performing music by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Haydn in Britain, Europe and the USA, and recording Vivaldi's Gloria for Phillips. She has also toured Holland with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging in Bach's Mass in B Minor and recorded Rachmaninov's Vespers with Kings College Cambridge for EMI. Her work on the operatic stage includes Cosi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni and Marriage of Figaro for Longborough Festival Opera, Dido and Aeneas for the Spitalfields Festival, Magic Flute for English Touring Opera, the title role in La Cenerentola for Camberwell Pocket Opera and an Actor in Judith Weir's A Night at the Chinese Opera for Kent Opera. She has extensive experience in the field of contemporary music, working with groups such as Electric Voice Theatre, Singcircle and the BBC Singers. She has appeared in Andrew Toovey's Ubu with Music Theatre Wales and Orlando Gough's Shouting Fence in Haarlem. She gave the first performance of Ophelia/Ophelia by Andrew Poppy at the Purcell Room and her subsequent recording was featured on Private Passions on Radio 3. Most recently, she performed The Voice of Desire, a song cycle by Judith Weir in the opening concert of the bmic Cutting Edge series at The Warehouse, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio Three. Margaret performed A Charm of Lullabies by Benjamin Britten with us in November 2005, together with an encore of Seguidilla from Bizet's Carmen. Samantha Ward, Piano Samantha Ward 22 year old Samantha made her concerto debut in 2000 as a result of winning the Chetham's concerto auditions, and she has since been offered concerto appearances with several orchestras around the UK. She has given recitals in venues such as Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, St David's Hall, Cardiff and St James Church Piccadilly, London. She has appeared on HTV Wales, S4C and Granada television, as well as on Classic FM Radio and in the Classical Music Magazine in January 2003. Samantha was a prize winner in the finals of the Texaco Young Musician of Wales Competition and the Oxford Music Festival, and recently, she won both the John Ireland Piano Award at the Guildhall School of Music and the Making Music Award for Young Concert Artists. A review of a concert she gave in St Catherine's College, Oxford University, 2004, said, 'Samantha Ward is a pianist of outstanding quality.' Samantha performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.5 in Eb, the "Emperor" with us in July 2005. Supporters Jim Addington We were sorry to learn of the sad death of Jim Addington on 21st June 2007. Jim was a loyal supporter of the orchestra for many years, and we particularly appreciated the regular reviews of performances that he wrote for the local press. Jim ran a small carpet business but was also a keen choral singer and lover of music. He sang with Kingston Choral Society and was a regular attendee of the Proms, and also enjoyed the theatre and walking in the countryside. In later life, Jim was a great peace activist and passionate about UN reforms. You can find an obituary of Jim here. Others Charles Knights - Former Leader Charles Knights Charles was our leader up until the summer of 2007. We were sorry to see him go but wish him well in his new venture. Charles studied the violin at the Royal College of Music followed by six years as a member of the Wurzburg Philharmonic. Returning to London in 1984, he has worked with many of the world's leading conductors and orchestras including the Philharmonia and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. He is in demand as an orchestral leader and has led performances for, amongst others, Sir David Willcocks at the Royal Albert Hall. In recent years Charles has enjoyed working in the field of music education. Since 1992 he has been string coach with the National Children's Orchestra and is regularly invited to direct the London Schools String Ensemble. In 1993 he was appointed Director of Music at St George's College, Weybridge and it was through this local connection that he was invited in 1997 to join the Kingston Chamber Orchestra as leader. In 2007 Charles moved on to take on some new musical challenges at the Menuhin Foundation in Bermuda. Composers Please refer to the Commissions page for details of composers who have written for the KCO. Orchestra Committee The current committee members are as follows. Chair Sarah Stanley-Smith Secretary David Thurston Treasurer Caroline Ditchfield Librarian Juliet Edwards Concert Day Manager Janet Williams Advertising and Publicity Pauline Moore Musical Director Andy Meyers

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Last changed: 4 July 2008