Staff A-Z

Working initially in professional choruses in London and at Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne, he moved on to make his professional solo debut as Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with the Glyndebourne Tour.

He sang this role with English National Opera at the London Coliseum, where he also sang the title roles in Don Giovanni and King Roger in the British premier of Szymanowski’s opera. With the touring company Kent Opera he sang the title roles in Monteverdi’s Orfeo (filmed by BBC Television), Eugene Onegin and Don Giovanni, as well as Germont in La Traviata and Pizarro in Fidelio. Success in international competitions led to his singing roles abroad including Macbeth and Rigoletto, Di Luna in Il Trovatore, Ford in Falstaff, Marcello in La Bohème and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. In Italy again, he sang Orfeo in the Maggio Musicale, Florence, and in Venice appeared in operas by Britten and Handel.

Back in the UK he created the role of Maxim in Joseph’s opera Rebecca for Opera North. As a concert singer, he has appeared with many leading orchestras and conductors, including the Berlin Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and as a recitalist, he has given numerous broadcasts of German, French and English song on BBC Radio 3.

Always dedicated to the training of new generations of performers, he was Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music, set up British Youth Opera and created his own touring company, which presented his English performing versions of opera throughout the UK, which included London seasons at the South Bank and Barbican Concert Halls. He has thoroughly researched the anatomical and muscular processes involved in singing, speaking and performing on stage and, as a trained yoga teacher, he has applied the somatic principles of yoga to train singers and actors in a unique and transformative way.

As well as performing and recording with Gary Crosby’s “Nu-Troop” and “Jazz Jamaica”, Tony’s playing has also been a feature of many bands and artists he has worked/recorded with include “US-3” The World Saxophone Quartet, Courtney Pine, Donald Byrd, Eddie Henderson, The David Murray Big Band, Sam Rivers Rivbe Big band, Andrew Hill Big Band, Abdullah Ibrahim, Macy Gray, Julian Joseph Big band, Harry Connick JR, Byron Wallen’s Indigo, Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s Coltrane Configurations and Ornette Coleman.

His fluent and fiery hard-bop style makes him constantly in demand. He currently leads his own Tony Kofi Quartet, Tony Kofi Sphinx Trio, Future Passed Trio and is also the co-founder with Jonathan Gee of the Monk Liberation Front, a group that is dedicated to the music of Thelonious Monk. Tony’s latest project sees him performing with Alex Webb’s Café Society Swing, Arnie Somogyi’s Jump Monk, Larry Bartley’s JustUS Quartet, Larry Bartley Trio featuring Tony Kofi, Adrian Reid Quartet, a double leaders project with Alan Barnes called Aggregation, Orphy Robinson’s Bobby Hutcherson songbook project, Alina Bzhezhinska Hip Harp Collective, Jo Harrop’s Fever, Portrait of Cannonball (Music dedicated to Cannonball Adderley)

Tony Kofi and the Organisation, a recent project which he co leads on the Baritone Saxophone. Currently working with NYJO conducting Monk at the Town Hall.

Winner BBC Jazz Awards 2005 -Album of the Year

Winner, Best Ensemble, Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2005

Winner BBC Jazz Awards 2008 – Best Instrumentalist

Nominee, Mobo Awards 2008

Winner of the Jack Petchey award 2015

Presto Music Award 2020

Awarded an Honorary Professorship Nottingham University 2021

Films: King of Thieves, The Halcyon, The Cat.

Winner, Best instrumentalist Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2022

“Passionate… superb… heartfelt”

The Guardian

“There is so much respect in jazz circles for Tony Kofi.”

Jazzwise

He was described by Chris Parker as “simply one of the UK’s most individual voices, both as a composer and pianist”. His début big band album New Memories from 2002 was hailed by John Fordham in the Guardian as “the most expansive, expressive and exciting new jazz orchestral sound to have emerged in this country since the late-lamented Loose Tubes” while his 2011 record with Bill Frisell was named an “instant classic” by John Eyles, giving it five stars.

His triple vinyl release received five stars in Jazz Journal, as well as from Mike Gates (UK Vibe) who described the recordings as “an incredible achievement [which] have to be rated as one of the most important and musically rewarding releases of 2016.” Matt Miller, writing in New York City Jazz Record, described him as “an artist steeped in tradition but with a distinct voice of his own”, while Dave Gelly, writing in the Observer, went as far as saying that “like his piano playing, Koller’s writing for large ensemble is difficult to describe because it doesn’t sound remotely like anyone else’s.”

Michael Tucker noted that his “approach to the interplay of the historical and the contemporary is as open-minded as it is creative”. Ian Carr, in his entry in the Rough Guide to Jazz (4th edition), remarked: “Koller is an exuberant talent, his music full of surprises”. And John Fordham, who has written on his work regularly since the early 2000s commented in 2016: “Koller solves the perpetual jazz conundrum of making music for the mind and the body […] with an intelligence and vivacity that brings him ever closer to the stature of George Russell, Gil Evans, Mike Gibbs, and that long procession of his famous elders”.

Amir has collaborated with leading artists and institutions across the world, including David Alberman (London Symphony Orchestra), Grammy-nominated pianist Vicki Ray, Clark Rundell (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic), Peter Manning (Royal Opera House), Christopher Rountree (LA Phil), harpist Sioned Williams (BBC Symphony Orchestra), violinist Darragh Morgan, and the poet Ahmad Shamlou.

His commissions include works for the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC World Service, BBC News, the British Museum, the Royal Air Force Museum, CalArts, and the Ether Festival. His music has been performed at venues and festivals such as the Southbank Centre, Sound Unbound, the World Harp Congress, Ashleywood Festival, the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, and internationally at CalArts, as well as on television and commercial recordings.

In 2019, his instruments — the Soveida Harp, Kraken Piano, and Kraken Cello — received critical acclaim in performance with LSO musicians at LSO St Luke’s, London. Amir earned his Ph.D. at the Royal Northern College of Music with a full scholarship, specialising in performance art, theatre, and performativity. He has twice been nominated for the RNCM Gold Medal in Composition and has taught composition at CalArts (USA).

In 2022, he was named an Associate Member of the Royal Northern College of Music, an honour presented by Sir John Tomlinson. He currently teaches composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he also serves as a judge for major competitions, including the Gold Medal Competition at King’s Place (2024). His mentorship has guided students to leading institutions in the UK and internationally, from undergraduate to Ph.D. level.

Recent highlights include the 2024 premiere of his Harp Concerto at Cutty Sark, commissioned by the New Lights Festival and written for long-time collaborator Gabriella Dall’Olio. Looking ahead, he has been commissioned for a major new work premiering at King’s Place in 2026, a collaboration with painter Ash Naghouni, harpist Gabriella Dall’Olio, and pianist Dr. Aleks Szram (Artistic Director, Trinity Laban), combining visual art, Kraken instruments, and innovative approaches to sonic design.

www.amirkonjani.com

Panaretos (aka Pan) completed his postgraduate studies in piano performance under Martino Tirimo and Eugene Asti at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he was subsequently appointed junior fellow in accompaniment. During this time he was awarded the David Gosling Prize for excellence in accompaniment/collaborative performance and twice the John Thompson Prize for chamber music, and he won first prize in the Elisabeth Schumann Lieder Competition, the English Song Competition, The Leonard Smith & Felicity Young Duo Competition, the Il Circolo Solo Piano Competition and The Cavatina Chamber Music Competition. He also accompanied rising stars Nardus Williams and James Newby in their respective wins at the Trinity Laban Gold Medal Award. 

Between 2016-2018 Panaretos musically directed four opera productions for the King’s Head Theatre, which garnered high praise from press and audiences alike, an Off-West-End Award/Offie (Tosca), and an Olivier Award nomination for best opera production, following a transfer to the Trafalgar Studios at the West End (La bohéme). 

Panaretos has performed in many of the UK’s most prestigious venues and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. He is a member of staff at Trinity Laban and at Morley College, musical director of St Paul’s Opera in Clapham and co-founder of The Opera Makers, a new dynamic collective aspiring to broaden the potential of fringe and studio opera.  

A native of the Greek island of Thassos, Panaretos holds a BA in Law from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and is an avid food lover.

Liz is a freelance composer and her music is regularly broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Commissions range from choral, ensemble and brass band to community projects, including the Trinity Laban Finale! Age Against the Machine in 2019. She held the position of Composer in Association with the Grimethorpe Colliery Band from 2021-2025, the first female at elite level.

Liz’s website is lizlane.co.uk.

Born in Wales, she is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where she studied with Caroline Crawshaw.

In 1983, Deborah was the winner of the Miriam Licette scholarship for French Song, after which she spent time in Paris studying with soprano Christiane Eda-Pierre, where she had the privilege of working in depth on French chanson repertoire and operatic roles.

After studying in Paris and while still a student, she commenced her performance career in Glyndebourne Festival chorus and there she later performed the roles of Cenerentola (title role cover) and Hippolyta (Midsummer Night’s Dream).

Deborah was awarded a scholarship to study at the National Opera Studio in London before embarking on a solo career, during which she performed with many of the UK opera companies as a soloist, including Scottish Opera, Kent Opera, City of Birmingham Opera and also became principal house mezzo-soprano with Welsh National Opera, where her roles included Dorabella, Rosina and the title role in Carmen.

Whilst with WNO, Deborah was honoured to sing the role of Madame Dangeville on a Decca recording of Adriana Lecouvreur, with Dame Joan Sutherland in the title role. Deborah also sang in an arena production of Carmen in Paris with Teresa Berganza, with Der Nederlandse Opera in Holland and performed in recitals across Europe.

Deborah took an early interest in French repertoire and now focuses on making this study enjoyable and more easily accessible for young singers. Having gained considerable performance experience in French repertoire in her career as a working singer, Deborah has now devised her own method of teaching French to English speaking singers and regularly holds classes with UK students from the Royal Northern College of Music and Trinity Laban, and internationally with students from the TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama and LED in Delhi, developing an international profile as a French vocal coach.

Deborah also coaches singers at international opera houses, including Hannover, Wiesbaden and at the ERL Festival in Austria. As well as coaching soloists, Deborah enjoys working with choirs and has recently completed a project together with Kantos Chamber choir recording at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. She also translates French opera into English for use in performances.

Deborah is passionate about stage direction and teaching students the art of how to perform and move on stage. She enjoys actively sharing her own performance experience and knowledge and is a published author of a book containing useful information for young singers at the beginning of their careers.

Occasionally, Deborah can still be persuaded to tread the boards on the opera stage – her most recent performances were as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel and the Doctor/Therapist in a new opera by composer Edward Wright on the subject of Alzheimer’s disease, performed in both English and Welsh.

She is the Founder and Director of the Musical Odyssey Masterclasses in Nafplio, Greece—now in its 14th year—a course that has helped hundreds of young musicians find their artistic voice at the start of their careers. An innovative and forward-thinking artist, she has also created numerous cross-disciplinary projects fusing music with image, dance, poetry, and film, in both solo piano and chamber settings.

A Distinguished Performing Career

Yekaterina made her debut in an extensive national concert series in her native Russia before entering the Kiev State Conservatoire in 1988, where she quickly became a sought-after recitalist and chamber musician, performing at major festivals across Ukraine and Russia. She graduated with Distinction in 1993 and subsequently moved to London to build her solo career, making her debut at the Purcell Room in 1998 as part of the Southbank Centre’s Young Musicians’ Platform “FRESH.” She has performed regularly at the Southbank Centre and internationally ever since.

Career highlights include Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, sold-out return performances at the Purcell Room, and Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Winds with the Orchestra of Colours at the Athens Megaron. Her performances have taken her across France, Austria, Russia, Greece, Sicily, Turkey, Dubai, and Jordan, where she performed under the patronage of HRH Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein and was recognized for her contribution to the development of classical music in the region. She was also invited to present at the International Forum on Music Performance and Pedagogy in India, giving a recital at New Delhi’s prestigious Teen Murti Bhavan, the former residence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Yekaterina served as music curator and performer for the “Breathless” London art season, sponsored by the International Herald Tribune, and made history as the first pianist to perform in motion on a grand piano during the Lord Mayor’s Parade in the City of London—a tradition dating back to the 13th century.

A Teacher of International Acclaim

Yekaterina currently teaches piano at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, the Royal College of Music, and the City Lit Institute in London. Her students have achieved remarkable success on the international stage, earning top prizes including:

• First Prize, Concours International de Piano Lalla Meryem (Morocco)
• First Prize, Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Competition
• Second Prize, Young Pianist of the North International Piano Competition (UK)
• Second Prize, Scriabin International Piano Competition (Paris)
• Second Prize, Piano Talents International Piano Competition (Milan)
• Second Prize, Valletta International Competition
• Second and Third Prizes, International Rome Competition
• and many others

Her students regularly perform at Wigmore Hall and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. A special relationship has developed between her studio and Lang Lang: two of her students have been named Lang Lang Award winners, performing at the “Lang Lang Inspires” concert at the Royal Festival Hall and in follow-up concerts at the Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall. Both have received personal masterclasses from Lang Lang in London and at Stowe School.

In addition to her London teaching posts, Yekaterina is the Founding Director of the Musical Odyssey Masterclasses in Nafplio, Greece, and served for five years as Artistic Director of the Young Virtuosi Festival in France.

With her established knowledge of linguistics and classical musical background, Elise has pursued many other avenues in her career, branching out into several projects such as Mosaic Languages, a courses curated to aid linguists in studying new languages through the medium of music.

Elise has expanded into other mediums such as television. She has worked as an assistant director for Fresh Film Productions, ensuring lingual accuracy of a film’s subjects and employing vocal warm-up techniques to achieve a natural delivery from the participants.

Elise began her formal studies at the Trinity College of Music, majoring in a Bachelors Honours Performance Degree (Singers) 1st Class. She went on to study at the Conservatoire of Trieste for two years, under the tutelage of renowned Professor of Italian Language and Diction Rosalba Trevian, gaining a 10/10 distinction. Thereafter Elise took on a 35 hours a week German language course at the Deutschakademie Berlin for one year.

A Park Lane Group Artist, Live Music Now Artist, Cross Trust & Keyboard Charitable Trust Artist, he was the recipient of the Weingarten Prize & Silver Medal Keyboard Award for his studies and was an Emerging Artist for the Usher Hall’s 2023/24 season. A laureate of numerous competitions including the Liszt International Piano Society, Vrsac International Chamber Music Festival, Anton Rubinstein & Gothenburg International Piano Competitions, he has worked with orchestras including the Scottish Sinfonia and Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras.

In an all encompassing repertoire, Phillip has broadcast works by Kenneth Leighton on BBC Radio, RTE Radio 1 & given numerous world premiere performances. Festival appearances include Endellion, English Music Festival, Hertfordshire, Concerts of the Tempietto & Perth Festival. He studied at Trinity Laban, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Royal Northern College of Music & L’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with teachers including Philip Fowke, Alexander Ardakov, Margaret Fingerhut, Kathryn Stott, Aaron Shorr, Peter Tuite amongst others. An adjudicator for the London Young Musician Competition, Phillip runs a piano course ‘The Art of Practice & Performance’ at Jackdaws in Somerset annually and frequently gives masterclasses across the UK and abroad. He teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance and Kingston University.

During this time Matthew, enjoyed success with a number of youth ensembles including the National Youth Brass Band, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and as principal trombone of the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. Following his long connection with the Royal Academy of Music, Matthew is proud to recently accept the award of Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

In January 2020, Matthew was appointed the principal trombone of the BBC Concert Orchestra with whom he has been featured as a soloist, recently recording the Albrechstberger Concerto. Matt has performed as guest principal trombone with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the English National Opera amongst others.

He also enjoys a varied freelance career that has spanned from touring Europe with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, to performing at large scale club nights with the Heritage Orchestra the in arenas across the UK.

In recent years, Matthew has featured on the soundtrack of many films including Mission Impossible, Death on the Nile and the latest Wonka film. He is the trombonist in Inner City Brass and enjoys playing as a guest in many other chamber ensembles including Septura and London Brass, with whom he recently toured giving masterclasses, solo concerts and adjudicating the Dutch Brass Band Open.

Alongside his performing, Matthew is a regular guest in the UK’s top music schools and conservatoires, and is professor of trombone at St Paul’s School and Dulwich College.