Staff A-Z

Lizzi graduated with a B.ED, Hons (Roehampton) and Diploma and MA in Choreography (LCDS). In 2021 she received an award for teaching at the Worshipful Company of Educators and has been awarded a grant from the Franklin Trust for professional development. In 2022 she was given a the Ruth Etchells fellowship at St Johns College Durham.
She regularly receives Arts Council grants for projects with LKR & Co ranging from site specific work under Waterloo Station and a dance film on a lighthouse.

A defining feature of both Lizzi’s teaching style and with her company LKR & Co, is its collective and collaborative approach. It unites musicians dancers, video artists and other artists to create a diverse team spirit and dynamic. This collaborative process not only enriches the artistic output but also promotes a shared ownership of the work, resulting in performances that resonate deeply with audiences.

Visit Lizzi Kew Ross’ website for more information.

Research Interests

Lizzi is interested in the nature of the poetic image and how it translates through different art forms. She supervises BA and MA students in their research projects.

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.

Performance credits include: 

Theatre: Songs from Sondheim (The Lowry, Manchester), Masterclass (English Theatre Frankfurt), Sweeney Todd (West End and Chichester Festival Theatre), Laugh and Be Happy (Minerva Theatre, Chichester), Coco (Sadlers Wells), The Vaudevillains (Charing Cross Theatre and The Lowry), State Fair (Finborough and Trafalgar Studios), First Lady Suite (Union Theatre), Me and My Girl (London Palladium), Back to Broadway (UK and Mexico tour), Dust (Tricycle Theatre), Tiny Shows (The Copenhagen Interpretation), The Dots (Touring Cabaret).

Opera: La Rondine, Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera Holland Park), The Clothesburger (Southbank Centre), Dancing on Armistice Day (UK/France tour), Hear Them Roar, Walk Out of Yourself (The Voicings Collective for Opera Harmony-final shortlist)

Film/Television: Hope and Glory (BBC), Interference (Short Film)

Workshops: The Hills of California, Hallowed Ground, The Miller’s Wife, The Ruby Necklace, The Man in the Room.

Voice artist work: Tubby and Enid (BBC), Sweeney Todd (West End Cast Recording), Cool Rider (West End Cast Recording), Singleton Whiskey (Advert), Ronseal (Advert), Astronaut (Short Film), TAMED or It’s Hard to Get a Real Horse (Flight of the Escales)

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.

Current Projects: Season 10 of BBC1’s Garden Rescue (Narrator) and Kate in Mamma Mia The Party!
Theatre includes: Rhonda and assistant director in Cool Rider (Palladium/Duchess Theatre), Miss Sherman in Fame (Christmas Theatre, Athens), Standby Connie/Cassie in The Taxidermist’s Daughter (World premiere, Chichester Festival Theatre), Violet Newstead/Roz Keith/Margaret in 9 to 5 (Korea/UK Tour/The Savoy), Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray (UK Tour), Young Beryl in Liverbirds Flying Home (Royal Court, Liverpool), Fiddler on the Roof (Chichester Festival Theatre), On The Town (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), Cherry Sundae in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Rhoda in White Christmas (Dominion Theatre), Mimi, understudy

Adelaide in Guys & Dolls (Chichester Festival Theatre), Vodka in Drunk! (Leicester Curve & Bridewell Theatre), understudy Roxie and assistant choreographer in Chicago (Leicester Curve), Kiss Me Kate (Old Vic), Wonderful Town (Original UK Tour), understudy Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street (Leicester Curve, Chichester Festival Theatre), Soho Cinders (Queen’s Theatre), Love Never Dies (Adelphi Theatre) and Mary Poppins (UK Tour).

Workshops include: Judy (feature film), Doctor Who (BBC1), Hugo (Dominion Theatre), Spittin’ Distance (NT Studio) and Pippin (Menier Chocolate Factory).

Recordings include: 9 to 5 and Cool Rider.

Film and tv includes: Narrator of Garden Rescue (BBC1), Wonka! (Warner Bros), Matilda the Musical (Netflix) and The Final Bow (short, Kutay Kollectiv).

Creative work includes: Choreographer of Stranger Sings! (Southwark Playhouse), Choreographer of Claus: The Musical (World Premiere, The Lowry) and Lucinda is currently working as a dramaturg on 2 new musicals in development.