The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and referred to as the Oscars for classical music. They are widely regarded as the most influential and prestigious classical music awards in the world. According to Matthew Owen, national sales manager for Harmonia Mundi USA, "ultimately it is the classical award, especially worldwide."
The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYO-GB) is the national youth orchestra of the United Kingdom, consisting of 164 members of ages 13 to 19 years. The players are selected by auditions which take place in the autumn each year at various locations in the country. The minimum standard needed to audition is ABRSM / Trinity Guildhall / London College of Music Grade 8 Distinction – though it is not necessary to have taken any examinations. The NYO's aim is to be "the most inspirational orchestra for young people" and at many of its concerts, all seats are only £5 for under 25s. In 2011, the orchestra was shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society's Best Ensemble Award. In 2012, the NYO received the Queen's Medal for Music. In 2015 the NYO received the Royal Philharmonic Society's Ensemble award, which recognised particularly the launch of NYO Inspire as well as their other work.
Florian Uhlig was born in Düsseldorf and gave his first piano recital at the age of twelve. He studied in London at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, finishing with the concert diploma. He was also influenced by working with Peter Feuchtwanger and by his research towards a PhD thesis at the University of London. Florian Uhlig made his orchestral debut at the Barbican Arts Centre in London in 1997. Since then he has performed with orchestras like the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, the Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. He has worked with conductors like Krzysztof Penderecki, Josep Caballé, Claus Peter Flor, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Kristjan Järvi, Michael Sanderling and Gerard Schwarz.
Ingmar Lazar (born June 22, 1993 in Saint-Cloud, is a French classical pianist.
Paul Mauffray is an American conductor and laureat of the 2007 Bartók International Opera Conducting Competition, The American Prize for Conductors, and 1996 Freedman Conducting Competition. He has studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Louisiana State University, Justus Liebig University (Giessen), Masaryk University (Brno), and earned a Masters of Music degree in Orchestra Conducting as an Associate Instructor / Assistant Conductor at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music.
Gediminas Gelgotas is a Lithuanian composer, conductor and self-performing artist.
The Russian cellist Leonid Gorokhov studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire with Anatoli Nikitin and took part in masterclasses with Daniil Shafran. Winner of Concertino Praga and Paris Chamber Music Competition, Leonid Gorokhov is the only Russian cellist to be awarded the Grand Prix and the First Prize of the Geneva Concours (1986). In 1995 the European Association for Encouragement of the Arts awarded the Cultural Achievement Prize to Leonid Gorokhov for exceptional talent and outstanding artistic accomplishment.
Derek Gleeson is an Irish/American musician. Born in Dublin, Ireland. He is currently the music director and conductor of the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra and has been the conductor at the Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival. Since 2012 Gleeson is also music director & conductor of the Rachmaninov Festival Orchestra. Since January 2016 Gleeson is Principal Guest Conductor or The Harbin Symphony Orchestra, Harbin, China. He also composes musical scores for film and television and of symphonic music for the concert hall.
Füsun Köksal is a Turkish composer of contemporary classical music.
Nicolas Altstaedt is a German/French classical cellist.
Gilbert Varga is a British- Hungarian conductor and the Principal Conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra.
Vilde Frang Bjærke is a Norwegian classical violinist.
The Portuguese Chamber Orchestra (OCP) was founded on July 5, 2007 and its debut took place on September 13, 2007, with the opening concert of the 2007/2008 season at the Grand Auditorium of Centro Cultural de Belém, in Lisbon. The programme included the Overture to Der Schauspieldirektor by Mozart, the Symphony No. 6 by Schubert, and the Ballet suite Pulcinella by Stravinsky. The head office of OCP is in Oeiras, Portugal.
Kirill Troussov in Saint Petersburg, is a German violinist and violin teacher based in Munich, Germany.
The National Youth Orchestra of Canada is a Canadian youth orchestra located in Toronto. The orchestra has given concert tours in every major Canadian city as well as trips to other countries, including the United States, Japan, China and countries in Europe. More than 40% of the professional musicians in Canadian orchestras have previously played in the NYOC.
The Bundesjugendorchester is the national youth orchestra of Germany, composed of pre-university students aged 14–19. It is supported by the project company of the Deutscher Musikrat and is based in Bonn. It was established in 1969, making it one of the oldest national youth orchestras in the world.
The Orchestre Français des Jeunes is the national youth orchestra of France, founded in 1982 by the Ministry of Culture. It consists of young musicians of ages 16 to 25, selected by audition.
Michael Helmrath is a German oboist and conductor and since the 2016/2017 season, active as General Music Director of the Theater Nordhausen/Loh-Orchester Sondershausen.
