1) Midori Komachi (violin) with Carson Becke (piano)

12 May 2011, 1:00 to 2:00pm at St George's Bristol

 

Midori Komachi was born in 1988, in Japan. She began playing the violin at the age of seven, and at the age of 12 was accepted to the Basel Music University in Switzerland to study with Adelina Oprean. She subsequently made her debut with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra conducted by Howard Griffiths, and since then has played as a soloist with various orchestras. She has performed as a soloist in major venues including Tonhalle Zurich(Switzerland), Muza Kawasaki(Japan), Bristol Cathedral (UK), and Gallery Pulitika (Croatia) and in many music festivals.

 

Currently Midori is studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Maurice Hasson entering in 2006 to study with Tomotada Soh, and in June 2010 she completed her Bachelor of Music Diploma with First Class Honours.

 

As a chamber musician, she has performed in prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall, and with her piano trio (Davidoff Piano Trio)at the Steinway Hall in London, as well as the Schumann Festival 2010 at the Royal Academy of Music. Midori has been awarded several prizes including Hattori Foundation Junior Award 2007/08, Seary Trust award 2010, and she is also the laureate of competitions such as Dame Ruth Railton Prize, Harold Craxton Prize, and the winner of the Max Pirani Prize.

 

Carson Becke was born in Ottawa, Canada, and began studying the piano at the age of five with his great-grandmother, Mary Mackey. In 2005, he moved to London, England to study at the Purcell School of Music. Upon graduating from the Purcell School, he entered the Royal Academy of Music (September 2007) where he now studies with Tatiana Sarkissova. Carson has performed recitals in Canada, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Trinidad & Tobago, and Latvia. He was the winner of the Sergei Rachmaninov International Piano Competition in Novgorod, Russia (2006), and also the BBC young composer of the year competition (2007). In the coming months, Carson will be performing with Orchestra in Ottawa (Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no. 1 with the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra) as well as performing a number of solo recitals in the UK, Canada and Germany.

 

 

2) Mansoon Bow (violin) with Sam Liu (piano)

17 May 2011,1:15 pm to 2:00 pm at Bristol Cathedral

 

Mansoon Bow is frequently in demand as both soloist and chamber musician in many major cities in Japan, as well as in the UK where she is currently based.

She was born in Japan of Korean origin.  She began studying the violin at the age of three.  She proceeded to the Royal Academy of Music in London and aquired a Bachelors and Masters Degree with a full scholarship.  Later she continued her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.

 

Prestigious prizes came including the Osaka

International competition and David Martin/Florence Concerto Prize at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2008, Mansoon won the 1st Prize and the Audience Prize in The Cavatina Music Competition and  recently chosen to receive the Byram Jeejeebhoy Prize and the Silver Medal Prize for students making the most outstanding contribution to work and performance activities.

 

Sam Liu hails from Vancouver, Canada where he began his piano studies until he moved to London to study. Sam has won various awards such as the first prize of "Il Circolo" Competition at the Italian Cultural Centre and has given recitals throughout the UK and Canada including a performance of Ronald Stevenson's Piano Concerto No.1 in the presence of the composer. Sam is also enthusiastic about conducting giving several performances with an orchestra of his own in Canada. Most recently, he conducted the production "La Finta Giardiniera" by Mozart with the opera company 'Opera at Home' giving many performances at venues such as the Reform Club London and Greenwich Playhouse in 2010.