Janice Graham, Leader and Artistic Director

Janice Graham has been the Leader of English Sinfonia since 1995 and was appointed Artistic Director in 2005. Janice studied at the Purcell School and at GSMD with David Takeno. She was the Gold medal winner of the LSO/Shell competition, won the string prize of the Royal Overseas League Competition and was awarded English Speaking Union and Julius Iserlis scholarships to study at Juilliard with Glenn Dicterow.

For 13 years she was Leader of the ENO orchestra and with them performed Meditation at Kenwood. Notable Opera productions include Jenufa, Rosenkavelier and Lulu. Her collaboration with Chris Hopkins at ENO led to her performing the Berg, Beethoven and Walton violin concertos with the Orchestra of the City in St James's Piccadilly.

Whilst Leader of BBC National Orchestra of Wales her solo appearances on radio 3 included the Britten, Neilson and Mendelssohn concertos, Mozart Sinfonia Concertante and the Lark Ascending.

As Assistant Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra she took part in their Barbican chamber series appearing with Andre Previn and Yuri Bashmet. She has also appeared as guest leader of most of the UK’s orchestras. Her solo recordings include Dochnanyi’s second violin concerto (ASV) Delius first and second violin sonatas and Walton sonata (EMI) and Holst Song of the Night and double violin concerto (Naxos) She was a professor at the RCM from 1995-2010 and is currently a professor at the GSMD and a Governor of the Purcell School.

Chris Hopkins, Principal Conductor

Equally at home on the concert stage as in a theatre pit, conductor and pianist Chris Hopkins works across many disciplines from symphony concerts and opera to solo playing. He recently released his first solo album ‘Impressions I’, and performs concerto repertoire including Beethoven, Mozart, and Shostakovich piano concertos directed from the keyboard as well as many collaborations across various platforms with artists in all genres.

He is a frequent face at English National Opera, recently conducting a critically acclaimed run of Iolanthe. He has conducted more than 60 shows at the London Coliseum, including the company’s first production of The Yeomen of the Guard and a new Olivier Award-nominated production of HMS Pinafore, alongside La boheme, The Magic Flute, The Mikado, and more. He recently made his debuts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Grange Park Opera with a new 5-star production of Werther.

 He is principal conductor of English Sinfonia and Orchestra of the City and has worked at the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne Opera, with Garsington and Grange Park Opera, Opera de Paris, on record with English Chamber Orchestra, on other projects with Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Crash Ensemble, London Mozart Players, Birdgang Ltd, and appeared at many festivals including Aldeburgh, Presteigne, Cubitt Sessions and Latitude. Chris has performed throughout the UK, in the US, Asia and extensively in Europe as well as live and recorded appearances on BBC 1, 2 and 4, Classic FM, Scala, and BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4.

A long-term advocate for British music, Chris was the first post-graduate from the Centre for the History of Music in Britain, the Empire and the Commonwealth (CHOMBEC) before continuing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Leverhulme and Elton John scholarships. He has premiered works by composers including Colin Matthews, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, David Matthews, Rob Keeley, Thomas Hyde, Detlev Glanert, Gilad Hochman and the Pet Shop Boys. He continues into a twelfth season as Musical Director of Orchestra of the City. Chris was honoured in 2013 to be made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Sarah Ewins, Assistant Leader

Sarah began playing the violin at the age of ten. She graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1989, and continued her post-graduate studies with David Takeno and Grigory Zhislin.

As well as recording for radio and television, Sarah has given numerous recitals and concerto performances both in this country and abroad. In 1990 Sarah joined Sir Yehudi Menuhin in a performance of Bach's Three Violin concerto at the Royal Festival Hall. In 2002 Sarah joined the Halle Orchestra as Associate Leader and has appeared as Guest Leader with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Manchester Camerata.

She is Assistant Leader of the English Sinfonia with whom she recorded Holst's Double Violin Concerto. Passionate about chamber music, she is a founder member of the recently-formed and much-acclaimed Halle Soloists and also very much enjoys the work she does with the Education department at the Halle and as violin tutor for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Richard Blayden, Violin

Richard was fortunate to be born into a family near Southampton where music was much loved and at the forefront of life, whether heard live, on the radio or being practised or performed by himself or his brother. He first learned with Pearl Mace (MBE) whose infectious enthusiasm and encouragement helped instill a love for the violin and playing chamber music. This was later developed by studies with inspirational musicians such as Levon Chilingirian and particularly Lydia Mordkovitch, with whom Richard studied with scholarships at the Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Academy of Music and privately thanks to the Martin Trust.

Richard has a busy schedule both in chamber music and orchestrally. He was a member of the London Symphony Orchestra for 18 years, as well as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the London Mozart Players. Richard is now Sub-Leader of the English National Opera Orchestra.

Richard also has a love of period performance, and has played often with Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s English Baroque Soloists and Orchestra Revolutionnaire et Romantique as well as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Emma Curtis, Violin & Digital Marketing

After beginning the violin at the age of 11, Emma went on to gain a music scholarship to St. Francis College Girls School. She then went on to accept a four-year scholarship to study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff in 2014, where she studied with Lesley Hatfield and Darragh Morgan. Highlights during her studies at RWCMD included being principal for the RWCMD Opera Orchestra in their production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola, as well as being selected for the String Soloists Ensemble which lead to opportunities to work with Maestro Valery Gergiev, Stephanie Gonley and Mark Gothoni among others. Emma was also selected to take part in a joint collaboration with the Academy of Ancient Music on a tour of the Handel opera Semele in 2017. During her studies she became a member of Cardiff Sinfonietta, concerts included working with musicians such as Dame Evelyn Glennie, Elin Manahan-Thomas, and conductor Jac Van Steen.

In 2018 she accepted a two-year scholarship to study on the Orchestral Artistry Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in association with the London Symphony Orchestra, where she studied with Janice Graham. Highlights at GSMD include being Co-Principal 1st Violin in an open rehearsal with Marin Alsop as well as working with Michael Tilson-Thomas on Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements. Emma has also performed multiple times with the GSMD Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican with conductors Takuo Yuasa, Richard Farnes, Vassily Sinaisky and Roberto Gonzalez-Monjas.

Other prominent opportunities have included performing alongside the LSO at the Barbican with Sir Simon Rattle as well as being invited to perform as a Young Artist at the BMW LSO Trafalgar Square Concert in 2019. She has also worked alongside the LSO musicians during repertoire orchestra sessions working with conductors such as Dinis Sousa, Jack Sheen, Felix Mildenberger, Jonathan Bloxham and Stephanie Childress.

In August 2019 Emma was invited to perform as a Young Artist at the Chamber Music on Valentia Island Festival where she performed concerts alongside Darragh Morgan, Timothy Gill, Rosalind Ventris and Keith Pascoe.

Emma is currently a Junior Fellow at GSMD where she continues her studies under Janice Graham.

Andriy Viytovych, Viola

Born in Ukraine, Andriy Viytovych graduated from the Lviv Conservatory (Ukraine) and the International Menuhin Music Academy (Switzerland). His main influences were professors Alberto Lysy and Johannes Eskaer, his teachers and colleagues in concerto and chamber music recordings.

In 1996 Andriy came to London and joined the London Symphony Orchestra as Co-principal Viola. In year 2000 he was appointed Principal Viola of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In the same year Andriy Viytovych was given a post as a viola professor at the Royal College of Music in London.

Andriy Viytovych has also played principal viola with many orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta and the London Symphony Orchestra, working with eminent conductors including Mstislav Rostropovich, Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink and Sir Georg Solti. In March 2003 by invitation of Sir Simon Rattle Andriy came to Berlin to play principal viola with the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Sir Simon.

The musician has toured as a soloist and with Europe’s famous orchestras in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, France, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, USA and Argentina as well as appearing in the Solsona International Festival (Spain), Cortona Festival (Italy) and BBC Proms in London. His repertoire includes all major viola concertos, solo recitals, recitals with piano and chamber orchestras.

Andriy’s enthusiasm for chamber music has let to collaboration with different chamber groups including Camerata Lysy Gstaad, the London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players, Razumovsky Ensemble, Russian Chamber Orchestra of London and Soloists of the Royal Opera House. He is also a Principal viola of the English Sinfonia.

Joel Hunter, Viola

Born in the UK and a proud Yorkshireman, Joel somewhat unusually picked up the viola instead of the violin aged 7. Many years later, after eventually deciding music, not football, was a wiser choice of career, he ended up in London continuing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Since then, Joel has been performing all over the world with many leading orchestras and ensembles. 

Immediately after finishing his studies, Joel was appointed Co-Principal Viola with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow, moving on to the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm a few years later where, as Principal Viola, he worked until 2014. He is currently the principal violist of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, which he combines with a busy freelance career throughout Europe.

He has appeared as a Guest Principal Violist in most of the UK orchestras, including the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Philharmonic and Concert Orchestras, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Aurora, Royal Northern Sinfonia, as well as internationally with the Symphonie Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk, Bamberg Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.                     

As a chamber musician, Joel has performed with many eminent artists, including Christian Tetzlaff, Alisa Weilerstein, Pascal Roge, Mitzuko Uchida and Leif Ove Andsnes in concerts throughout the world. Recent recordings include the Korngold string sextet for Chandos.  He is a founding member of the Logos Chamber Group playing annually at the Joy Of Music Festival and International Piano Competition in Hong Kong. 

In 2001 he was made an ʻAssociate Member’ of the Royal Academy of Music in London (ARAM) for his services to the profession.

Nick Bootiman, Viola

Nicholas Bootiman attended the Purcell School, Royal College of Music, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and the New England Conservatory where his teachers were Kim Kashkashian, Milan Skampa, Ian Jewel and Andriy Viytovych.

Nicholas is frequently invited to guest lead viola sections throughout the country and abroad. As such he has appeared with Munich Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Aurora, and Royal Scottish National Orchestras, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Britten Sinfonia, Royal Northern Sinfonia and City of London Sinfonia. He currently plays as principal viola of Le Cercle de L’Harmonie, a Paris-based classical/romantic period instrument orchestra.

Concerto performances include Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Zsolt-Tihamer Visontay and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and Penderecki’s Viola Concerto with Boston Modern Orchestra Project. On disc he is a featured artist on a Grammy nominated recording of “Four Hymns for Tenor, Viola and Strings” by Vaughan Williams with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Daniel and Andrew Kennedy, which was also selected as Recording of the Year by John France on MusicWeb International and Album of the Week for ClassicFM. As a chamber musician, Nicholas often participates in festivals around UK and Europe, and has performed with Pinchas Zukerman, Julian Rachlin and Alexander Sitkovetsky.

As conductor, Nicholas has worked as assistant to Jérémie Rhorer on opera productions at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.

Julia Graham, Cello

Julia studied as a music scholar & prize winner at the Purcell School, Royal Academy of Music & then the Royal College of Music, learning with Dame Florence Hooton, David Strange and Steven Doane, respectively.

As well as being a long standing member of English Sinfonia, Julia Graham has been the principal cellist for Matthew Bourne’s productions since 2015. She’s also principal of The London Concert Orchestra, with whom she’s performed many solos, most notably the famous solo by Tan Dun from the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Chamber music is where Julia’s heart lies having performed with a range of groups in many venues including The Wigmore Hall & The Purcell Room, and with artists including Alison Balsom (trumpet), Vasko Vassilev (violin) and Alexei Volodin (piano). In the 2007 Brighton Festival, Julia’s performance of the Brahms cello sonatas with pianist Yoko Ono was nominated for the Best Classical Music Act.

Julia’s first position was with English National Opera before moving onto be the No.3 cello with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She then enjoyed some time in the world of the West End where she was the lead cellist for many shows including The Wizard of Oz, Evita & Miss Saigon.

Graham Mitchell, Double Bass

Graham is Principal Double Bass of English National Opera, Senior Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and regular bassist with the Nash Ensemble.

He was a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1998-2011 and works regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. As a guest principal, Graham has led most of the orchestras in the UK including the London Symphony Orchestra.

Graham has performed and recorded over the years with many soloists and chamber ensembles including Anthony Marwood, James Crabb, Pekka Kuusisto, and Imogen Cooper; the Florestan, Gould, and Kungsbacka Piano Trios, and the Belcea, Navarra, Elias, and Takacs Quartets.

In 2007 Graham was invited by Steven Isserlis to perform at the IMS Prussia Cove Chamber Festival followed by a national tour and concert at the Wigmore Hall. This resulted in IMS Prussia Cove winning the chamber prize at the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. His recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Paul Lewis and the Leopold String Trio is praised as “one of the finest modern Trouts available” (The Sunday Times).

Graham plays on a 1750 double bass attributed to Testore. He is extremely thankful to the Stradivari Trust for their support.

Katie Bedford, Flute

Katie Bedford is currently Co-Principal Flute with the English National Opera, a position that she has held since 2008 after graduating from the Royal College of Music with a First Class Honours degree and PGDip with Distinction the previous year. An enthusiastic teacher and educator, Katie has been Professor of Flute at RCM since 2008 and alongside her private teaching and examining, she enjoys giving masterclasses all over the UK and abroad.

In addition to her permanent positions, she is also in demand as Guest Principal Flute throughout the UK and worldwide. She has performed, toured and recorded extensively with all of the major London orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Mozart Players, English Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta and the Aurora Orchestra. Abroad she has appeared as a guest with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and regularly with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Working under Daniel Harding, she has also held the position of Principal Flute with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

As Principal Flute of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and subsequently the European Union Youth Orchestra, she was privileged to work with eminent conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink and Sir Simon Rattle. She was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music with Jaime Martin and Stewart McIlwham and also at the Staatliche Hochchule Für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart with Jean-Claude Gérard. During her training, Katie was winner of the British Flute Society’s Performance Plus Competition and the Yamaha Foundation Scholarship and was generously supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and The Drapers’ Company.

Katie avidly enjoys chamber music and regularly performs at the Wigmore Hall and at numerous International music festivals including Cheltenham, Aldeburgh, Salzburg, Lucerne and the BBC Proms. She has also worked extensively in the West End and on commercial sessions and can regularly be heard on television and films including The Crown and the Harry Potter films.

Other interests outside of music include yoga, interior design and spending time with her young family.

Phil Harmer, Oboe

On Leaving the Royal College of Music in 1992 Philip was appointed principal oboe with the English Sinfonia. Many solo performances with the Sinfonia include performances of concertos by Strauss, Mozart, Boughton, Vivaldi and the Bach Double concerto with Janice Graham.

Other guest principal work includes the London Philharmonic for a season at Glyndebourne, the ROH Covent Garden, ENO, CBSO, Philharmonia, RPO, WNO and the BBC orchestras. As well as his position with the English Sinfonia, Philip was also made Co-Principal oboe with the English Chamber Orchestra (since 1999) and Principal oboe with Wexford Opera (since 2017).

Films and TV drama soundtrack also make up a large part of his work and include Atonement, Wolf Hall, Father Brown and Judge John Deed.

Teaching is a passion for Philip and he holds positions at Kings Canterbury and the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music and also has also frequently taught and given classes at the RCM, Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Academy.

In 2017 Philip was made an Hon Associate of the Royal Academy for his services to music.

Fiona Cross, Clarinet

Fiona is one of the leading clarinettists of her generation. She has a varied career, combining chamber music with a solo career and playing guest principal clarinet with all the leading British orchestras. She is principal clarinet of the Manchester Camerata, and has performed concertos with the London philharmonic orchestra, the Bournemouth sinfonietta, Manchester Camerata and the English Sinfonia.

Fiona has performed chamber music with various ensembles including Vanbrugh and Alberni string quartets, Kegelstatt Trio, New Music Players, LPO Ensemble and Adderbury Ensemble. She was also invited to perform chamber music with Andras Schiff at his festival in Weimar.

She has also recorded Lefanu Concertino for Naxos, Horovitz concerto for Dutton, Simpson clarinet quintet for Hyperion and a virtuoso CD of clarinet and harp music for the Dinmore label. She takes a keen interest in promoting new music, and has commissioned many new works for clarinet and piano and clarinet and harp.

She has given many recitals in all the major venues in Britain, including London's South Bank centre, as well as performing in many of the country’s established music clubs and festivals.

Fiona is a professor of clarinet at Trinity College of Music, London.

Adam MacKenzie, Bassoon & Director of Outreach

Adam is the Principal Bassoonist of Opera North, a position he has held since December 2017.

After leaving the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2004, Adam has studied in Milan (Accademia del Teatro alla Scala) with Valentino Zucchiatti and with Dag Jensen in Hanover before settling down to a 12-year freelance career.

In that time, whilst living in London, Adam worked with most UK orchestras and chamber orchestras but, remarkably, had very little to do with opera. He is making up for this oversight now.

Adam has been an active chamber musician. As a member of the New London Chamber Ensemble he played at the Wigmore Hall with pianist Angela Hewitt, performed Berio’s Opus Zoo choreographed and from memory, and recorded works by Lenox Berkeley (Naxos). As a member of Chamber Domaine, Adam has performed Rossini’s Giovanna d’Arco for an installation by Anish Kapoor, recorded Britten’s Sinfonietta and Bridge’s There is a Willow Aslant a Brook (Resonus)and given performances of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale to hundreds of children. Adam has also played this Faustian cabaret piece from memory whilst acting in a fully staged production at the Old Vic Theatre, London.

Adam is passionate about contemporary music and has a particular interest in the use of improvisation in composition. Adam was part of the team who created a modern perspective on Purcell’s King Arthur with Peter Weigold and Club Inegales in London’s Wilton’s Music Hall and in 2014 went on tour to India with the Britten Sinfonia and world leading sarod player Amjad Ali Khan.

Adam’s interest in the freedom improvisation brings has led him to take a serious involvement in music education. As Director of Education for English Sinfonia and Brandenburg Sinfonia Adam has devised and delivered composition projects up and down the country with seasoned professionals and non-musicians alike, narrated Peter and the Wolf many times with groups such as London Mozart Players and Sinfonia ViVA (of which he was a member for some years) and brought together over 800 children for a massed concert in Fairfield Hall. He currently teaches at Chetham’s School of Music.

Adam lives outside Leeds with his headteacher wife and two children. He likes running, hiking and avoiding Lego left on the floor

Nicholas Korth, Horn and Composer in Residence

Nicholas Korth, “subtlest of first horns”, has held the position of Co-principal Horn with the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 2000. In this capacity he has performed in many ‘Prom’ concerts at the Royal Albert Hall (including several first and last nights), toured throughout the world and been involved in numerous radio and TV broadcasts. Recent highlights include the obligato horn part in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall under Oramo, and Fourth Symphony at the Proms and the Edinburgh Festival under Bychkov.

Alongside his role as Principal Horn of the English Sinfonia, he has recently been appointed as Composer in Residence.

Nicholas appears regularly as guest principal horn with many of Britain’s major orchestras and chamber ensembles and is active on the London film session scene.

As a member of the London Conchord Ensemble he has performed much of his own music, recorded extensively and toured in the USA and Europe, playing in venues such as the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and London’s Wigmore Hall.

He first had lessons with his mentor, the distinguished horn soloist Ifor James, at the age of eleven. Four years later he joined Ifor in Germany for a further five years study at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg. He has also worked in Norway as a member of the Oslo Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons in the early nineties, and was Principal Horn of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia from 1997 to 2000.

As a composer, Nicholas has a fascination with the world of natural harmony. This is reflected in his series of compositions, Harmoniae Naturales, which feature the extraordinary sounds of overtone singing.

He lives in Hertfordshire with violinist Deborah Schlenther and their family.