Kathryn Stott
England
My musical journey began at the age of five with the upright piano in our living room, and by eight, I was studying at the Yehudi Menuhin School. Influences from Nadia Boulanger and Vlado Perlmuter sparked my deep love for French music, particularly Fauré.
I later studied at the Royal College of Music in London, which led swiftly to a professional career via the Leeds International Piano Competition. After a few intense years as a soloist, I returned to chamber music — a form I’ve loved since childhood — to reconnect with fellow musicians.
A chance meeting with Yo-Yo Ma in 1978 began a long-standing collaboration that continues to take us around the world, sharing musical traditions across cultures. I’ve always enjoyed curating festivals and creating exciting musical settings, from the Australian Festival of Chamber Music to the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival.
I currently teach at the Royal Northern College of Music and remain passionate about working with young musicians. Music has given me the privilege of global storytelling — from major stages to classrooms — and the journey, like my curiosity, continues.
Lars Anders Tomter
Norway
Hailed as “The Giant of the Nordic Viola” (*The Strad*), Lars Anders Tomter is one of the most distinguished violists of our time. Born in Hamar, Norway, he studied violin and viola with Professor Leif Jørgensen, later refining his craft under Max Rostal and Sándor Végh. Tomter gained international recognition after winning prestigious viola competitions in Budapest and Lille in the 1980s.
Tomter has performed with leading orchestras worldwide, including the BBC Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic, under conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniele Gatti and Krzysztof Penderecki.
Tomter is a regular guest at prominent festivals like the BBC Proms, Schleswig-Holstein, and Verbier, and serves as artistic director of Norwegian Fjord Classics. A professor at the State Academy in Oslo, he performs on a rare Gasparo da Salò viola from 1590.
Winfried Rademacher
Germany
Winfried Rademacher and his Linos Ensemble were awarded the ECHO KLASSIK in 2017, recognizing an unparalleled career on the international stage and in the recording studio.
He has appeared as both a chamber musician and soloist at festivals such as the Berlin Festival, Mostly Mozart in New York, the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, and the Shanghai Festival. Steven Isserlis regularly invites him to his IMS Festival in England, most recently for a tour with Elisabeth Leonskaja and Istvan Vardai at Wigmore Hall.
Many of his recordings have won awards, including world premiere recordings of violin concertos by Max Reger and Alban Berg arranged by Rudolf Kolisch.
He has held concertmaster positions with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Claudio Abbado, the Munich Philharmonic under Sergiu Celibidache, as well as with chamber orchestras such as Camerata Salzburg and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, where he also conducted from the concertmaster’s chair.
His mentors include Josef Suk, Nathan Milstein and Sándor Végh.
As a professor of violin and viola, he taught at the Lübeck Academy of Music before moving to Trossingen. He also teaches at the Basel Academy of Music.
Mathias Beyer-Karlshøj
Denmark/Germany
Mathias Beyer-Karlshøj was born in Herdecke 1970, Germany. He took his first cello lessons at the age of seven and three years later was accepted at the Folkwang Musikhochschule in the special class for the gifted. In 1986 he moved to Aarhus, Denmark and finished school with a thesis on J.S. Bach’s ”Kunst der Fuge”. In 1990 he entered The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where he studied first with Henrik Brendstrup and then with prof. Thorleif Thedeén.
Since 1994, Beyer-Karlshøj has been a permanent member of the German Henschel Quartett in Munich, which has toured most of the world over the years. The Henschel Quartet has had its own festivals in Seligenstadt near Frankfurt since 1996, and also at Herlufsholm Castle since 2018, both with him as artistic director.
Alongside chamber music, orchestral playing has also always been of great importance to Beyer-Karlshøj and since 2016 an intensified collaboration with Copenhagen Phil. Mathias Beyer-Karlshøj has lived with his family in Copenhagen since 1990.
Cecilia Zilliacus
Sweden
Cecilia Zilliacus is a prominent Swedish violinist known for her close collaborations with composers, many of whom have written works specifically for her. She performs regularly with internationally renowned musicians, conductors, and ensembles, and her extensive discography includes several acclaimed recordings.
As a soloist, Zilliacus has appeared with most major Swedish orchestras, as well as numerous leading symphony orchestras across the Nordic countries and Europe.
She serves as artistic director of Katrina Chamber Music on Åland and previously held the same position at the Korsholm Music Festival in Vaasa, Finland (2018–2022). Alongside cellist Kati Raitinen, she also curates the popular chamber music series Äntligen måndag (“Monday, at last”) at Stockholm’s Konserthuset.
Zilliacus is a founding member of the Zilliacus Quartet, widely recognized as one of Sweden’s leading chamber music ensembles.
She is professor of violin at both the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. A member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, she performs on a Nicola Gagliano violin generously loaned by the Järnåker Foundation.
Thomas Darelius
Denmark
Thomas Darelius, born 1962, studied at The royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark, with professor Knud E. Sorensen from 1979 to 1987. He finished with a notable debut from the soloist class. From 1988 to 1989 he studied at the Moscow Conservatory with the well-known pianist Tatiana Nikolaieva.
He entered the final round and took a prize at 2 piano competitions. His concert activities includes performances with orchestras, solo recitals, chamber music, accompanying singers and playing with The royal danish Ballet.
He works as associated professor at The royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen as coach and accompanist for singing students. He also coaches singers in russian language.
Manuel Esperilla
Spain
Manuel Esperilla, trained in both Madrid and Copenhagen, is one of Denmark’s most sought-after pianists in classical and contemporary music. As pianist in the contemporary music ensemble Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen, he has played the Danish premiere of Pierre Boulez’ Dérive 2, been soloist in Hans Abrahamsen’s piano concerto when the composer received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 2019, and recorded Niels Rosing-Schow’s right-hand piano concerto All Right!? dedicated to him and the ensemble. Other recordings with the ensemble include works by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Ole Buck and Mogens Christensen.
He is a member of the quartet Rudersdal Kammersolister, an instrumentally flexible quartet specializing in classical and contemporary music, collaborating with internationally renowned composers such as Giya Kancheli, Elena Firsova, Dmitri Smirnov, Lera Auerbach, Jesper Holmen and Poul Ruders. The ensemble has premiered and recorded several albums of chamber music by Poul Ruders, Elena Firsova and Dimitri Smirnov.
Manuel has been employed as an accompanist at the Royal Danish Academy of Music since 2009.
