|
|
Founder - Cassandra Hutchings
Viola player, Cassandra Hutchings, currently enjoys an exciting performing career with professional orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Cassandra is a passionate teacher of violin and viola, a widely experienced chamber musician and performs solo recitals throughout the UK. Cassandra has recently played chamber music recitals with internationally acclaimed violinists such as Nicola Benedetti, Madeline Mitchell and Hannah Tarley. She has performed for the Prime Minister, Theresa May at Lancaster House and also at Buckingham Palace for Prince Charles. She has performed with many leading conductors, including Sir Colin Davis, Sir Mark Elder and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Cassandra’s performances are regularly featured on Classical FM, including a recent recital of Mozart piano sextets with pianist Arsha Kavaini. Cassandra gained a Bachelor of Music from the Royal Academy of Music and was a scholar at the Royal College of Music where she graduated with a Masters in Performance. Whilst studying at the Royal College of Music, her chamber group won the Chamber Music Competition and, as a consequence invited to perform a recital at the Royal Festival Hall and performed as the main feature for Benjamin Britten’s centenary celebration. Cassandra won the North London Music Competition. She was sponsored by the Abbado Trust who helped her to buy her Cremonese, Carletti viola circa 1920. In 2014 Cassandra’s trio won a place on the Mentorship at Kings Place Chamber Studio. The trio went on to perform recitals throughout the UK, including at the Purcell Room, St James’ Piccadilly, Kings Place, the V & A Museum and the Tate Britain. Cassandra started her teaching career while she was still studying at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music, where she was invited to teach violin, viola and chamber music. Whist teaching at the Junior Royal Academy of Music Cassandra worked alongside top musicians, and received a thorough grounding in teaching. Cassandra currently teaches at Highgate School, Greenwich Music School and East Dulwich Violin School, which she founded in 2018. www.eastdulwichviolinschool.co.uk ~ eastdulwichviolinschool@gmail.com 
Accompanist and piano teacher - Waka Hasegawa
B Mus (Hons), LRAM, DipGSMD, ARAM Having established a successful career as an internationally acclaimed piano duo "Piano 4 Hands" with the British pianist Joseph Tong, Waka is also much in demand as a soloist. She has given recitals in various venues in UK, America, Europe and Japan as well as giving broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, BBC World Service and WFMT Radio Chicago. Also as a chamber musician she has worked with various musicians including players from BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Wales Symphony Orchestra. Waka also enjoys performing new works and has worked with many composers including Dai Fujikura, Nicola LeFanu, John McCabe, Edwin Roxburgh and many more to name. Her solo album, 'Undiscovered Piano Works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor' from Naxos has attracted worldwide interest The album has been featured in the “New Release Show with David Mellor” on Classic FM Radio as an album of the week in addition to being played on various radio stations worldwide. Waka came to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music with Piers Lane with major scholarship and then at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Joan Havill where she won most of the major prizes for pianists. During this time she was awarded many prizes and scholarships including Sidney Perry Foundation Award from the KPMG/Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, generous assistance from the Craxton Memorial Trust. Since making her acclaimed London South Bank solo debut, she then went to win 3rd Prize in the 2000 British Contemporary Piano Competition as well as having both live and recorded performances broadcasted on BBC Radio 3, BBC World Service, WFMT Radio Chicago. Waka was made Associates of the Royal Academy of Music in 2008. Together with her piano duo partner Joseph Tong Piano 4 Hands is widely regarded as one of Britain's leading piano duos. Their debut CD of Debussy duets on the Quartz label was Album of the Week in The Independent and highly recommended in BBC Music Magazine and the Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music. Their CD recordings of Schubert and John McCabe (both duo and solo piano works) have received similar critical acclaim in publication such as International Piano and Gramophone. Waka Hasegawa www.wakahasegawa.com Piano 4 Hands www.piano4hands.com Administration manager - Suzanne Churcher
Suzanne worked for many years in financial services and public relations, dealing with high network clients. Suzanne now runs the administration department of East Dulwich Violin School. |
RSS Feed
