Magnus Johnston, Nadia Wijzenbeek  - violin
Jennifer Stumm, Tom Hankey   - viola
Guy Johnston, Marie Macleod   - cello
Tom Poster   - piano

The Aronowitz Ensemble was formed out of the desire of seven brilliant young international artists to explore and perform chamber music together in the highly adaptable combination of string sextet and piano. Since its sell-out debut at St John's Smith Square, the ensemble has had a busy schedule of engagements across the UK and beyond, including performances at the Aldeburgh, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Chichester, City of London, Newbury and Spoleto Festivals; the Wigmore Hall, St George's Bristol and Queen's University Belfast; and, following Artists' Residencies at Snape Maltings, the inaugural Aldeburgh Residencies tour in 2006.

As current members of the BBC's prestigious New Generation Artists scheme, the Aronowitz Ensemble's performances are regularly featured on BBC Radio 3. Recent performances include concerts at the Wigmore Hall, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, the Sage, Gateshead, and in Glasgow., as well as concerts at the Tetbury Festival and a residence at the Two Moors Festival. Forthcoming engagements include the Bath and City of London Festivals. In addition to its wide-ranging repertoire of chamber works for strings and piano (including several world and UK premieres), the ensemble enjoys collaborations with artists such as Nicholas Daniel, James Gilchrist, Yvonne Howard, Andrew Kennedy, Tasmin Little, Gwilym Simcock and Ailish Tynan. The ensemble has made several studio recordings for the BBC, including works by Brahms, Fauré, Schoenberg, Shostakovich and Strauss, and recently recorded Barber's Dover Beach with Gerald Finley for Hyperion.

Magnus Johnston began his musical education as a chorister of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, with which he toured all over the world. He won a scholarship to Chetham's School of Music in Manchester where he studied with professor Wen Zhou Li, and then gained a scholarship to the RNCM where he studied with Dr Christopher Rowland. Magnus was a founding member of the Johnston Quartet (now the Elias Quartet) with which he played for five years; he led the quartet in performances across the UK, most notably in the 2001 Schubertfest where the quartet were joined by Ralph Kirshbaum to perform Schubert's String Quintet. Magnus also led the quartet to win second prize in the London String Quartet Competition, where they won the special prize for their performance of Dutilleux's Ainsi La Nuit. Magnus is the founder and leader of the Aronowitz Ensemble. He plays a Hieronymus II Amati violin, made possible by the unbelievable support of his parents and many other investors.

Dutch violinist Nadia Wijzenbeek enjoys an international career as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. She made concerto debuts in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam in 1999 and the Royal Albert Hall in 2004 with the Dutch Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. She has since returned to the Concertgebouw a number of times with orchestras such as the National State Orchestra of the Ukraine. Recent engagements include recital debuts in Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, Rudolfinum Prague, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Moscow and St Petersburg as well as chamber music and concerto engagements in London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Nizhny Novgorod, Warsaw, Riga and the Delft Chamber Music Festival. As an avid chamber musician Nadia is a member of the acclaimed Lendvai String Trio with whom she performs regularly in major European venues and festivals. Nadia was recently appointed Concertmaster of the Magogo Chamber Orchestra in the Netherlands, where she regularly appears as a soloist.

Violist Jennifer Stumm is internationally recognized as a musical innovator and dynamic advocate for her instrument. Recent highlights include her Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and Ravinia Festival debuts with additional engagements in London, Montreal, Amsterdam, Denver, Ontario and her debut recording for Naxos of 19th century Italian works by Alessandro Rolla. Apart from her work with the Aronowitz Ensemble, Jennifer is a regular participant in chamber music festivals worldwide, including Marlboro, Verbier, Spoleto, and IMS Prussia Cove, and her collaborative partners have included members of the Beaux Arts Trio, Guarneri, Juilliard, Vermeer and Alban Berg Quartets. Ms. Stumm is the winner of three major international competitions: Concert Artists Guild, where she took First Prize, the first solo violist to do so in that competition's long history; and the William Primrose and Geneva Competitions. An Atlanta native, Jennifer attended the Curtis Institute of Music as a pupil of Karen Tuttle and also pursued interests in politics and astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. She currently divides her time between musical commitments in the US and Europe.

Tom Hankey studied the violin with David Takeno, Krzysztof Smietana, Levon Chilingirian and Yossi Zivoni. As a chamber musician he has performed at major concert halls and festivals in Europe. He is a member of the Na Mara Ensemble which specializes in the repertoire for string trio and piano quartet. The group is one of the winners of the 2005 Tunnell Trust prize, a 2006 Kirckman Concert Society prize and the 2006 Royal Over-Seas League chamber music prize. As a soloist he has performed concertos by Beethoven (Triple Concerto), Prokofiev, Mendelssohn, Bruch, Mozart, Bach and Vivaldi. Tom performed a solo work for viola in the 2005 BBC Proms and he has been supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Abbado Trust and the South Square Trust.

Guy Johnston's international career blossomed after making an extraordinary debut at the BBC Proms performing the Elgar Cello Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin. Forthcoming orchestral highlights include concerts with Northern Sinfonia/Ticciati, Philharmonia/Stephen Cleobury, DSO Berlin/Valchua, Royal Philharmonic /Handley, RLPO/Ticciati City of Birmingham Youth Orchestra/Brabbins and a UK tour with St. Petersburg Symphony/Dmitriev. Chamber Music highlights include the Wigmore Hall, Berlin, Louvre, City of London Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bridgewater Hall, Moritzburg, Delft and Music in Great Irish Houses. Guy studied with Steven Doane at the Eastman College of Music in Rochester, New York, with Steven Isserlis at IMS Prussia Cove and with Ralph Kirshbaum in the UK. Awards includea BRIT award for Best British Newcomer in 2002 (for the recording of Karl Jenkins' Armed Man - Mass of Peace, Virgin Classics) and BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2000.

At the age of seventeen, British cellist Marie Macleod won the Eastbourne Young Musician of the Year; she went on to win the string section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year, the Royal Over-Seas League competition, the Suggia Gift for Cello and the Bronze Medal in the Shell/LSO competition. As cellist in the award-winning Lendvai String Trio, Marie has performed in major concert halls throughout Europe, and as recitalist with duo partner, pianist Martin Sturfält, Marie regularly gives recitals at festivals throughout Britain and Sweden and has recorded for Swedish Radio. She has appeared as soloist with many orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra, and her performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, Dutch Radio 4, BBC 2 and Swedish Radio. In May 2006 she was appointed principal cellist of the Västerås Sinfonietta. Marie studied with Louise Hopkins, David Takeno, Frans Helmerson and Steven Isserlis.

Winner of First Prize at the 2007 Scottish International Piano Competition, Tom Poster has performed concertos with the BBC Philharmonic/Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/James Loughran, China National Symphony Orchestra/En Shao, Southbank Sinfonia/Vladimir Ashkenazy, St Petersburg State Capella Philharmonic and European Union Chamber Orchestra. He has given solo recitals at the Barbican Hall, St John's Smith Square and at festivals in Brighton, Edinburgh, Windsor and Spoleto, and has performed chamber music at the Wigmore and Bridgewater Halls and the Louvre Auditorium. Tom appears regularly on BBC Radio 3 and has recorded works by Thomas Adès for EMI. He has collaborated with the Brodsky, Endellion and Medici Quartets, and gives regular duo recitals with Guy Johnston. Earlier competition successes include winning the keyboard sections of the Royal Over-Seas League and BBC Young Musician of the Year Competitions in 2000. Born in 1981, Tom studied at King's College, Cambridge and at the Guildhall School with Joan Havill, and is also a successful composer.

General Management: Aminah Domloge, Pro Artist

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