Violinist Alexi Kenney is forging a career that defies categorization, following his interests, intuition, and heart.
He is equally at home creating experimental programs and commissioning new works, soloing with major orchestras around the world, and collaborating with some of the most celebrated musicians of our time. Alexi is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.
Highlights of Alexi’s 2023/24 season include appearing as soloist with the Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee Symphonies, leading a program of his own creation with the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and debuting a new iteration of his project Shifting Ground at the Baryshnikov Arts Center and the Ojai Festival, in collaboration with the new media and video artist Xuan. Shifting Ground intersperses seminal works for solo violin by J.S. Bach with pieces by Matthew Burtner, Mario Davidovsky, Nicola Matteis, Kaija Saariaho, Paul Wiancko, and Du Yun, as well as new commissions by composers Salina Fisher and Angélica Negrón.
In recent seasons, Alexi has soloed with the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Detroit Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, and l’Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, as well as in a play-conduct role as guest leader of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He has played recitals at Wigmore Hall, on Carnegie Hall’s ‘Distinctive Debuts’ series, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, 92nd Street Y, Mecklenberg-Vorpommern Festival, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Winner of the 2013 Concert Artists Guild Competition and laureate of the 2012 Menuhin Competition, Alexi has been profiled by Musical America, Strings Magazine, and The New York Times, and has written for The Strad.
Chamber music continues to be a major part of Alexi’s life, regularly performing at festivals including Caramoor, ChamberFest Cleveland, Chamber Music Northwest, Kronberg, La Jolla, Ojai, Marlboro, Music@Menlo, Ravinia, Seattle, and Spoleto. He is a founding member of Owls—an inverted quartet hailed as a “dream group” by The New York Times—alongside violist Ayane Kozasa, cellist Gabe Cabezas, and cellist-composer Paul Wiancko. Alexi is also an alum of the Bowers Program (formerly CMS 2) at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Born in Palo Alto, California in 1994, Alexi is a graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he received an Artist Diploma as a student of Miriam Fried and Donald Weilerstein. Previous mentors in the Bay Area include Wei He, Jenny Rudin, and Natasha Fong. He plays a violin made in London by Stefan-Peter Greiner in 2009 and a bow by François-Nicolas Voirin.
Outside of music, Alexi enjoys hojicha, modernist design and architecture, baking for friends (especially this lumberjack cake), and walking for miles on end in whichever city he finds himself, listening to podcasts and Bach on repeat.
Polish violinist Maria Włoszczowska is recognised for her versatile musicianship, performing as soloist, director/concertmaster, and chamber musician.
Pablo Hernán Benedí was born in Madrid, and began studying at the Padre Antonio Soler Conservatory in San Lorenzo de El Escorial with Polina Kotliarskaya. In 2009 he moved to London to continue his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with David Takeno and András Keller and was supported by scholarships from the MMSF, Juventudes Musicales and La Caixa. Since the age of 14, Pablo has had regular contacts with Gordan Nikolic who helped shape and nurture his development.
Audience Prize Winner at the Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition
in 2022. As the winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition, Edvard performed the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations at David Geffen Hall in New York and at the Harris Theater in Chicago with the Juilliard Orchestra under the direction of Itzhak Perlman.
Born in France in 1988, Hélène Clément has learned to combine her proud love for french wine with the cheese delicacies found in England when she moved to London in 2013. Her ferocious enthusiasm and thirst for the chamber music and viola repertoire leads her to constantly expand her musical horizons by performing with a wide range of different collaborations, playing in the most prestigious concert halls in Europe and around the World.
Isidora Timotijević was born in Belgrade, Serbia in 1997 and received her first violin lessons at the age of seven. At the age of 14 she changed to the viola and was tutored by Tomislav Milosevic. Since 2015, she has been studying at the MozarteumUniversity Salzburg with Professor Thomas Riebl. She also receives a scholarship from the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein, where she regularly participates in concerts and masterclasses.
Born in 1988 in Barcelona, Pau Codina started his cello studies at the age of 5 with Eulàlia Subirà (Manlleu, Barcelona). He is a graduate of the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, where he studied with Louise Hopkins and Gary Hoffman.
Tim recently completed his undergraduate degree with Alexander Janiczek at the Guildhall School of Music in London where he was awarded a Concert Recital Diploma and the Lord Mayor’s Prize for the highest mark across the music department, and was subsequently invited to return as a Chamber Fellow.
Born to two violinist parents, Tim attended the Royal Academy of Music from the age of 4. He was also a chorister at the Temple Choir in London, and head chorister for his final two year, recording disks for both Signum and Decca labels. Starting his first serious string quartet in 2011, the Celan Quartet, he has been a regular at many of the chamber festivals both in the UK and abroad. Now a member of the Barbican Quartet, who recently won the Royal Philharmonic Society Eugenie Frost Music Prize, as well as support from the Hattori Foundation and winning the St James’ Chamber Music Prize.
Tim has attended the IMS Prussia Cove masterclasses since he turned 18, and in 2018 was invited to play on the IMS Open Chamber Music Tour, ending at the Wigmore Hall in London, alongside artists such as Adrian Brendel and Las Anders Tomter. Tim has performed alongside artists such as Steven Isserlis, Lawrence Power, Alexi Kenney, Philippe Graffin, Amy Norrington, Alasdair Beatson, Bengt Forsberg, Timothy Ridout, Paolo Giacometti. He is a regular of Musikdorf Ernen, IMS Prussia Cove, Lewes Chamber Festival and and looks forward to attending the West Wycombe Chamber Festival and Resonances festivals this year. He has also recently been asked to lead the new string ensemble set up by Lawrence Power, Collegium. Tim plays a Ferdinand Gagliano, c.1770.
Vigo violinist Joel Bardolet is a unique musician. With obvious aptitudes and exultant musicality, his particular way of approaching key works from the universal repertoire has earned him a prominent place in the current panorama of Central European orchestras and chamber ensembles, with which he regularly collaborates, either as a concertino or as a soloist.
Maja Horvat communicates the spiritual power of music through her performances, offering joy and comfort which enable her audience members to develop their own unique and meaningful connection with the Arts. She explores the full range of magic and versatility of which the violin is capable through her work as a soloist, chamber musician and in collaboration with ensembles, orchestras and composers all over the world. While constantly exploring masterpieces of all eras, Maja’s true passion is giving contemporary works a good start in life and finding fresh resonance in lesser-known gems of 20th-century repertoire.
Recognized by the critics as one of the most exciting talents of his generation, Marc Heredia began playing piano at the age of three and studied with professors Dimitri Bashkirov, Claudio Martínez Mehner, and Denis Lossev in the “Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia” and “Hochschule für Musik Basel”.
Kristina Edin grew up in a family of musicians on a small island outside of Gothenburg in Sweden. She recieved her Bachelor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Rinat Ibragimov, continued by studies with Matthew McDonald at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. After having finished her academies in Konzerthausorchester Berlin and NDR Hannover, Kristina first worked one year as the principal double bassist in the Bielefelder Philharmoniker, followed by one year as the principal double bassist in the Dortmunder Philharmoniker.
Michel Camille has been engaged as the Esbjerg Ensemble’s viola player since 1995 and from 1997 – 2001 presided as the Ensemble’s Artistic Director. In 1999 Michel founded the annual Esbjerg International Chamber Music Festival and as its Artistic and Administrative Director, has collaborated with Denmark’s most notable composers and invited chamber musicians and soloists from all over the world.
Kristoffer Nyholm Hyldig, a talented musician from Denmark, captivated audiences with his debut concert at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2010. Under the guidance of Professor Niklas Sivelöv and Tove Lønskov, he showcased his remarkable skills and left a lasting impression. Since then, Hyldig has become a prominent figure in the Danish music scene, enthralling listeners as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist at various music societies and festivals.
It was a bit scary in the beginning to find out that it is not that easy to play the bassoon. Like, I played the first month on a plastic reed I found in the case of the music school instrument and was advancing really quickly. I was naturally in my mind on my way to become the next genius superstar of the bassooning, the one that would just change the way we think about everything in life. Then it hit me that there is a number of tone exercises, study pieces and scales to play and a huge number of wooden mouthpieces to make yourself before I could actually even dream about any kind of professional musician’s life. The instrument case started to feel really heavy and I became very upset for a moment.
By the following weeks and months I was still in a way curious to find out how one actually could produce tone, a phrase, different sounds on this strange instrument so I kept playing it every now and then, not really much though. The lucky part for me really was that at already a very early stage of my bassoon hobby, after some months of struggle,
I met new friends, teachers and other musicians among some colleagues-to-be with whom I was immediately able to relate in terms of enthusiasm, joy of playing and the way you think about your art and music. Knowing that someone shared my views and likes to do things that I like as well was a powerful experience that made the technical limit so much more bearable. I think I chose art as a way of life rather than I chose the instrument, but I feel very happy that I ended up playing the bassoon as my main thing, it might be the form of art that I in a very personal level enjoy the most.
Born in Bucharest in 1999, David Daniel Dinu is an oboe player based in Copenhagen.
Kerstin Thiele has been a member of the Esbjerg Ensemble since 1986.
“It was a fortunate coincidence that led me to start playing the flute. My sister and father were part of the local brass band, and when they needed a flute player, I gladly took on the position.”
Kerstin is a board member, appointed by her fellow musicians. She pursued her studies with solo flutist Toke Lund Christiansen at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and Professor Andre Jaunet in Zurich.
In addition to her role in the Esbjerg Ensemble, Kerstin Thiele actively participates in the music scene both domestically and internationally. She also serves as a teacher at the South Jutland Academy of Music.
Ron Chen-Zion has been a member of Esbjerg Ensemble since 1993.
“When I was 11, I happened to get the mail one day and found among them an advertisement that read: “Learn to play an instrument inonly three months”.
When I subsequently turned up at the music school, they only had one instrument for loan: the clarinet. We were two students who had to share the instrument and because we had clarinet lessons onThursdays, the other student and I each had the clarinet three days a week”.Ron Chen-Zion began his studies with Richard Lesser of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 1986 he moved to the US where he continued his studies and graduated from the New England Conservatory.
In 1990, Ron Chen–Zion was appointed solo clarinetist atThe State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra. As achamber musician, he has quite frequently been invited to Rudolf Serkins Marlboro Music Festival in the United States and has performed in most of Europe, Israel and the Americas. Ron Chen-Zion has recorded several CDs, including one highly praised rendering of Max Regers’ pieces for clarinet and piano.
Joke Wijma has been a member of Esbjerg Ensemble since 2005.
“Playing Peter Maxwell Davies’ “Sea Eagle” for solo horn outdoors, while a bird of prey show took place, has been the most remarkable experience I have had with the Ensemble.”
After studying with Frank Brouns and Hans Dullarert at the Conservatory in Groningen, Joke Wijma continued her studies at the Hochschule for Music and Theatre in Hamburg, where the Dutch hornist Ab Koster was professor.
After graduating in 2004, she continued her studies with Koster as well as working with the Duisburger Philharmoniker as an intern.
Mikkel Egelund Nielsen and Simon Wildau met during their studies at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark. In 2009 Mikkel and Simon formed the AROS guitar duo to play a number of concerts in Bergen and since then, they have played numerous concerts in Denmark and abroad. Both Simon and Mikkel have won prestigious awards as soloists and as a duo at international competitions including the 1st prize at Omiš Guitar Fest (Croatia), 1st prize at Fiuggi International Guitar Festival (Italy) , 2nd prize at the Acerra International Guitar Competition (Italy) and most recently 1st prize at Liechtensteiner Gitarrentage 2018 (Liechtenstein). In 2017, they received the special prize for the best performance of a new Danish work at the P2 chamber music competition, where they performed John Frandsens guitar duo “Twilight”.
Christian Martinez commenced his percussion studies in his home town of Cali in Columbia. Later followed studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and at Rogaland Music Conservatory in Stavanger. In 1996 he graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, the same year he became a member of Esbjerg Ensemble.
Christian Martínez has participated as a chamber musician and soloist at several festivals and concerts in Scandinavia,Europe, USA, Latin America and Taiwan. Most recently at the Nordic Music Days Festival in 2010, Athelas New Music Festival in 2011, Percussion Plus Festival Aarhus in 2012 and Kalliokuninkala Festival in 2012 and Percussion Plusin 2014, both in Finland. In January 2014, Esbjerg Ensemble collaborated with “the king” of baritones, Omar Ebrahim, in the first Scandinavian performance of György Kurtágs, “Pas a pas, nulle-part” for baritone, string trio and percussion.
In the year 2010, Christian Martinez released his first soloCD “Rhythmical Séance” with Per Nørgård’s I Ching as well as pieces by Ivar Frounberg and Ejnar Kanding. The collaboration with Nørgård led to 2 new pieces included in this CD: a concerto for percussion and ensemble called Three Scenes as well as Arabesques I, II, III (2011) for solo percussion. Both pieces are dedicated to Christian Martínez and Esbjerg Ensemble.
Daniel began his studies in earnest at Abingdon School as a music scholar, before attending Durham University. Having achieved a first class degree in music he moved to London to study with Alexander Boyarsky at the Royal College of Music and subsequently with Louise Hopkins. Within six months of completing his postgraduate studies Daniel had been appointed a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
His RPO career spanned almost ten years under the directorship of two great maestros; Daniele Gatti and Charles Dutoit, and included numerous tours of North America and Europe as well as visits to China, Korea and Japan.
In 2012 Daniel was thrilled to be offered the position of Principal Cello with Royal Northern Sinfonia and is now very proud to call the North East his home. He lives in Tynemouth minutes from Longsands beach where he indulges his new found interest in surfing.
Daniel remains a cellist in demand as a both chamber and orchestral musician and works regularly in London with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, particularly during the Proms season.
He has appeared with Sting as principal cello of the European leg of the Symphonicities tour and with Danish art-rockers Efterklang as well as making regular appearances with composer Anna Meredith’s eclectic band Horsebox.
Daniel plays a distinctive modern Italian cello by Guillermo Rossi, made in Pavia in 1925.