Ruta Vaytkute is a professional flutist based in London.
Ruta’s musical life began in Kaliningrad, Russia at the Glier music school where her teacher was Lebedeva Tatiana. Later she continued her studies at the Central music school under Moscow state Tchaikovsky conservatory with professor Alexander Golyshev, graduating from it with honor degree. In 2024 Ruta has completed her bachelor degree at the Royal academy of music and today she is a final year student of a master degree at the Royal academy of music, London. Ruta’s teachers at the Academy were William Bennett, Samuel Coles, Keith Bragg, Lisa Beznosiuk.
Besides Ruta’s professional musical education she also attended many masterclasses with world famous musicians such as Denis Bouriakov, Julie Stewart-Lafin, Julien Beaudiment, Felix Renggli, Marina Piccinini, Silvia Careddu, Emily Beynon, Stefan Hoskuldsson, Emmanuel Pahud, Lorna McGhee, Paul Edmund-Davies, Vincent Lukas. Ruta was lucky to be chosen by sir James Galway to be his student for more than 6 years since her age of 12.
Today Ruta is a successful freelance musician performing in world famous venues as a soloist and in chamber collaborations too. During past 6 years Ruta performed in The Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Musicverein (Vienna, Austria), Berliner Philharmonie (Berlin, Germany), Mariinsky Theatre (St.Petersburg, Russia), Zaryadye Concert Hall (Moscow), the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Big Hall, Moscow Philharmonia (Moscow,Russia), Kaunas Philharmonia (Lithuania). Ruta is travelling a lot with the concerts across major cities of Russia such as Nizny Novgorod, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Tula, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok. Performed also in Shanghai and Beijin (China), Singapore, Seoul (South Korea), Virginia (USA), Rome (Italy), Brussels (Belgium), cities of Germany, England (the UK) and more.
Ruta was passionate about orchestra playing since her early age. That is why at the age of 14 Ruta successfully auditioned for Youth Symphony Orchestra of Russia under the direction of Yuri Bashmet and spent there 6 years of her professional orchestra playing development. Later Ruta had an experience of playing within professional orchestras such as Novaya Rossiya state orchestra and London Sinfonietta.
Since Ruta moved to London, she started working with contemporary composers and performing world premieres. Highliting her latest projects, she recorded a premiere of “Gemmayze” written for the special occasion of 200 years jubilee of the Royal academy of music by Joanna Marsh. Ruta also toured to Canary Islands (Spain) as a member of Manson Ensemble and premiered works by Phillip Cashian. Last year Ruta released a graphic scores project recording for October House Records as a member of Riot Ensemble.

Hailed by the London Evening Standard as a ‘prodigy, of awesome technical fluency backed by exceptional artistry’, Nicholas Walker possesses a rare combination of talents combining sensitivity with ‘the flair of a full scale virtuoso and a sparkling intelligence’ (BBC Music Magazine).
He studied at the Royal Academy of Music, where he won all the major awards for both piano and composition, and subsequently at the Moscow Conservatoire.
While still a student in Moscow, he won the First Newport International Piano Competition and has since played with many British Orchestras, including the City of Birmingham and National Symphony Orchestras, the Royal Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, the London Festival and New Queen’s Hall Orchestras, the Philharmonia and the BBC National Symphony Orchestra of Wales. As well as performing in all the major London concert halls, he has played in North and South America, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Scandinavia, Australia and Russia. He has recorded for BBC Radio 3, Cirrus, ASV, BMG Arte Nova, Chandos, Toccata Classics and Naxos Grand Piano. Equally at home in chamber music, he is sought after as an imaginative and sensitive accompanist, and his CD with Lydia Mordkovitch of Russian violin music was Daily Telegraph CD of the week.
Although Walker’s performances of Beethoven have brought him special notice, and his performances of the lyrical and late romantic piano music have also been singled out for the highest praise, it is for his championing of the cause of the neglected leader of ‘The Mighty Handful’, Mili Alexei Balakirev, that he is best known. Described by the Financial Times as ‘the nearest thing to a natural Balakirev performer’, Walker’s two discs of Balakirev piano music for ASV (CD DCA 940 & 1048) received great critical acclaim, and he has also received high praise for his performances of other Russian composers, including his live recording of the Liapunov Sonata on Danacord (DACOCD 539), described by Jeremy Nicholas as ‘thrilling… a tour de force’
His now complete series for Naxos Grand Piano is however unique, in that it introduces music that has never before been performed or published, including a substantial sonata and works that Nicholas has finished off himself. All the CDs garnered enthusiastic reviews, and CD3 was CD of the week on Musiq3. James Harrington of the American Record Guide has called them the “reference set”; Damian Thompson, writing in the Spectator, said that the series “has to be heard to be believed”, while Jeremy Nicholas in the Gramophone described the playing as “bravura with integrity”.
Nicholas’s next recording project is a double CD of all the Liszt etudes and the Sonata in B minor. The Wigmore Hall has programmed a Balakirev Day on 27th April, 2024 and invited Nicholas to give a lunchtime recital and an evening concert that day.

Winner of the Liszt-Bartók Prize at the 15th Concours Géza Anda 2021 Mihály Berecz was born in Budapest in 1997 and began to learn the violin at the age of six. Later, in parallel with his work in various orchestras, he began to devote himself to the piano with Edit Major and Erzsébet Belák.
He obtained his First Class Honours Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Christopher Elton, however. Winner of the Debut Berlin International Concerto Competition, Mihály performed for the first time at the Berlin “Philharmonie” in June 2017.
Previous awards include the Golden Prize of the 2nd Manhattan International Music Competition and the Harriet Cohen Bach Prize of the Royal Academy of Music. At the 2013 Young Euro Classic Festival he performed Liszt’s “Hungarian Fantasy” at the Konzerthaus Berlin. Also in 2013, and upon the invitation of Zoltán Kocsis, he made his debut at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, Budapest.
At the Liszt Academy, where he frequently performs, he recently played Mozart’s “Jenamy” concerto under the baton of Mikhail Pletnev. Mihály’s interest in historical interpretation has led to performances of fortepiano concertos with renowned orchestras playing on period instruments, such as the Orfeo Orchestra. Between 2020 and 2022, as part of a scholarship from the Hungarian Academy of Arts, he performed Béla Bartók’s complete solo works of in eight concerts at the Hungarian Radio’s Marble Hall.
Mihály Berecz has won first place at the 2023 Kissingen Piano Olympics (Kissinger Klavier Olymp).

Polish pianist and organist, Joanna Krauze has performed both as a soloist and a chamber
musician in Poland, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Canada. In Saison 2023/24 she has
performed in both concert halls of Tonhalle Zurich – Grosse and Kleine Tonhalle – on piano and
organ. She has won main prizes in several piano competitions, including two special prizes and
the title of the Finalist in the 10. International Bach Piano Competition in Würzburg, one of the
largest piano competitions devoted to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. In 2017, she won the
second prize in the Sterndale Bennett Prize Piano Competition, which takes place at the Royal
Academy of Music in London. In 2016, she also received the Mark James Piano Prize from the
prestigious London Philharmonia Orchestra to support her musical development. As the winner of
Harriet Cohen Bach Prize 2016 from London’s Worshipful Company of Musicians, one of the
oldest music institutions in England, Joanna was invited to join their “Yeomen” programme, which
supports a selected group of young artists in England. She also won the first prize in the 1st
International Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Rzeszów and was awarded a Special Prize
for the best performance of a work by Chopin in the 15th International Chopin Festival in
Sochaczew, a Special Prize in the 16th Piano Competition in Żagań and a Special Prize in the 2nd
Piano Competition in Piotrków-Trybunalski in Poland.
In June 2024 Joanna graduated with distinction from the University of Arts in Zürich with a
Master’s degree programme in Organ Performance, where she was developing her second
musical passion which is organ playing, under the guidance of Andreas Jost. At the same
University, in 2022, she obtained a Master of Arts in Specialized Music Performance – Soloist,
being a piano student of Konstantin Scherbakov. In 2020 she also received her Master’s degree in
Piano Pedagogy at the Music Academy in Basel. Her music studies in Switzerland have been
generously supported by various Institutions, among others by the Swiss Confederation and their
“Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship”. In 2018 she obtained a first-class Bachelor’s degree
in Piano Performance from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied under the
guidance of Tessa Nicholson. While studying at the Royal Academy of Music, Joanna was
selected three times to be a recipient of Greta Parkinson, Doris Ethel Blake and Francis Simms
discretionary prizes for chosen students. In the academic year 2016-2017 she also studied as an
Erasmus scholarship holder at the University of Music and Theater in Leipzig, under the guidance
of Gerald Fauth.
Joanna has developed her passion for music by participating in piano masterclasses with
renowned pedagogues, such as Pascal Devoyon, Christopher Elton, Pavel Gililov, Krzysztof
Jabłoński, Andrzej Jasinski, Kevin Kenner, Robert Levin, Joanna MacGregor, Katarzyna Popowa-
Zydroń, Yevgeny Sudbin, Dang Thai-Son and Arie Vardi, as well as organ masterclasses with
Michael Bouvard and Pier Damiano Peretti.

Isabelle Oemichan – “…something of the passion of Horowitz and the power of Ogdon” (CD Review) – has performed recitals, concertos with orchestra, and chamber music in her native France and many other countries. Although she originally studied classical ballet, a serious fall at the age of 17 changed her path in life and she returned to her piano studies, subsequently taking up a position as accompanist for the ballet at the Paris Opera. Encouraged by her teachers, she began working seriously at the piano from the age of 18, receiving advice from such prestigious performers as Milosz Magin and Gyorgy Cziffra – the first of whom studied with a student with a direct connection to Chopin, and the second with a connection to Liszt – also from Victoria Melki and from Jacqueline Eymar, a student of Cortot and Yves Nat. She won the First Grand Prize at the 1989 Milosz Magin International Competition in 1989, and in 1993 was made Laureate of the Cziffra Foundation. She joined the Artistic Committee of the Foundation and was their Artistic Director until 2019. As Artistic Director of the Franco-Hungarian Musical Association in Paris, in 2002 Isabelle founded the Summer Academy of Chamber Music in Budapest.
She has recorded 13 CDs both as a soloist and with orchestra, including concertos by Weiner, Wissmer, Mozart, and Dhonányi, and unpublished piano works by Henri Collet and Henri Sauguet. Her CDs also include the world premiere of Czerny’s Nocturnes, as well as works by Chopin and Liszt. Last season, after recording pieces by the French composer Alain Baraige, she gave recitals and toured with the Budapest Orchestra, conducted by Roberto Benzi.
Isabelle is a passionate teacher, and is regularly invited to give master classes, and to sit on juries in international competitions.

Polish pianist Julia Klimek was described by The Guardian as “flamboyant” after her debut at the world-renown Wigmore Hall performing Clara Schumann’s Song Cycle. She marked the Weinberg Centenary at the University of Manchester and has performed alongside cellists Adrian Brendel and Mats Lindstrom. She has been invited to give recitals in Warsaw, Lvov and in Calgary in Canada.
Julia recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with Distinction, in addition to winning two institutional prizes – DipRAM for outstanding performance in a final recital and the Regency Award in recognition of a consistently exceptional level of achievement with Prof James Baillieu. While at the Academy, she initiated the Student Union Choir which she conducted in both classical and jazz repertoire, championing works by Ola Gjeilo, Bob Chilcott and John Rutter.
She has appeared in masterclasses with Maxim Vengerov, Steven Isserlis, Julius Drake, Helmut Deutsch, William Bennett, Brindley Sherratt, Roger Vignoles and at the Penderecki European Music Center.
Aside from her concert career as an international chamber musician based in London, she is honoured to hold the Artistic Advisor and Head of Piano Adjudication position at the Rococo Elite Musicians Competition in Hong Kong. She is a successful and devoted teacher to her exclusive piano class and regularly gives piano masterclasses. She is also the founder of “ISH Concerts” series at the International Students House in London.
A special sensitivity to music making is supported by her passion for painting, poetry, and ballet, which enriches her as a chamber musician, pianist and conductor. She is a passionate advocate of late 19th and 20th-century repertoire, Polish repertoire and women composers such as Grace Williams, Lili Boulanger and Clara Schumann.

Russian mezzo soprano Aleksandra Kenenova, was worn in Moscow> In 2020 finished Russian Institute of Theatre Arts ( opera theatre faculty). For three years worked at the GITIS theatre (Moscow, Russia), where you can hear her Olga (Eugene Onegin), Zelatrice, the Abbess, Principessa (Suor Angelica) and many others.
In 2021 with support and guidance of Dennis O’Neill gained a full sponsorship for a MA course in Wales International Academy of Voice (Cardiff, Wales) from American Trust and Dennis O’Neill’s Foundation . In autumn 2022, sung Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor in Normansfield Theatre , London with Instant Opera Company. Aleksandra was lucky enough to take part in a unique art song project made by Linda Kitchen (Wales opera Works, Detective Notes,Cardiff, March/April 2023)
In August 2023 sponsored by Music Community (NY, USA) participated in Michael Chance’s Opera School SienAgosto (Siena , Italy). In October 2023 as part of the R.A.C.H. project, she recorded a CD with composer and pianist Fydor Biryuchev at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios.

Latvian soprano Oksana Lepska made her Carnegie Hall concert debut when she was only twelve years old. She has since performed in concert halls all across Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Oksana moved to London in 2015 after receiving an offer to study at the Royal Academy of Music, where she successfully completed her Bachelor of Performance Degree. Her studies continued at the Royal College of Music, where she was fully supported by the Bruce-Payne Vaseppi scholarship. Under the tutelage of Patricia Bardon, she completed a Master of Performance Degree with Distinction in 2021.
Oksana’s most notable achievements to date include: first prize in the National Mozart Competition in London and second prize in the Pendine International Voice of the Future Competition in Llangollen, the role of Mimì in Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème for Hurn Court Opera in the United Kingdom and the role of Alcina in Handel’s Alcina for Saluzzo Opera Academy in Italy, participation in the Oxford International Song Festival and the Life Victoria Barcelona Lied Festival and nine solo recitals including the most recent at the National Liberal Club in London.

Edwin Kaye works as a freelance opera soloist for various companies in the UK and Europe. A winner of the Fulham Opera Robert Presley Verdi Prize, he mostly sings dramatic roles and recently has performed as Soldat/Jude in Salome, Opera di Roma; Raphael in The Creation, Scherzo Ensemble; Angelotti in Tosca, Opera Holland Park; Ceprano/cover Sparafucile in Rigoletto, English National Opera; cover Hagen in Götterdämmerung, Regents Opera; and Mayor/Quercus in the world premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Uprising, Glyndebourne and the Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Edwin has previously held soloist positions with State Opera Stara Zagora and State Opera Ruse in Bulgaria, performing for them roles such as Colline in La Boheme, Il Re d’Egitto in Aida or Banco in Macbeth. He has also worked as a soloist with companies such as The Grange Festival, Le Grand Théâtre de Genève, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, Hunedoara Lirica Festival and many more. He also performed extensively as a concert soloist in works such as Mozart’s or Verdi’s Requiems, The Messiah, passions and oratorios.

Martins Smaukstelis is a Latvian born tenor who completed his Master of Arts degree at the Royal Academy of Music with Neil Mackie and Jonathan Papp. He was awarded a full entrance scholarship, which was made possible by the Leverhulme Trust Postgraduate scholarship.
He had the opportunity to sing in public masterclasses with Dennis O’Neill at the Academy and Roger Vignoles at the Leeds Lieder Festival as well as David Butt Philip and Della Jones.
Martins recently debuted as Prince in Dvorak's Rusalka with New Opera Singapore where he previously appeared as Lucano in L’incoronazione di Poppea as well as Spoletta in Tosca (Devon Opera). He has performed as Adrian in Hopes and Fears with music by Debussy (The Opera Makers), Basilio and Don Curzio in La Nozze di Figaro, Schoolmaster in Cunning Little Vixen as well as the title role in Cavalli’s L’Egisto (HGO). He has also sang the role of Distiller in Rimsky-Korsakovs May Night (RAO), Prince Charming in multiple adaptations of Cinderella (St Paul's Opera and Merry Opera) as well as a fully staged Messiah (Merry Opera) and the role of Heinrich in concert performance of Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald.
Martins also has sung with Glyndebourne Festival, Garsington, Wexford and The Grange Festival operas among others and has a busy concert life appearing in concerts and oratorio performances all around the UK.
Past performances include Mozart’s Requiem at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Mozart’s Coronation mass with the Buckingham Choral Society.
Martins is also generously supported by the Josephine Baker Trust, Drake Calleja Trust and Countess of Munster Musical Trust.