Formed in 2023 at the Royal Academy of Music, The Azurite Duo brings together violinist Takanori Okamoto and pianist Lily Petrova. United by a shared curiosity and versatility, the duo explores a wide range of repertoire – from classical masterworks to contemporary sound worlds. Since their formation, The Azurites have been coached by Levon Chilingirian, Joanna MacGregor, and Adrian Brendel, among others, and were awarded First Prize at the Royal Academy of Music Duo Competition. In the summer of 2025, they completed a residency at Santiago de Compostela, deepening their artistic partnership through intensive performance and collaboration. The duo continue their commitment to presenting both beloved and rarely heard works with imagination and vitality.

Chris White studied at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in 2007. He studied piano with Hamish Milne and Nicholas Walker, and piano accompaniment with Michael Dussek.[1][2] Chris played piano concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, and Rachmaninow with the Orchestra of the City in London.[3] He played the Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor by Camille Saint-Saëns at the Philharmonie Berlin in 2016.[4] Chris premiered new music. On 17 July 2003, he played the first performance of Blue Medusa by John Casken, a piece for bassoon and piano commissioned by Rosemary Burton’s parents for her birthday.[5] With the same bassoonist, he played in 2009 Phoenix Arising, written by Graham Waterhouse in memory of his father, the bassoonist William Waterhouse.[6] In opera, White worked as repetiteur and conductor, including at the Frankfurt Opera and the English National Opera.[3] He was a Piano Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Centre in Massachusetts, assisting James Levine for Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny, also appearing onstage as the pianist.[7] He was solo repetiteur at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2014[3] and has since been promoted to Stellvertretender Studienleiter (Deputy Director of Musical Studies).[8] He arranged movements two to five of Gustav Mahler’s unfinished Tenth Symphony for piano, based on Deryck Cooke’s performing version.[9] In 2008, he made a recording, using the arrangement of the first movement by Ronald Stevenson which is also based on Cooke.[9] The recording was taken at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead,[10] and released in 2010.[9] Christopher Abbot summarized in The Fanfare in a detailed review: “His transcription is not merely evidence of a familiarity with the Mahlerian idiom; it is infused with a profound understanding of the importance of this work in the larger context of Mahler’s symphonic journey.”[9] White played the transcription for the Gustav Mahler Society UK in London on 17 January 2010.[7]

Julian Chan Rapidly developing a reputation as one of the most innovative pianists of his generation, He has given performances at numerous prestigious venues across Europe and Asia, including Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, Nanjing Poly Theatre, and Palau de la Música Catalana. Performing music by a particularly diverse range of composers, he has given alluring recitals featuring works by figures from Sweelinck to Messiaen, from Alkan to Rzewski, unifying these various styles in a captivating manner. Julian has performed with numerous artists of international renown, including Anthony Marwood, John Myerscough, Dénes Várjon, Richard Lester, Dale Barltrop, and Charlie Lovell-Jones; distinguished conductors with whom he has performed include Jessica Cottis, Dominic Grier, Ryan Wigglesworth, Ben Glassberg, Jonathan Berman, and John Gibbons. Recently, Julian has been awarded First Prize and Sonata Prize at the Nanyang International Music Competition, Singapore, Second Prize at the Jāzeps Vītols International Piano Competition, Latvia, the Royal Over-Seas League Collaborative Piano Award, First Prize at the Norah Sande Award, and First Prize at the Coulsdon and Purley Festival with his performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. A passionate composer and performer of new music, Julian has collaborated with eminent composers such as Hans Abrahamsen, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Jörg Widmann, Deborah Pritchard, Elena Langer, and Peter Seabourne. Julian had his first book of compositions published at age 6, earning him the title of Malaysia’s Youngest Composer. In 2024–25, Julian was recipient of the Aud Jebsen Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music, where he previously studied with Ian Fountain and Michael Dussek. He is graciously supported by the Royal Over-Seas League and the Keyboard Charitable Trust.

Sadra Mahshidfar is a pianist recognised for his “expressive artistry and versatility across a wide range of repertoire” by Artmag Magazine Iran. He has performed as a soloist and a chamber musician across the UK and Iran An enthusiastic performer of contemporary music, Sadra has collaborated with composers such as Philip Cashian and Brett Dean, performing his Hommage Études, and premiered new works with the Manson Ensemble conducted by Tim Weiss. He is passionate about creating programmes that bridge classical and modern works. He has won prizes at several competitions, including the Yamaha Scholarship Award and prize-winner in Chung Nung Lee Piano Prize. Besides performing, he studies composition and improvisation. He has studied with Neil Brand, performed live to silent films, and won the Best Original Cadenza Award for Mozart concerto at the Royal Academy of Music. Currently in his 4th year, Sadra studies with Joanna MacGregor at the Royal Academy of Music, where he is supported by the Leverhulme Arts Scholarship and the Jennifer Sharp Award. He is also a Drake Calleja Trust Scholar for 2025-26. Originally from Iran, he previously studied at the Tehran University of Art.

Pianist Alexandra Balog is celebrated by the press as a pianist with “elemental force, virtuosity, and energy” (Radio Bartók’s New Music News), and “a Hungarian pianist who is a real wonder creature” (Forbes) who has played to sold out halls with standing ovations. Winner of the 2017 Béla Bartók International Piano Competition in Graz, Alexandra Balog has since established herself as one of the most compelling pianists of her generation. She is a Fulbright Scholar, received Hungary’s most prestigious recognition for young artists, the Junior Príma Prize (2023), and was named to Forbes Hungary’s “30 under 30” list (2024). Other important honours include the Frederick Jackson Award (London, 2019) and first prize at the Franz Liszt Centre International Piano Competition in La Nucia, Spain (2024). As a soloist, she has performed with the Savaria Symphony Orchestra, the Szent István Philharmonic, the Danube Symphony Orchestra, the Resonate Chamber Orchestra, and the Royal Academy of Music Orchestra. She has appeared in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Moscow), the Centro Nacional de las Artes (Mexico City), and La Chapelle Musicale (Brussels), with performances across Europe, the United States, Mexico, and Ecuador, as well as major cultural centres in Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In the 2025/26 season, she will appear at Salle Cortot (Paris), the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), and in Budapest, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai. Alexandra Balog is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Altalena Artists Collective, an international community of outstanding young musicians dedicated not only to artistic excellence but also to the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of performers. The Collective presents a series of festivals, academies, and masterclasses, most prominently the Altalena Music Festival in Hungary and Tuscany, along with the Altalena Summer Academy. Alexandra graduated with distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in London under Ian Fountain (2019), was a scholar of the Hungarian Academy of Arts’ three-year program and earned her Artist Diploma at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz with Markus Schirmer (2023). Currently, as a Fulbright Scholar, she is pursuing the Advanced Performance Studies program at Bard College Conservatory of Music, studying with Rieko Aizawa.

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.

Carmen Lázaro is a Spanish mezzo-soprano. In 2024, she completed a Master’s in Operatic Performance at the Conservatorio Superior de Música “Joaquín Rodrigo” de Valencia. She previously graduated with First Class Honours in singing and also holds an undergraduate degree in viola from the same institution. She is currently completing her postgraduate studies at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg. Operatic roles include Nicklausse Les contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach), L’enfant L’enfant et les sortilèges (Ravel), Contessa Melibea Il viaggio a Reims (Rossini), Enrico Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra (Rossini, Den Norske Opera & Ballet), Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia (Teatro de la Maestranza), and Armelinde Cendrillon (Viardot, El Palau de Les Arts). In 2023, Carmen was selected by Teatro Real (Madrid) to join its “Crescendo” programme, performing at the venue’s main stage for the presentation of the 2023/24 season.

British soprano Rachel Ridout holds a First-Class Honours Degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London where she was awarded the Van Smit Prize for Excellence. She studied under the tutelage of Mary Nelson and James Ballieau. In 2024 Rachel completed her Master’s degree in Opera Singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig. Rachel studied with Professor Carola Guber. During her studies Rachel was the recipient of the Countess of Munster Trust scholarship and the Deutschlandstipendium. In the 2024/25 season, Rachel will make her house and role debut as Sophie Scholl in Die Weiße Rose by U. Zimmermann at Theater Erfurt and as Taumännchen in Hänsel und Gretel by E. Humperdinck at Opera Halle. After making her debut at Opera Leipzig last season, Rachel returns to embody two new roles: Fee 1 in Amadis, der Ritter by J.C. Bach and Delia in Die Reise nach Reims by G. Rossini. Other performed roles include Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann by J. Offenbach, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas by H. Purcell, Papagena, 1/2 Knabe in Die Zauberflöte by W.A Mozart and Adlige Waise in Der Rosenkavalier by R. Strauss. In 2021/22, Rachel Ridout was chosen to participate in Silvana Bazzoni Bartoli’s Bel Canto Academy at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and was a Young Artist at the International Lied Festival Zeist. She made her debut at the Oxford Lieder Festival and was awarded the Hester Dickson Duo Prize at Oxenfoord International. Rachel has also performed at the Victoria International Arts Festival Malta Gozo and has sung in masterclasses with Elly Ameling, Nicky Spence, Robert Holl, Wolfgang Holzmair, Helmut Deutsch, Graham Johnson, Hans Eijsackers, Joseph Middleton and Malcom Martineau. Rachel is looking forward to the release of her debut recording on a CD of all of Hugo Wolf’s Goethe Lieder, commissioned by the Bicentenary at the Royal Academy of Music. During her time at RAM, Rachel performed regularly as part of the Academy Voices and Bach the European Concert Series, working with conductors such as Masaaki Suzuki, Trevor Pinnock, Eamonn Dougan and Iain Leddingham. She also sang the world premiere of Emma Ruth-Richard’s song Red Anemones, written as one of the 200-piece projects commissioned by the Royal Academy of Music for their bicentenary celebrations.

British Bass-Baritone Jack Sandison graduated from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2017 and has since sung a number of roles and covers with companies including Glyndebourne, Wexford, Birmingham Opera company and Garsington. A Jerwood Artist at Glyndebourne and multiple award-winner, this year Jack joined the roster at the National Opera Studio as a 2025/2026 Young Artist.

Robert Forrest is a versatile British tenor and alumnus of the National Opera Studio Global Talent Program. He studied at Girton College, Cambridge, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal College of Music, and the Royal Academy of Music. Robert made his opera debut in 2015 with the Netherlands Reisopera as King Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors) and has since sung roles including Rodolfo (La Bohème, Hurn Court Opera), Vaudemont (Iolanta, IF Opera/Royal Academy Opera), Don Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro, Glyndebourne), Malcolm (Macbeth, Dorset Opera), Jupiter (Semele, Royal Academy Opera), and Gherardo (Gianni Schicchi, European Opera Centre). His Wigmore Hall debut came in 2020 with the Royal Academy Song Circle. He has also worked as a cover for Glyndebourne and the Badisches Staatstheater, including Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers. Highlights of 2025 included Nanki-Poo (The Mikado, Opera Della Luna), Scottish Opera’s spring ‘Highlights Tour’ across 24 venues, and his Glyndebourne soloist debut at the BBC Proms as Don Basilio. He also enjoys great cheese and wine, supporting Liverpool football club and playing squash.