Adjudicators
Gary Ryan
Gary Ryan FRCM, GRSM Hons, LGSM Hons, LRAM, Hon ARAM
The British guitarist Gary Ryan made his London recital debut for the Park Lane Group Young Artists Series on London’s South Bank in 1994 and has since pursued a highly varied career as a performer, composer, teacher and examiner.
Gary studied as a junior at the Guildhall School of Music, later winning a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in 1987. In 1991 he graduated with first class honours and many awards including the Julian Bream Prize and the John Mundy String Prize and was made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 1997.
In 2013 he became the first guitarist since John Williams in 1983 to be awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Music, where he has been Assistant Head of Strings since 2009.
He is also well known for his many guitar compositions, arrangements and examination pieces, which include his acclaimed solo work Benga Beat, Play Piazzolla for Boosey & Hawkes, Scenes from the Wild West for Camden Music London and Guitar Star for the ABRSM.
In 2016 Gary Ryan was invited by John Williams to form 6 Hands, a collaborative guitar trio with the jazz guitarist John Etheridge which has toured the UK extensively, including performances at Kings Place, Bridgewater Hall, Snape Maltings and St. George’s Bristol.
www.garyryan.co.uk
David Brodowski
David Brodowski came to London in 2002 to study Violin Performance with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
In 2005 he founded the Brodowski Quartet of which he was the leader for almost 10 years. During that time they won several international Chamber Music Competitions including the Royal Overseas League and the Val Tidone International Chamber Music Competition. The quartet regularly performed in the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, the Anvil Concert Hall and many other major Concert venues in the UK and abroad. A huge part of the quartets engagements were educational outreach programmes and residencies amongst others Bristol University and The Anvil Concert Hall.
David has taught violin and chamber music at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance for the last 15 years.
Apart from loving music, David enjoys being a dad, cooking, artisanal bread baking and cycling.
Richard Alsop
Richard Alsop took up the double bass aged 13 and later studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London with Robin McGee. He was a member of English National Opera before joining the BBC Symphony Orchestra over 20 years ago.
Richard loves the orchestra’s varied repertoire and discovering new places on tour.
Away from the orchestra Richard enjoys playing the bass guitar and is a woodworker who has exhibited at the Borough of Ealing Art Trail.
Janice Gillard
Janice Gillard Studied the violin at the Royal Academy of Music with Trevor Williams and then with Ralph Holmes.
She has always been passionate about teaching and set up and directed a string scheme in a local school, teaching 30 young string players in each session.
Janice was also the musical director of a string orchestra in Blackheath for many years.
In 2003 she was awarded an ARAM by the Royal Academy of Music for services to the profession.
Currently, she has a large, private teaching practice, leads a tango orchestra and is the specialist string examiner for Trinity College London.
Sarah Kaznowski
Sarah Kaznowski has recently retired from the BBC Symphony Orchestra, where she was a cellist for nearly for nearly 40 years.
Sarah initially studied at the RCM, and then went to Vienna for 2 years to study with the great French pedagogue Andre Navarra. On returning to the UK she took up a position in the CBSO, where she met her late husband Michal Kaznowski who was then the Principal Cello.
She joined the BBC and had a wonderful career, playing under great conductors, playing in the Proms and travelling the world.
Sarah has always enjoyed teaching and with her husband set up a thriving Children’s Orchestra which lasted many years.
Since retiring from the BBC Sarah plays in many chamber music ensembles and continues to teach extensively.
Philip Dukes
Bailey Davidson Photography LLC, Savannah, Georgia, USA
Recognised as one of the world’s leading viola players, Philip Dukes has enjoyed a career spanning over 30 years as an accomplished concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician.
He made his solo recital début in 1991 at the Southbank Centre, London, hailed by The Times as ‘Great Britain’s most outstanding viola player’ and by The Strad as ‘world class’. As a winner of the coveted European Rising Stars Award in 1997, he immediately made his recital débuts in Vienna, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Paris, and Amsterdam to critical acclaim and went on to perform as a soloist with all the major UK orchestras.
He has appeared as a soloist at the BBC Proms on numerous occasions, including one in which his performance with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis in the Triple Concerto by Sir Michael Tippett was recorded live for the Deutsche Grammophon label. In addition, Philip has also recorded extensively for the Chandos, Naxos, Nimbus, BIS and Hyperion recording labels, as well as regularly recording and broadcasting for BBC Radio 3. He also gave the world première of the Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra by Benjamin Britten.
Philip has enjoyed close musical associations with Yehudi Menuhin, György Kurtág, Daniel Hope, Tasmin Little, Julian Lloyd Weber, Michael Tree, Peter Donohoe, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, the Beaux Arts Trio, Debbie Wiseman and Sir Andrew Davis. In more diverse collaborations, Philip has worked with artists such as Eric Clapton, Sir Paul McCartney, Massive Attack, Madonna, Björk, Bryan Ferry, Nigel Kennedy, Robbie Williams, Oasis, and David Gilmour.
In demand worldwide as a director/conductor/soloist, he holds guest teaching positions at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Wells Cathedral School, and is also Artistic Director at Marlborough College.
Philip was unanimously elected a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2006, and in 2007 was appointed an Honorary Associate at the Royal Academy of Music. Philip Dukes is also Associate Artistic Director of the Savannah Music Festival in Georgia, USA, and is also a member of the prestigious Wigmore Soloists ensemble.
Highlights for 2023/24 include performances throughout the UK, USA, Germany, Turkey and Ireland, in concert with the Sacconi, Tippet and Escher String Quartets, Daniel Hope, Jennifer Pike, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Wigmore Soloists, Matt Ford and Debbie Wiseman. Following his acclaimed release of the Brahms Viola Sonatas with Peter Donohoe for the Chandos label in 2022, Philip will feature as a soloist on a further CD for the Quartz label with the National Symphony Orchestra. This is due for release in 2024 and includes music for viola and orchestra by Elgar and Herbert Howells.
John Crawford
John Crawford has had extensive experience as a performer, teacher and adjudicator.
After holding a Foundation scholarship at the RCM he studied further in Vienna before joining the BBC Symphony orchestra.
A growing interest in teaching gradually took over, and as well as holding a position at TrinityLaban conservatory he spent many years also at the RCM Junior Department and the Purcell school.
John is also a qualified Alexander technique teacher, and works extensively on freedom of movement for string players.
He leads the Forest Philharmonic, Ernest Read and Camden Symphony orchestras.
