The continued generosity of our supporters enables NYSO to make our residencies accessible to a broad spectrum of talented young string players. This is fundamental to our ethos and key to our continued success.
Simon Smith is a violinist of wide ranging interests. He has been active as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher worldwide for 30 years.
He has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Philharmonia, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Recitals have included the Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room. He has performed extensively across Russia with recitals and concerto performances from Moscow to Vladivostock, and played concertos in Hong Kong and Beijing. His repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary and he has made a speciality of performing Bach’s complete works for solo violin, in one evening.
A committed chamber musician, Simon was a member of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Octet, performing in concert halls and broadcasts worldwide. Other projects have included the release of a CD of duos and trios by Kodaly and Dohnanyi.
For two decades Simon taught in UK Conservatoires – the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the Royal Northern College of Music, and Trinity Laban in London. For many years he was also a violin teacher and chamber music coach in the Royal College of Music Junior Department. He is currently Head of Strings at Wells Cathedral School, one of the UK’s specialist music schools.
Benjamin Russell grew up in South London and studied at the Guildhall of Music and Drama with Thomas Martin and Stephen Williams. He is Principal Bass of London Mozart Players and also a member of the Britten Sinfonia with whom he regularly plays as principal bass. He is also a regular guest principal of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and City of London Sinfonia. He has recorded for various pop artists including Ed Sheeran and Snow Patrol as well as playing for television and film soundtracks. As a chamber musician Benjamin has performed with the Allegri Quartet, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, London Winds and the Haffner Wind Ensemble, as well as performing at the Plush, Latitude and Leicester International Music Festivals.
Adelaide Carlow, MA, MMus, is a community leader in music education, based near Kinross, in Scotland. She is founder-director of the innovative, outdoor-based Priory Farm Music Camp in Yorkshire, offering camping, chamber music and forest adventure since 2006. Adelaide is director of Milnathort Youth String Orchestra and has almost 20 years of experience teaching young people musicianship, violin, cello and piano through creative play.
Currently based in London, he is head conductor of the Keele University Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir; conductor of the Senior Strings of the North London Conservatoire; guest conductor of the Grim’s Dyke Opera (formerly the D’Oyly Opera company) and assistant professor of conducting at the London Performing Academy of Music.
Theo is looking forward to conducting and coaching in the British Opera Academy later this year, and the ‘Music in the Marche’ Opera programme in Italy.
He was formerly conducting Fellow of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (in West Texas, U.S.), interim director of orchestra at the University of Texas Permian Basin, and completed his doctoral studies in orchestral and operatic conducting at Texas Tech University.
During his time in the U.S., he assisted conductors such as Imre Palló and Benjamin Zander; additionally, he conducted on stage with Jill Grove (mezzo-soprano of the Metropolitan Opera). He was head conductor of the TTU Matador Opera Workshop (performing Mozart’s Da Ponte operas) and conducting professor on the West Texas Kodály Initiative.
Prior to going to the U.S., he was director of the chamber choir at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Academy, Hungary (as well as conducting many other choirs across Hungary), and also completed his Masters degree in Kodály pedagogy and choral conducting. Whilst in Hungary, he conducted in important ceremonies commemorating Kodály’s birth and death anniversaries in the 2017-18 season – performing most of Kodály’s choruses. This followed his studies in Russia (St. Petersburg Conservatory) and the U.K. (Royal Northern College of Music and University of Manchester Joint Course, cello).
Theo, with his rich background in Kodály pedagogy, is passionate about education work. He formerly coached the Intermediate Choir of the North London Conservatoire, the West Texas Children’s Chorus, Pro Corda and the English School’s Symphony Orchestra. He also performed at the Royal Festival Hall with musicians from the Philharmonia Orchestra, in an education project involving London youth music hubs.
As cellist, Theo has appeared as soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra and done freelance work with many professional orchestras in the U.K. and U.S., including Opera North, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra.
John received his early musical training in Sheffield, but as a teenager was able to study with Molly Mack at the Royal Academy of Music through the help of the National Youth Orchestra which he joined aged 13. During this time he won the Gold Medal of the Associated Board, and later won a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he studied with Leonard Hirsch.
Celia Waterhouse plays with the 1st Violins of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which features prominently at the Proms every Summer and regularly tours worldwide. She studied at the RNCM graduating with first class honours and followed this with a master’s at the Johns Hopkins University in America.
Each year Celia teaches on summer chamber music courses in England and Germany and is currently Director of the National Chamber Music Course (NCMC). She plays as soloist and leader with the Tallis Chamber Orchestra and Arco Strings and has a thriving teaching practice in SW London.
Vanessa is an experienced viola teacher who is devoted to developing young players and sharing her passion for music with others, in her Hitchin-based teaching studio.
Vanessa’s students have been awarded scholarships to leading conservatoires and universities such as the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the University of Oxford. Many of her students enjoy taking part in wonderful organisations such as the National Youth Orchestra (NYO), National Children’s Orchestra (NCO), Aldeburgh Young Musicians (AYM), Britten Sinfonia Academy, Pro Corda and Arpeggione.
Vanessa studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Junior Department and was awarded a full scholarship to study at the Purcell School of Music. From there she went on to study at the Royal College of Music in London, where her professor was Roger Best. During her studies she received coaching from many prominent violinists, violists and musicians such as Yehudi Menuhin, Yfrah Neaman, Sydney Griller, Manny Hurwitz, Emanuel Vardi, Simon Fischer, Rodney Friend and Paul Berkowitz.
Vanessa graduated from the RCM with diplomas in both performing and teaching. She then freelanced as a violist in and around London and participated in recordings for television and feature-length film scores, before finding her real love…teaching.
Rebecca Leyton-Smith was awarded instrumental scholarships to Magdalen College, Oxford and the Royal College of Music. She studied Cello with Hannah Roberts and Jérôme Pernoo and also gained a PGCE in Specialist String Teaching, Dalcroze and Kodaly at the RNCM.
She plays Principal Cello with the London Concert Orchestra and works regularly with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and CBSO, as well as in West End shows. She has recorded film, TV and commercial music including recent albums with Robbie Williams and Sheridan Smith.
Rebecca teaches cello at Uppingham, Oakham and Stamford Schools. She is married and has two young children.
Over the past twenty years Cathy has toured and recorded extensively with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. She teaches for the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music and has previously held positions at the Royal College and Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Cathy also maintains a lively private teaching practice. Many of her students play with the National Children’s Orchestras, National Youth String Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra. Past students now hold positions in major orchestras, work in the House of Commons and manage rock bands.
Throughout her career Cathy has been involved in teaching, publishing and training teachers. She loves teaching and was one of the pioneers developing good pedagogic foundations for young bass players in the 1980s and 1990s. Cathy is co-author of Boosey & Hawkes’ Millennium Award winning Essential String Method and runs a small publishing company, Bartholomew Music Publications, specializing in music for young bassists. Cathy is a mentor for the ESTA Postgraduate certificate in instrumental teaching. In 2009 the International Society of Bassists recognized her as a Young Bassists Ambassador and in 2014 she received the ESTA award in recognition of services to the European String Teachers’ Association.
A chorister at Lichfield Cathedral, Holger went on to win a music scholarship to Winchester College during which time he was also a cellist in the National Youth Orchestra. After reading Modern Languages at Oxford, Holger was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies on the cello and piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. From 2002 – 2004 Holger was Director of Music at St. Anselm’s and St. Cecelia’s, Kingsway. More recently he did an MA in Music Pedagogy at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Academy in Kecskemét Hungary where he graduated with distinction, and he has had the privilege of being taught by some of the most outstanding teachers in the field of Kodály music education. As well as teaching at Colourstrings Music School, Holger is a tutor at the Mary Ward Centre for Adult Education in London where he delivers a wide range of music courses, and also teaches piano at Notting Hill and Ealing High School. He has been a tutor for the British Kodaly Academy and has lectured to the Gustav Mahler Society UK. Holger has extensive experience performing both on the cello and piano, and he is committed to helping each child achieve their full musical potential.
Rowena is our administrator and is the first port of call for any enquiries about NYSO. She has been a part of NYSO for many years, first as a Cellist in the Senior orchestra, then re-joining the family as a Pastoral Assistant. She is now the Pastoral Director for all residencies as well as the Administrator year-round. Rowena is also the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for NYSO.
Enrico Alvares was invited by Sir Neville Marriner to join the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in 1991. Working closely with all three Directors (Sir Neville, Iona Brown, and Kenneth Sillito) he was a full member for ten years, during which time he worked with a full roster of the world’s very greatest soloists. He has played with all the major British orchestras and is now a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).
Enrico is a deeply devoted teacher and his teaching is a synthesis of his lineage. His father (his first teacher) was a pupil of Bronislaw Fryling, a Sevcik pupil; whilst studying at the Purcell School Enrico was a pupil of Carmel Kaine, an Ivan Galamian pupil (and leader of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields); Enrico studied with the Amadeus Quartet for six years, during which time he gained great insight into the teaching methods of Carl Flesch and Max Rostal; he was introduced at a young age to Paul Rolland’s immensely liberating approach to string teaching by the incomparable Roger Raphael; and finally, but most certainly not least, Enrico is the very humble and grateful recipient of the unique Auer and Heifetz tradition from many, many intense and closely-focused hours spent with Ayke Agus and Adam Han-Gorski. Enrico’s wish for his students is simple: freedom…of movement around the instrument and of emotional expression. The means and methods change depending on the student – but the goal is the same, freedom.
In addition to his musical achievements Enrico also has a deep understanding of the worlds of finance and investment, having been a partner in Mayfair-based Bramdean Asset Management. He has used this unusual mixture of skills to organise major charity concerts such as the Kosovo Concert in 1999, the Concert For Nepal in 2015, and the Concert For Afghanistan in 2021 – and he is now a regular promoter of socially-engaged concerts in general. Soloists for past concerts have included Steven Isserlis, Julian Bream, Nicholas Daniel OBE, Alina Ibragimova, and Wissam Boustany; conductors have included Sir Neville Marriner, Daniel Harding, and David Murphy.
Senior Orchestra – Spring 2024
Tuesday 9 April
8.30am Breakfast
9.00am Private practice
10.15am Sectionals
11.30am Break
11.50am Full orchestra
1.00pm Lunch
2.00pm Free
3.10pm Break
3.30pm Full orchestra
4.40pm Break
5.00pm Sectionals
6.00pm Supper
7.00pm Sectionals
08:00 Gather to walk across for breakfast.
09:00 Dalcroze and Kodaly movement and singing warm up
09:50 Upper and lower strings sectional rehearsals
10.45 break
11.15 Creative session
12.00 Full orchestra
13:00 lunch
14:00 improvisation (physical and musical)
15:00 Creative session/individual and small group coaching
16:00 break
16:30 full orchestra
17:15 Walk to main campus
17:45 Dinner
18:45 Walk back to Welland for free time/preparing for bed
20:15 Stories in the common room
21:00 Bed
Please note, working sessions remain flexible so that we can respond to what feels right at the time. The three teaching members of staff are present at all sessions.
What sort of things we’re looking for in an audition video.
Aka good musical performance, good demonstration of current technical ability….?
Different things for each orchestra? Or general comments?
Gillian Thoday has been a cello tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester since 2009 and has taught at Chethams School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music Junior Department for many years. Her experience as a performer encompasses solo recitals, work with chamber ensembles, studio sessions and orchestral work with most of the major orchestras in London.
Her teaching is strongly influenced by her four years of study in Germany with Andre Navarra, one of the greatest soloists and pedagogues of his day, together with the fruits of her own extensive experience as a performer and teacher. Her approach combines a strong emphasis on technical schooling with a recognition of the need to always nurture the invidual voice of the student. She aims to give them the technical, musical and organiational skills to ultimately become their own teachers, and many of her students have gone on to successful performing careers in the music profession.
Alex currently divides his time between performing as Assistant Principal Viola of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and teaching, both at Wells Cathedral and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He has performed all over the world and taught many young professionals who are now working in the profession. His aim to get the best out of every student and enable them to become the best musician they can be.
Caroline is the Leader of Manchester Camerata, often assuming the role of Soloist and/or Director with the orchestra. Caroline has also worked as Guest Leader/Director at Royal Northern Sinfonia, Manchester Collective, The Hallé and Covent Garden Sinfonia. Chamber music sensibilities are at the heart of Caroline’s music-making; she enjoys a duo partnership with Camerata’s Principal Cellist Hannah Roberts and works regularly with chamber ensembles across in the UK. Caroline was also the Leader of Welsh chamber orchestra Sinfonia Cymru from 2016 until 2021. In 2022, Caroline was made an Associate Member of the RNCM (ARNCM).
