Aina Vega (Flix, 1984) is PhD in Philosophy of Music (Pompeu Fabra University) with the thesis The artistic ethos in Arnold Schönberg and the dialogue with Adrian Leverkühn. Part of her research was carried out in the Arnold Schönberg Center (Vienna) in 2012/13. She obtained the Advanced Certificate Studies UPF with a thesis on Schönberg and Schopenhauer and is Bachelor in Humanities (UPF). Specialized in Contemporary music and opera, she has a relevant career as cultural journalist and cultural manager (she is Master in Arts and Culture Management, Rome Business School). She has been working for institutions such as Liceu Barcelona, Auditorio de Tenerife and Palau de la Música Catalana.
Atsuko (Ako) Imamura is a retired investment banker in New York City. Born in Japan, she trained as cultural anthropologist in the US before turning to finance. She now spends her time attending opera and classical music concerts in New York and in Europe. Wagner is her favorite opera composer.
Pendant trente ans, Alain Lompech, né en 1954, a été critique musical et journaliste au Monde de la musique puis au Monde, dont il a été chef des pages « Art et Spectacles » puis chef d'édition, tout en tenant la chronique « Jardins » du quotidien. Il a produit de nombreuses émissions sur France Musique, station dont il a été le directeur adjoint et chef des programmes, et où il est l'un des membres réguliers de « La Tribune des critiques de disques ». Il publie chaque mois des critiques de disques dans le mensuel Diapason. Alain Lompech a publié le premier volume des Grands pianistes du XXe siècle, chez Buchet-Chastel, et travaille à la rédaction du deuxième volume.
Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, having spent a lifetime writing in some form or other: fiction, academic research, educational materials and professional translations. He has been an avid concert-goer from his teenage years with fond memories of many of the giants of the past, including Klemperer, Karajan, Böhm, Bernstein and Carlos Kleiber. For him the symphony orchestra is one of the greatest artistic creations of all time.
Alex is a London-based ballet teacher. He began training at the Suzanna Raymond School of Dance and graduated from Central School of Ballet. For 15 years, he danced for companies in Austria, Spain and Germany, including Ballet de Zaragoza. Since 2015, Alex has taught in the UK at London Studio Centre, Gielgud Academy of Performing Arts, CityLit and the RAD Dance School. He contributed articles to the Dancing Times between 2018 – 2020. Recently, he initiated an award which enables dance students to see live ballet performances, in memory of his teacher, John O’Brien (former Rambert dancer and Dance Books founder.)
Alexandra hat Medienwissenschaften studiert und arbeitet nun als Filmproduzentin in Frankfurt. Tagsüber sind die Kunstausstellungen und Museen ganz Europas ihr Zuhause. Die Abende verbringt sie gern in der Oper und im Theater. Neben Wagner und Strauss interessiert sie auch besonders moderne und zeitgenössische Oper. Auf Twitter ist sie als @hoellenrose aktiv.
Born and raised in Rome, Alissa is an Italian pianist, musicologist and journalist. She graduated at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory and studied Musicology at University La Sapienza. She is now taking a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Communication at Luiss University and her articles have been published on Music.it, ZetaLuiss and HuffingtonPost. Alissa loves Debussy but, if she could, she would like to be reborn as a Mahler symphony. She can’t live without theatre although her friends would say she obsesses even more about her unconditional love for Amy Winehouse and Soul music.
Periodista, investigador, productor de discos y conferencista chileno. De formación musical autodidacta, ha ejercido la crítica en medios escritos y digitales, así como también en radio, con un especial énfasis en la nueva música y la difusión de los compositores de su país.
Anaïs-Nour est une compositrice, performeuse et guitariste. Passionnée par la création transdisciplinaire, elle lie différentes disciplines telles que les marionnettes, la danse, la vidéo et le théâtre, à la composition instrumentale et électronique. Lors de son master (classe de Wolfgang Heiniger, HFM Hanns Eisler de Berlin), elle mène ses recherches sur l'écologie acoustique et se spécialise dans l’analyse et la composition des paysages sonores. Elle compose pour de nombreux projets en collaboration avec diverses institutions culturelles et artistes internationaux tels que: l'ensemble Cairn, le quatuor canadien Quasar, Wilhem Latchoumia, l’ensemble berlinois KNM, la Philharmonie de Paris, le GRAME de Lyon, le collectif Klangzeitört à Berlin...
Andrea Lorenzo Lancho comenzó estudiando piano en su niñez con clases particulares y autodidactas. Continuó formándose con el grado de Musicología en la Universidad de Salamanca y posteriormente cursó el Máster de Música Hispana en dicha universidad. Durante su formación universitaria participa en proyectos sobre la transmisión oral de la figura de la mujer en la música popular, iconografía musical y la creación de bandas sonoras. Actualmente colabora con revistas de folklore, e investiga sobre las bandas sonoras, el traspaso de la música popular y la difusión de la música clásica en los medios de comunicación.
Andrew is currently a professional chef in New York City but he began life as a ballet dancer with the Hartford and Ohio Ballet companies. His writing also appears on the Huffington Post Blog and BroadwayWorld.com. His latest work, nominated for a James Beard Award, is “Return to the Rivers”, a Himalayan cookbook.
Andrew Larkin is a pianist, composer and teacher from Dublin. Educated at Dublin and at Cambridge, he has performed all around Europe and Mexico. He currently teaches piano and composition in Dublin.
A NYC-based flutist, composer, writer and radio broadcaster, Annie studies composition/music theory at Barnard College, Columbia University, and flute at Manhattan School of Music. She performs contemporary, classical, jazz, Taizè and film styles, and is a founding member of Blackbox Ensemble. Annie has written for International Contemporary Ensemble, Yarn/Wire and Fonema Consort, among others. A ballet dancer of many years, she loves researching sound-body connections. She is a DJ and former Business Manager/Classical Head at WKCR, hosting a show highlighting contemporary ballet music of New York City Ballet and lesser-known orchestral/choral/flute repertoire.
Maître de conférences en histoire ancienne à l'Institut Catholique de Toulouse, Arnaud enseigne également à l'Université Toulouse II et à l'Institut National Universitaire d'Albi. Passionné de musique, violoniste et pianiste, il a poursuivi en parallèle de ses études en histoire un cursus au Conservatoire de Toulouse et y a obtenu plusieurs prix. Ses recherches portent sur l’histoire des religions antiques et notamment sur l’utilisation de la musique dans le cadre des cultes polythéistes.
Asher Rubenstein is a young pianist, living and studying in London. He is on a mission to see as many great pianists as time and money will allow. He has campaigned for improved concessions at major concert venues to attract the next generation of music lovers. Outside the concert hall, Asher spends much of his time baking cheesecake and then swimming to burn it off.
Incapable de départager musique et littérature dans sa vie, Beate a décidé de se consacrer passionnément aux deux. La maîtresse de conférences en littérature française (Moyen Âge) et soprano allemande parcourt le monde pour ses recherches comme pour chanter, avec son trio de musique de chambre, en soliste ou en choeur. Ses années d'expériences instrumentales (piano, flûte, guitare) n'ont que très modérément entravé son amour inconditionnel de la voix et du répertoire choral en particulier.
Ben Lunn is a composer, trade unionist, and disabled campaigner who has written about many areas of music including the work of Horaţiu Rădulescu, Baltic composers, and music and disability. He is a regular contributor to the Morning Star and Culture Matters, and he has been published internationally in both academic and journalistic publications, including in Lived Experiences of Ableism in Academia (Policy Press, 2021), edited by Nicole Brown.
Benedikt hat in München Musik und Jura studiert und dann an der LSE einen MSc in Global Market Economics erworben. Er spielt nach wie vor regelmäßig und begeistert Kammermusik, vorzugsweise als Geiger oder Bratscher im Streichquartett. Benedikt liebt jede Art klassischer Musik, und zwar besonders Kammermusik mit Streichern, Klavier, gerne auch mit Gesang, Orchesterkonzerte und schließlich die Oper.
Benjamin Poore is a writer and critic. His book on psychoanalysis and literature is forthcoming in 2019. He has previously written about literature and culture for the Independent, the Times Literary Supplement, and Times Higher Education. In his spare time he tries to sing Schubert; he has a very patient teacher.
Brian is a lover of opera, and has enjoyed attending operas for over forty years. Brian has very catholic tastes; favourite classic composers are Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi, contemporary composers John Adams and Jake Heggie, and a curiosity about Stockhausen’s music. He is always seeking opportunities to expand his appreciation of the world of music and opera.
Cameron Kelsall is a classical music critic based in Philadelphia. He has been writing for Bachtrack since 2019. In addition to his career in journalism, Cameron teaches in the Theatre Arts Program at the University of Pennsylvania. You can follow him on Twitter at @CameronPKelsall.
Carla writes about the arts for various publications including Bachtrack, KQED Arts (the northern California public media broadcaster) and ballettothepeople. In previous lives, Carla worked in scientific research, in project finance in Asia, and taught ballet in San Francisco. Prior to that, she trained as a ballet and modern dancer, and performed with the Yaledancers while getting her undergraduate degrees in Engineering and Applied Science and French Literature, and her graduate degree in Engineering.
Dr. Chanda VanderHart is a pianist, musicologist and creative who lives, works and plays in Vienna, Austria. For more on Chanda and her projects, click here.
Chang Tou Liang, a native of Singapore, is a family physician by profession. Actively following the
classical music scene in Singapore since 1979, he has been a music reviewer of The Straits Times
from 1997, contributing over 2300 articles to the national daily. He was also editor of several local
musical newsletters and served as Artistic Director of the Singapore International Piano Festival
from 2004 to 2008. His blog Pianomania has covered international piano competitions and musical events in four continents. He has a keen interest in travelling, street food and cat photography.
Chantal has a background in ballet and contemporary dance, and was the first Australian to complete the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in Higher Level Dance. She has completed violin studies, and plays regularly in Sydney ensembles. She also dabbles in folk songs and subversive musical parody.
Chris Garlick is the co-founder of Signal Gallery in Hoxton. His first degree was in music, training as a classical composer. Chris has written about art frequently in Art of England magazine, Artist and Illustrator for online blogs.
Nach dem Studium der Germanistik, Politikwissenschaft, Philosophie und Musikwissenschaft war Christoph Wurzel lange im pädagogischen Bereich tätig. Er interessiert sich besonders für die gesellschaftlich relevanten Aspekte der Musik. Er lebt in Baden – Baden und schreibt für verschiedene Magazine in Deutschland.
Sparked by a keen interest in early performance practice whilst studying violin at universities in Melbourne and Vienna, Chris embarked on a freelance career with ensembles in Europe, America, also performing regularly with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra back in his native homeland. Pragmatic and undeterred from continuing his journey after a serious accident abruptly ended his violinistic ambitions, he now shares his knowledge and insight into performance as a music critic, formerly writing for Vienna’s Wiener Zeitung and currently for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where he also studies wine, his other great passion!
Christopher’s professional background is in the public sector, and includes a spell in music librarianship. A composer, he is a keen follower of contemporary music and has attended all but four editions of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, including the first concert in 1978. Other musical passions include a fascination with the “bad boys” of the New Complexity fixation, particularly the god-like Brian Ferneyhough – arguably the best thing to have come out of Coventry. When not listening to Boulez, Christopher relaxes by frequenting the fields, orchards, woodlands and pubs on the Weald of Kent, where he lives
