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.
Aksel is currently studying towards a degree in musicology at the University of Oslo. At the moment he is an exchange student at Goldsmiths College in London. He is also a choral singer and a trombonist. His musical interests include 20th-cenury French music, Baroque opera and the music of Richard Strauss.
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.
The first concert Alan attended was Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. For 7 years he presented classical music programmes for Radio Television Hong Kong, partly to pay his way through university. He attends concerts whenever he can and believes there is no substitute for the thrill of live performances. He writes here.
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.
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.
Co-founder of Bachtrack, Alison handles sales, marketing and PR for the site. When not at the opera with David, or travelling around Europe, she can often be found on the tennis court playing doubles. JS Bach instrumental music is required listening when thinking time is required, while Mahler is reserved for off duty time. Alison is passionate about bringing children and new listeners to classical music and opera.
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.
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.
Andrew is a writer and teacher whose work has appeared in The Strad and International Record Review. He is particularly interested in Russian music and the violin. He also writes about music at his blog Devil's Trill and can also be found on Twitter at @devilstrillblog.
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.
Étudiante en musicologie au CNSMD de Paris et à l’École Normale Supérieure, Apolline Gouzi pratique le violon et le chant. Passionnée de musique anglaise, elle consacre ses recherches à la musique de Benjamin Britten. Elle travaille également sur les festivals de musique en France au lendemain de la seconde guerre mondiale.
Originaire des Hautes-Pyrénées, Arnaud est titulaire d’un doctorat en Sciences de l’Antiquité et chargé de cours à l’Université. Passionné de musique, violoniste et pianiste, il a poursuivi en parallèle de ses études un cursus au Conservatoire Régional et y a obtenu les Prix d’Histoire de la musique et d’Analyse musicale. Ses recherches portent sur l’histoire des religions antiques et notamment sur l’utilisation des instruments à percussion dans le cadre des cultes polythéistes.
Originaire de Caen où il obtient des diplômes en clarinette, en analyse et en histoire de la musique, Arthur Macé est actuellement étudiant en musicologie au Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Lecteur curieux, la littérature et la philosophie sont le vecteur de ses recherches.
Audrey first stepped into a dance studio at age 5 and immediately developed a devouring passion for it, which led her to join the Paris Opera Ballet School. She has trained in both ballet and contemporary dance. While she went on to study Law at university, she spent most of her evenings watching dance performances at the Palais Garnier, Théâtre de Chaillot and Théâtre Paris-Villette. Having worked at the Aix-en-Provence Festival for two seasons, Audrey now studies Arts and Cultural Management at King’s College London.
Étudiant à l’IEP de Lyon, Augustin Javel est aussi hautboïste amateur, étudiant au CRR de Lyon. Passé
par le Maroc, l’Espagne et la Pologne, il se passionne pour la musique et ses interprètes, facilitateurs
d’échanges entre les cultures. Également passionné par le cinéma, il porte un grand intérêt aux
compositeurs de musique de film. Gustav Mahler, Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Ravel ou Nino Rota font
partie de ses compositeurs préférés.
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.
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 Philadelphia-based classical music and theater critic. He has written for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Opera News, Parterre Box, Broad Street Review, American Theatre, The Asbury Park Press and Phindie, among other publications. He holds an MA from Ohio University and has played the piano since the age of five. 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!
