Ieuan Jones

At the age of thirteen, Ieuan Jones was the youngest member of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales where he gained valuable early orchestral experience with Marie Goosens. At sixteen, he moved on to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain where he came into contact with Marisa Robles who later became his tutor at the Royal College of Music 1981-1985.
 
Upon leaving the RCM in 1985, Ieuan was awarded the Queen Mother’s Rose Bowl for the most distinguished student of his year and the Tagore Gold Medal. In the same year, he won the Royal Overseas League International Commonwealth Competition and became runner up at the prestigious Israel International Harp Competition in Jerusalem…a feat not since repeated by any harpist.
 
Having toured as a solo harpist to great critical acclaim playing at many renowned Concert Halls and Festivals all over the world…including the Melbourne Festival, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Japan, Manila, Bangkok, Brunei, Singapore, Poland and many more, Ieuan’s work is now concentrated on teaching at the Royal College of Music in London where he has been a Professor since 1997.

Sue Milan

Susan Milan flute
 
Former Principal Flute of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Susan continues to travel, performing and giving master classes in USA, East Asia and Europe. She can be heard regularly on BBC radio and has recorded for Chandos, Upbeat, Hyperion, ASV, Da Capo, Omega, Denon, Cala and Metier labels.
 
She has researched and published 19th century repertoire for Boosey & Hawkes and Spartan Press. Numerous composers have written for her, and she is committed to commissioning and performing new works. Susan is Director and founder of the British Isles Music Festival, where outstanding young musicians explore and perform chamber music under the direction of established performers and teachers.
 
Susan is a Professor and Fellow of the Royal College of Music and Professor of Trinity Laban Conservatory of Music. She tours the USA regularly giving recitals and master classes and in 2019 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association of America.
 

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.

Conal Bembridge-Sayers

Originally from North Wales, pianist, Conal Bembridge – Sayers has performed all over the UK and Europe, including recitals at the Leeds Lieder Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Ludlow English Song Festival, Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, Tenby Arts Festival, Oundle International Music Festival, and St.Martin’s in the Field, as well as private concerts for HRH Prince of Wales, Dame Shirley Bassey, and on the estate of William Walton. Conal’s concerto appearances have included Richard Rodney Bennett’s ‘Party Piece’, Shostakovich 1st Piano Concerto, and numerous performances of Edward Gregson’s Concertante for Piano and Brass Band. 
 
Conal frequently collaborates with a variety of instrumentalists and has considerable experience working with singers as a conductor, repetiteur and coach. Conal is a vocal coach and staff accompanist at both the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, (his alma mater) and the Wales International Academy of Voice, and more recently Conal has accepted the position of Head of Singing at University College School, London. Previously, Conal was a full time member of music staff for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Belgium, and has worked for many organisations including; Welsh National Opera, Sinfonia Cymru, BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, Gregynog Young Musician Competition, Urdd and National Eisteddfodau, and the Oxenfoord International Summer School.