Concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musician competition in 2002, Sarah Williamson gave a highly individual performance of the Copland Clarinet Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis. She then went on to win second prize in the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians in Berlin, again playing the Copland Concerto, this time with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowsky.
At the age of 15 Sarah won a scholarship to the Purcell School of Music to study with David Fuest, simultaneously attending the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music. In 2001, Sarah won the Shell LSO Gerald McDonald Award and was awarded the Arthur Frederick Bulgin Medal by The Worshipful Company of Musicians.
Sarah continued her studies at Le Conservatoire Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris with Pascal Moraguès, principal clarinettist of the Orchestre de Paris, Jean-Francois Verdier and Olivier Derbesse, graduating with the Premier Prix and a 'Laureate', the highest honour.
Sarah has toured the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia (British Council), USA, Ireland, the Channel Islands and Spain. She has performed at festivals across the UK, and made her debuts at Wigmore Hall and South Bank Centre. Currently based in Britain, Sarah continues to play regularly in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland, with a debut performance at the Tonhalle, Zurich.
Sarah is active in the field of contemporary music: she has championed the music of Edward Longstaff who has written for her 'Prelude' and 'Nocturne' both premiered on BBC Radio 3, plus a Clarinet Concerto (premiered in 2003). She has worked with Philip Grange and recorded his clarinet concerto 'Sheng Sheng Bu Shi' with the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Great Britain, with a CD released in early 2007.
Highlights of 2006 included appearances with Orchestra of the Swan, Orchestra of St John's and the BBC Concert Orchestra (broadcast live), a lunchtime concert in the Wigmore Hall plus a performance in Madrid.
2007 saw a performance of the Nielsen concerto with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra and Sarah's future schedule includes concerts with the Sacconi, Doric and Carducci Quartets, Orchestra of the Swan, as well as performances in Portugal, Ireland and throughout the UK.
Highlights of 2008 include a Wigmore Hall recital in which Sarah premiered a work by Joseph Phibbs and her debut with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in the Stratford upon Avon Spring Sounds festival plus concerts with the Sally Pryce Ensemble. Sarah is currently the recipient of the Tillett Trust and Kirkman Concert Society Awards.
Philip Moore was born in 1976 and is originally from the Vale of Evesham. He studied at London's Royal Academy of Music with Hamish Milne, during which time he won many prizes. Upon leaving he was awarded the Meaker Fellowship, and was appointed an Associate of the RAM in 2003. In 2004 he became a Steinway Artist.
He has performed in America, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Tunisia, and at all of the major UK venues. He has recorded for radio and television throughout Europe and appeared as a concerto artist with, among others, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and ViVA. He has worked with many highly esteemed instrumentalists and singers, giving duo and chamber music performances and broadcasts with groups such as the Hebrides Ensemble (with which he has recorded for Linn Records), Conchord, Britten Sinfonia and the Olivier Ensemble.
In 2006, he and fellow-pianist Andrew West began an ongoing collaboration with Michael Clark Dance Company, playing Stravinsky's Two-Piano version of Rite of Spring at the Barbican Theatre and on tour in Europe and the United States, including Lincoln Centre, New York. He recently joined the English Chamber Orchestra for its music cruise, giving chamber music and song recitals with its solo artists.
Philip's piano duo with Simon Crawford-Phillips has won international prizes and awards and was selected for representation by Young Concert Artists Trust in London from 2001 to 2006. The Duo has given recitals at major festivals such as Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, City of London, Brighton and Bath, and at venues including the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Barbican, Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), St. John's (Smith Square), Sadler's Wells Theatre and Bridgewater Hall (Manchester). They have made frequent appearances as concerto artists and recitalists at the South Bank and Wigmore Hall and received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in 2004. Regular performers on BBC Radio 3, they made their Proms debut in 2001, and have recorded on the Deux-Elles label to critical acclaim. In 2008 they gave the world première of Detlev Glanert's Two Piano Concerto, co-commissioned by the Duo and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and conducted by Martyn Brabbins. Highlights of the coming season include concerts in the UK and Italy and a live broadcast from LSO St. Luke's.
Philip lives in North London with his wife and two sons.