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London Bridge Ensemble

Daniel Tong, Laura Samuel, Kate Gould, Tom Dunn and Ivan Ludlow

London Bridge Ensemble - Daniel Tong, Laura Samuel, Kate Gould, Tom Dunn and Ivan Ludlow
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New Audio from the London Bridge Ensemble
 
The London Bridge Ensemble  is one of Britain’s most exciting and brilliant chamber groups
 
The ensemble’s first CD of works by Frank Bridge, from whom the Ensemble takes its name, was released by Dutton to critical acclaim, including glowing reviews and recommendations by both Gramophone and International Record Review; the subsequent release of the second disc in their survey of Bridge's early works for Dutton was again met with plaudits from the critics, including unreserved commendations from Gramophone Magazine, American Record Guide and BBC Radio 3 (CD Review), and has been shortlisted for the Gramophone Chamber Music Award 2011.

The London Bridge Ensemble have also recently released their Schumann recording for Sonimage Classics, which has drawn observations such as "rendered with a bubbling brilliance", and "heart-touchingly eloquent" from the Sunday Times. A collection of works by Fauré will follow on the same label, for release later in 2011.
 
Since making its Wigmore Hall debut in 2005, which included the premiere of a work written for the group by David Matthews, the group’s engagements have included concerts at Sheffield Music in the Round, St. David’s Hall Cardiff, St. George’s Bristol, St. John’s Smith Square and Bridgewater Hall Manchester. Festival appearances have included City of London Festival, the Kerry Chamber Music Festival, Leicester International Music Festival’s lunchtime series and Ponte de Lima Festival in North Portugal.
 
In 2012 the ensemble returns to the Wigmore Hall, appears at Kings Place in London and gives a series of concerts in Portugal. They will also present their fifth annual festival - The Winchester Chamber Music Festival - which quickly established itself as a highly successful event following the inaugural festival in 2008 in the home town of their cellist Kate Gould.  The guest collaborators in 2011 were Richard Lester, Krysia Osostowicz and Sara Bitlloch.
 
The Ensemble presents innovative and stimulating programmes of chamber music and song, or instrumental music alone, on occasion inviting guest artists to form larger combinations in order to explore an even richer and more versatile repertoire. The name represents the group's special ability to bring together different musical genres and styles from the fields of both chamber music and song. It is also an affectionate homage to the bridge and station of that name in the City of London and, importantly, reflects, through Frank Bridge, an admiration for the English music of the early twentieth century, which has from the outset formed an important part of the group’s varied repertoire.

Born in London in 1976 Laura Samuel (violin) studied with Itzhak Rashkovsky at the Royal College of Music, London. Prizes include the Royal Over-Seas League, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Manoug Parikian Award and the TWIYCA Competition, resulting in her South Bank Recital debut. In 1994 she co-founded the Belcea Quartet and was a member for 16 years. The quartet won first prize in the Osaka and Bordeaux International Competitions. Worldwide tours included regular visits to the States, Far East and throughout Europe as well as a 5-year residency at the Wigmore Hall, London. Their numerous recordings for EMI Classics include Bartok, Janacek and Britten cycles as well as Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Debussy and Ravel quartets and have won Gramophone, Midem, Edison and Echo Klassik Awards. Solo performances this season include the Brahms, Bruch, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev (2nd) Concertos and most recently the Barber at the QEH as part of the South Bank Bernstein Project.  Laura has taught Chamber music at the GSMD and RNCM, and plays the ex ‘Nissel’ Stradivarius of 1731.

Kate Gould (cello) is well known for her contribution to the chamber music world, appearing regularly at  the major international concert halls and festivals world-wide. Her 2011/12 season includes performances at Wigmore Hall, London, Musikverein, Vienna, Conservatorium, Innsbruck, the East Neuk Festival, Scotland and a tour of Italy. In addition to her membership of the London Bridge Ensemble, she is a founder member of the Leopold String Trio, with violinist, Isabelle van Keulen and violist, Lawrence Power. Kate spends the rest of her concert life giving duo recitals and playing in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, of which she became a member in 2000. As a student, Kate was a winner of the Tillett Trust Young Artists Platform and the BBC Radio 3 Young Artists’ Forum. Through the trio, she has received prestigious awards from the Royal Philharmonic Society and Borletti-Buitoni Trust and taken part in the inaugural BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme and the European Concert Halls Organisation 'Rising Stars' series. She regularly plays with artists such as Paul Lewis, Christian Zacharius, Marc-Andre Hamelin and Alekzander Madzar and has made numerous recordings for Hyperion Records, including two nominations for Gramophone Awards. Kate plays a Carlo Guiseppe Testore cello of 1711. 
   
Daniel Tong (piano) Daniel’s musical life is spent performing as soloist and chamber musician, as well as directing two chamber music festivals and teaching. Outside the UK he has performed in Sweden, France, Belgium and Portugal. He recently recorded a solo CD of works by Schubert, soon to be released on the Quartz label. Daniel has appeared at many of the foremost British venues and festivals - Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre, St Georges Bristol, Birmingham Town Hall as well as the Cheltenham, Aldeburgh and Edinburgh Festivals. He is frequently heard on BBC Radio and has broadcast throughout Europe. Daniel’s latest project, 'unravelled' in collaboration with musicologist Richard Wigmore, has seen a series of lecture-recital weekends on Beethoven and Schubert piano sonatas. In 2012 he has been invited to curate a festival of Elgar's music at Kings Place in London. Daniel will also give a series of presentations in northern Portugal, with performances by the Skampa Quartet, exploring the late Beethoven quartets and contemporary works by Schubert and Mendelssohn. Each year Daniel plays with an array of wonderful artists, often at his own chamber festival in the Wye Valley. 
 
 
Tom Dunn (viola) was born in Yorkshire and studied on the Joint Course at Manchester University and The Royal Nothern College of Music. Since moving to London in 2002, he has held Co-Principal Viola positions in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. Tom is currently a member of The London Bridge Ensemble and the Aiso Quartet and, since January 2010, Co-Principal Viola in The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In recent years, Tom has appeared as Guest Principal Viola with orchestras including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, The Philharmonia,Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, English Baroque Soloists,London Chamber Orchestra and The Philharmonia. He is very lucky to play on a viola made in 1690 by the Flemish maker Matthijs Hofmans.
 
Born in London, Ivan Ludlow (baritone) attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio. A regular guest at some of Europe’s most prestigious opera houses, including Naples, Spoleto, Paris, Lyon, Athens, Toulouse, Welsh National Opera, Strasbourg, Marseille, Bordeaux, Metz, Casa da Musica (Porto), Vlaamse Oper (Antwerp), Lausanne, with conductors such as Christophe Rousset, Adam Fischer, Jan Latham Koenig, Jean-Yves Ossonce, Cyril Diedrich, Franck Ollu, Christoph Ullrich Meyer, Ludovic Morlot, Gerard Korsten and Gustav Kuhn he has, amongst others roles, sung: Don Giovanni, Guglielmo, Onegin, Iarba (La Didone), Escamillo, Nevers (Les Huguenots), the Count (Capriccio), Marcello, Shadow (The Rake’s Progress), Danilo, Belcore, Aeneas, Demetrius, Traveller (Curlew River), Astrologer (Burning Fiery Furnace), Baritone (Maxwell-Davies’ No. 11 Bus). A frequent recitalist Ivan has performed throughout Europe and the United States and is often partnered by Daniel Tong, pianist of the London Bridge Ensemble. He regularly appears in concert with orchestras such as Ensemble Modern, Remix Ensemble, Le Parlement de Musique, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Il Seminario Musicale, Divino Sospiro.
 
Ivan sings Berg' und Burgen schau'n herunter from Schumann Liederkreis op. 24:
 
 
 
 If you would like to print or file (pdf) the above biography, together with The London Bridge Ensemble's reviews, please click here.  Alternatively please email us if you would like a copy sent to you by post.  Please also see the London Bridge Ensemble's Promoters page .