Divertissement for Brass & Strings

ARTISTS

The Watkins Duo

• Rhys Watkins (Violin)
• Rowena Calvert (Cello)

Paul Archibald (Trumpet)

Channarong Jantarart (Piano)

PROGRAMME

Henri BUSSER: Andante et Scherzo

George GERSHWIN: Three Preludes

Cecilia MCDOWALL: Framed

John WILLIAMS / Simon PARKIN: Star Wars Suite (World Premiere)

1. Across The Stars
2. Rey’s Theme
3. Duel of Fates
4. Leia’s Theme
5. Binary Sunset
6. Imperial March

Rhys Watkins  

Welsh violinist Rhys Watkins has an established career as a soloist, recitalist and orchestral leader. Rhys graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2005 and became a member of the first violin section of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2009. He has since enjoyed performing in almost all of the world’s major concert halls and has represented the orchestra by giving recitals in embassies in Beijing, Tokyo, New York and throughout Europe.

At Abbey Road & Air Lyndhurst Studios, London, Rhys has recorded the music for many films including Harry Potter, Thor, Star Wars, The Twilight Saga : New Moon, The King’s Speech, Marvel’s The Avengers, Rise of the Guardians, Zero Dark Thirty, Brave, The Imitation Game, Cinderella, The Shape of Water, Coco before Chanel, Tamara Drewe, The Special Relationship, The Golden Compass, Superman and many more. He has also enjoyed working with acclaimed film directors Guillermo del Toro, George Clooney and Sir Kenneth Branagh.  

Rhys has been a finalist and prize-winner in several major international competitions including the Jeunesses Musicales International Violin Competition (Belgrade) and the Paganini International Violin Competition (Moscow) and is currently a member of the award-winning Artea String Quartet with whom he has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and BBC Proms. The Artea Quartet have made numerous live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and have recorded several CDs of the Mendelssohn and Schubert quartets under the Champs Hill label to great critical acclaim.

Alongside his classical concerts, Rhys has also shared the stage in performances with Paul McCartney, Bryan Adams, Queen, Elton John, Shirley Bassey, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Ray Davies, Tom Jones, Annie Lennox, Rod Stewart and Tony Bennett.

Rowena Calvert

British cellist, Rowena Calvert, has firmly established herself as an ambassador for the younger generation of cellists through her wealth of performances across the world. Her solo appearances and collaborations with artists and dancers such as Carlos Acosta include performances at the Royal Albert Hall, BBC radio 3, Classic FM, the Wigmore Hall, The Queens Hall and performances across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

A regular recording artist in Abbey Road, Rowena has recorded sound tracks for blockbuster films including Mission Impossible, Wonder Woman, the animation ‘Up’ and has worked with musicians such as Paul McCartney, Shirley Bassey and most recently at the Brit Awards, Billie Eilish. She has toured as part of the band for Hans Zimmer and Nigel Kennedy. As a freelance orchestral musician Rowena performs regularly at the BBC Proms.

As the former cellist of the Cavaleri String Quartet, accomplishments include first prizes at the 2012 Hamburg International Chamber Music Competition (Germany) and Royal Overseas League Competition (London), second prize at the 2014 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition (Japan) and the ‘Special Prize’ at the Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition (Italy).The quartet went on to tour extensively in South America, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Europe giving live radio broadcasts in each country. They also recorded several CDs, each met with great critical acclaim.  

Rowena is the Artistic Director of Hertford International Concert Series and Head of Strings in Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok. She is currently leading an enormously enjoyable career as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher.

As a professional musician, Paul enjoys long established relationships with the Brandenburg Sinfonia, Britten Sinfonia, London Mozart Players and Orchestra of St John’s. He has recently developed a range of specialist courses for young musicians as part of his work with English Music Academy and English Brass Academy. Paul is Music Director of Regent Brass and has focussed the repertoire towards contemporary writers with a particular emphasis on commissioning young talent to compose for the medium. 

He is currently working on a new London Mozart Players commission by Rebecca Dale and Selina Nwulu entitled STAND, an ambitious work aimed at crossing cultural boundaries. The LMP recording also includes a host of choirs from around the world alongside guest solo artists. The release of STAND in 2019 will also act as the launch for the work of a new charity – Harmony: Action Through the Arts – bringing benefit to young people who are socially and economically disadvantaged through activity in a range of musical projects. 

Paul has been a principal player in the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London Sinfonietta and BBC National Orchestra of Wales and was a member of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and English Brass Ensemble. He is currently a member of the innovative chamber ensemble, Fibonacci Sequence. He has recorded with many popular artists including Barbara Streisand, Shirley Bassey, Sir Paul McCartney and Oasis and film work includes Batman, Gladiator, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and Shrek. 

Paul has been a professor at the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music and was Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2003 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, London, limited to 300 former Academy student

Channarong commenced his piano studies at the age of six. After winning several prizes from competitions in Thailand, he gave his debut recital at the age of thirteen and became a music scholar of Shrewsbury International School in 2004. Whilst being a student there, he performed regularly and made his first concerto appearance in 2007, playing Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto.

In 2009, Channarong went to London to pursue his music studies. Over the following years, he has won prizes including first prize from the European Piano Teachers Association Piano Competition, first prize and Cattermole Award from the Stratford and East London Music Festival and the Cox Memorial Prize from the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Young Soloist Competition. In addition, he was also a recipient of Royal College of Music Study Award, Knights of the Round Table Award, Geoffrey Parsons Memorial Trust Award, Edward Mandel/Jaques Samuel Pianos Award, St Marylebone Educational Foundation Award, and Cosmina and Douglas Liversidge Award.

Channarong has received his Master of Music in Performance and Bachelor of Music (Honours) with distinction from the Royal College of Music, London, under the tutelage of Professor Dina Parakhina and Professor Ian Jones. Currently, he is the Associate Director of Keyboard at Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok.