John Alexander studied composition with Edmund Rubbra at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, and later, at the University of Sussex with Jonathan Harvey and Peter Weigold. In 1999, the jury of the British and International Bass Forum awarded John first prize for his solo double bass piece abalone.

More recently, in September 2002, his unquiet air for 4 double basses and 5 balloons received the audience prize at the Scottish Bass Weeksend held at the RSAMD in Glasgow. He is currently a SPNM short listed composer. Much of his work, performed in many countries worldwide as well as in the British Isles, is published by Recital Music. Trinity College of Music, Wells Cathedral School, the SPNM and the BIBF are among a number of bodies who have commissioned music from John Alexander. He lives in Shoreham-by-Sea.

Oscar graduated with first class honours in Composition from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where at present he undertakes a Master in Composition with Malcolm Singer. He will start doctoral research at the Royal Academy of Music under the supervision of Simon Bainbridge in September 2006.

He has been finalist of the Barclays-St. Paul's Cathedral Competition Prize 2002, and joint winner of the Composition Competition held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Royal Festival Hall's organ with his piece for solo organ 'Gel, Foc, Temps'. In July 2005 Oscar also won the Musicians Company Dr. Alfred Prindl Memorial Prize at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
awarded to the 'best work by a graduating composer'. More recently, he won the composition prize created by the Guildhall and the Orchestra of the Swan, being awarded the commission of a new string orchestra work (premiered in November, 2005).
Oscar has also been commissioned by the Institut Valencià de la Música to write a piece for organ which was premiered during the XXVII ENSEMS Contemporary Music Festival in València. Also his violin solo and sinfonietta piece 'Cantus' was the first piece by a Guildhall School composer to feature in the Guildhall Gold concert. Hence, 'Cantus' was premiered in the Wigmore Hall, London the 7th of June, 2005.

Future engagements include a world première in the Queen Elisabeth Hall in June, as part of the Philharmonia Orchestra's concert series Music of our Time, the Spanish premiere this August of 'Open the Curtains' for string orchestra in Oviedo, and the commission-recording of a new percussion piece from the European group Kontakte. During his studies at the Guildhall Oscar has been supported by a number of scholarships awarded by the Corporation of London, and the Institut Valencià de la Música.

Note that I compose under the name of Sulyen Caradon.

Born in Swansea, Thomas studied with Melissa Phelps at the Yehudi Menuhin School and with Heinrich Schiff in Austria. An exceptionally gifted cellist, he is one of only two artists who have auditioned successfully for both Young Concert Artists Trust in London (2000) and Young Concert Artists, Inc. in New York (2001).

Over the last year Thomas has made his Wigmore Hall debut and New York Concerto debut at the Alice Tully Hall to critical acclaim. He has also given the world premiere of a concerto by Joe Duddell, especially commissioned for him by ViVA, the Orchestra of the East Midlands, and appeared with the Belcea Quartet at the Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh Festival, Aldeburgh Festival and Schubertiade in Austria.

In America Thomas has given debut concerts in New York, Boston, Florida and Washington DC, along with a series of recitals in La Jolla, Kalamazoo and New Jersey. Future plans include a return visit to the Wigmore Hall, concerts at the Manchester Cello Festival and North Wales International Festival, a series of recitals in Davis, California and appearances as soloist with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Passionate about chamber music Thomas has appeared as guest artist with Steven Isserlis, Ivry Gitlis, Julian Rachlin, Gidon Kremer and the Endellion Quartet, among many others. His concerto work has included appearances as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Philharmonia Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk. In 2002 he performed Lutoslawski¹s Concerto with Heinrich Schiff and appeared in recital at the Vienna Konzerthaus with Schiff and Koopman.

At one with the cello's charm "Word had got round among the cognoscenti, judging from the Who's Who of leading cellists sitting in the audience, and the word was that here was an artist of exceptional talent and musicality....Carroll, still only in his late twenties, is an artist to watch." The Daily Telegraph (Geoffrey Norris) Wigmore Hall October 2002

Roland Freeman attended Canford in 1994 before going to Southampton University to study music, graduating in 1997, at the age of 70. He has composed 21 works since then, including a Requiem, a Concert Overture, a Song-cycle In Flanders Fields, which was taken on a 5-city concert tour, by the internationally renowned tenor Philip Langridge, and is currently writing his String Quartet No. 1 and a new Song cycle for Soprano and piano Songs of Joy.

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Richard works in IT and composes occasionally for amateurs and professionals. The Composition Workshop at Canford remains a very important part of his developmental process, having attended every year since 1993! Away from Canford works have included some orchestral works and a flute and piano Sonatina performed in Birmingham; also projects for the Birmingham COMA Ensemble and some computer games (to be found at ovine.net). Richard sings in the Ex Cathedra choir which is gaining an ever higher profile with its concerts and recordings of Baroque, Renaissance and modern music.

Born in 1983, I was educated at Winchester College, during which time I enjoyed singing and playing the piano and oboe, as well as conducting several choirs and ensembles. I also received composition lessons from Michael Finnissy, and hope to continue these interests at Caius College, Cambridge, where I will start studying towards a BMus in October 2003.

My ‘gap’ year so far has been spent exploring southern India and much of Europe, in search of ragas, talas and the eccentricities of east European music, but my main interests lie in the music of secular renaissance Italy and twentieth- and twenty-first-century Europe.

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