Learn. Unite. Inspire.

Louise Lansdown is a violist, educator, philanthropist and researcher. She is Assistant Head of Strings at the Royal Northern College of Music and Professor of viola at the Yehudi Menuhin School. 

Louise is the founder of the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition launched at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2014, and is now Executive Artistic Director of both the Lionel Tertis and Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competitions. 

Louise, along with her viola students and colleagues is the founder of a major distance learning education project called ARCO. It is based in Prince Albert, South Africa and Chennai, India. Louise’s first solo album, Mzansi Viola was released in May 2025 along with a 7-part documentary “Cinderella No More: The English Viola Legacy” she created with violist Timothy Ridout. Louise is writing a book “Hindemith and the Viola” that will soon be published by Schott. Louise is the Principal Violist of the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the South African Ubuntu Ensemble. She plays on a French Viola c.1750 and Sartory how which belonged to the South African violists Cecil Aronowitz and Eric Rycroft. Her second solo album of South African viola music will be released in 2026. 

 Tony is Section Leader Double Bass with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (since 2016), having previously held principal and section leader roles with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Hallé, and Scottish Opera. He has worked with many of the world’s leading conductors and soloists, performed at major international festivals and venues, and appeared as Guest Principal with all the London orchestras.

His solo work includes concerto and recital performances for BBC Radio 3 and Radio Scotland, with recordings of works by Bottesini, Vanhal, McGuire, Glyn and Koussevitsky, alongside new commissions written for him.

Educated at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Thomas Martin, Tony played with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the European Youth Orchestra under Claudio Abbado. He now teaches at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and has also taught at Chetham’s, RSAMD, Guildhall and the Royal College of Music.

He plays distinguished English and Italian instruments, contributes to publications, and has been commended for recital and masterclass work in The Strad and The Double Bassist. Beyond music, Tony is a trained life coach, keen singer, Alexander Technique student, poet, and songwriter. He is also a proud father of four and young grandfather.

Samson Diamond is a multi-faceted award-winning violinist who holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Music degree from the University of the Free State, where he was also appointed leader of the resident Odeion String Quartet (2013-2023). Since its inception in 2015, Diamond has maintained an association with the London-based, Chineke! Orchestra. Among other invitations, Diamond was concertmaster for Chineke! Orchestra during their inaugural tours in Europe (2019) and North America (2023). In September 2024, he joined Chineke! Orchestra for their performances at the Lucerne Festival and BBC Proms. In 2025, he led the Chineke! Orchestra for their UK/US tour. His musicianship has been characterised as “exquisite” and his leadership hailed as “stylish”. As associate concertmaster, Diamond enjoys an association with the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, where he also serves on the Artistic Planning Committee. Dr. Diamond is currently appointed as manager for education and community engagement programmes at the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, where he regularly performs as principal second violinist.

Award-winning violinist David Bester is active as a soloist, chamber musician and recording artist. He has performed with the Cape Town-, KwaZulu Natal-, Gauteng Philharmonic- and Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestras (ECPO) and regularly plays as a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Namur and the Amici Quartet. As the Concertmaster and Artistic Director of the ECPO, David helps develop and showcase music by local composers. David is passionate about discovering new music and exploring the creative ground where styles and genres intersect.

After obtaining his BMus (cum laude) and MMus (cum laude) in music performance from Stellenbosch University under Suzanne Martens, David furthered his studies in Belgium. Here, he obtained a second MMus (cum laude) from the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp under the tutelage of Alissa Margulis. During his studies, David received master classes from acclaimed violinists Pavel Vernikov, Ivry Gitlis, Barnabás Kelemen, Ilya Gringolts, Priya Mtichell, Daniel Rowland and Frank Stadler. These players and pedagogues have influenced his own approach to playing and teaching. David’s studies abroad were made possible by generous grants from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, National Arts Council of South Africa, as well as the Oranje-bursary awarded by the Dutch Consulate in Antwerp in 2017.

Currently the head of strings at Nelson Mandela University, David supervises postgraduate students. Through the NMUSE group, and regular workshops presented for string teachers, David has invigorated string teaching and playing in the Eastern Cape while creating opportunities for young string players to work closely alongside professional musicians. As a scholar, David’s PhD research focuses on embodiment and how string teachers enact embodied knowledge when they teach. David has won several Creative Output Awards for his artistic research endeavours.

Kathleen is a New York-based pianist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer from South Africa. She has performed throughout North America, Europe, Southern Africa, China and India in venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet and Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal, and her recordings have been featured in film and television. Her work and compositions focus on identity, ideas of connection and sound exploration, and has been heard on five continents, from the Lucerne Festival & Festival Aix-En-Provence to the Melbourne Opera House, South African National Arts Festival to the Köln Philharmonie and the USA’s National Gallery. She is equally at home performing with an array of instrumentalists and singers in leading concert halls; in non-conventional spaces and clubs with her loops and samples; writing for her own projects and collaborations; completing commissions for artists or symphony orchestras; creating narrative immersive interdisciplinary performance works or writing for film and theater. All of her projects reflect her strong desire to connect as a human being first and foremost, and to constantly engage with the world around her.  She is co-artistic director of Table Pounding Music with David Krakauer, a platform for a wide range of projects, recordings and socially focused benefit events. Kathleen is a former steering committee of the Music Workers Alliance.  

Carla Ferreira is a clarinettist with a passion for promoting contemporary clarinet repertoire. She is an active freelancer, educator and a passionate arts activist.

She obtained a Bachelor’s in Music, under the tutelage of Maria du Toit-Tien, specializing in clarinet performance, at Stellenbosch University with Cum Laude in 2013 for which she also received the Rector’s Award for Academic Excellence. Whilst studying towards this degree she completed her UNISA Licentiate in Clarinet Performance with Cum Laude in 2012. In 2015 she was identified as one of South Africa's top young classical artists and subsequently invited to appear as soloist with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra in celebration of 20-years of democracy in the country.  

She continued her postgraduate studies in clarinet performance with a Master’s in Music, under the tutelage of Jimmy Reinders, at Stellenbosch University (2016). Alongside her practical modules, her thesis formed the first academic study on the life and work on South African composer and pianist Surendran Reddy. 

In 2017 she obtained a second MMus degree, under the tutelage of Eddy Vanoosthuyse, at the Royal Conservatory of Liége (Belgium) with Grande Distinction performing Karlheinz Stockhauzen’s Der Kleine Harlekein as her final performance project. She was awarded a scholarship for ‘The class of clarinet’ from A.S.B.L. Association des Concerts Permanents' (Wallonia Province of Belgium). 

During her two-year studies in Belgium, she worked closely with various composers constantly exploring new sound worlds and pushing the limits of extended techniques. She wishes to continue this exploration through her newly launched blog The Contemporary Clarinet.