For our street opera version of Cosi Fan Tutte we can’t have a full orchestra (it’s not exactly easy to walk around with a double bass for one thing) and so, as well as cutting down the opera to 60-75mins in length, we are also arranging it for 3 instruments suitable for promenade performance. We are lucky enough to be working with the talented Composer/Conductor Leo Geyer who is doing the arrangement and leading our team as Musical Director.
You can find out more about all of our R&D instrumentalists below….
Leo Geyer
Leo Geyer – Bassoon and Arranger/MD
Leo Geyer studied composition and conducting at Manchester University, the Royal Northern College of Music and the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. Leo’s music has been performed worldwide and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Leo has had particular success with his theatrical works including his opera The Mermaid of Zennor which was described by The Times as “imaginative and beautifully shaped.” Recent projects include works for the BBC Singers, Opera North and the Rambert Dance Company. Leo currently works at the Royal Opera House as a Cover Conductor for The Royal Ballet. He is also conductor for Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra, Music Director for EMG Symphony Orchestar and Artistic Director for Constella OperaBallet. Recent guest conducting performances include the Manchester Camerata, Psappha Ensemble and the New York based group Ensemble 212. www.leogeyer.co.uk.
Olivia Jarvis
Olivia Jarvis – Violin
A primary school teacher asked her class to stand up if they wished to play the violin. Little did they know that Miss Olivia Jarvis had actually misheard her teacher and stood up thinking she was going outside to play; and so began the best mistake of her life.
Olivia’s passion and drive for music has grown immensely since her primary school days. Constantly striving for the unachievable, she immerses herself in music of all dimensions whether it be trios, orchestra or solo works. Her motivation is not limited to just performance, she is constantly thinking up entrepreneurial ways to exhibit classical music to the best of her ability. The Aldwych Sinfonia (a vibrant young professional un-conducted ensemble) was founded by Olivia in 2012 and is one of the most vibrant groups in the performing sphere as the players can exhibit their talents as soloists as well as chamber musicians.
All of this attributes to her youth days in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music. Olivia gladly returned to the Royal Academy of Music for her masters degree in performance after finishing her bachelors degree in music at King’s College London. Inspiration for her music and interpretation has always been a collective result of her learnings from great teachers and maestros. One of her most vivid memories was playing Shostakovich’s Symphony No.7 Leningrad under the baton of Sir Mark Elder in the BBC Proms. Not only this but her teachers Frances Poole, Nina Martin and Richard Deakin have enhanced her creativity and expanded her musical mind and made her the musician she is today.
Olivia’s solo and chamber performances are numerous and constantly expanding. She has been fortunate enough to have been given opportunities to play Mozart, Bach, Haydn, Shostakovich and Szymanowski concertos on a number of occasions in England and abroad in Europe. Her most recent recital was given to HRH Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein.
As well as her solo performances, Olivia takes great joy in participating in orchestras symphonic and operatic; Olivia has led young professional orchestras in London such as the Opera Holloway, Eroica Ensemble and co-lead in Outcry Ensemble. Olivia plays on a Carlo Antonio Testore violin c1701.
Bartosz Glowacki
Bartosz Glowacki – Accordion
Bartosz Glowacki is one of the leading lights of a new generation of accordionists. His artistic goal is to continue to improve awareness of the accordion in classical music, as well as to develop a new repertoire for his instrument. He graduated from The Royal Academy of Music in class of Owen Murray with first distinction and Regency Award for noticeable achievements. He is one of the City of Music Foundation 2016 artist and artist in residency at Aldeburgh Music.
Bartosz won the Polish Young Musician of the Year in 2009, following which he represented Poland in the Eurovision Young Musicians Competition in Vienna. Here, he performed Mikolaj Majkusiak’s “Concerto Classicco” for accordion and symphony orchestra in the grand finale with the ORF Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He is a winner of many prizes in National, as well as International Music Competitions. He is a recipient of The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, John Hosier Special Award 2015 and Zygmunt Zaleski Foundation.
As a soloist he has performed in many prestigious concert halls, for example The Royal Albert Hall, The Wigmore Hall, The Royal Festival Hall, The Purcell Room, Salle Cortot, The Colston Hall, Studio SI of The Polish National Radio, and many others. He has premiered compositions by Luke Bedford, Richard Causton, Richard Ayres, Luke Bedford, Christopher Austin, Maciej Zimka, Marko Nikodijevic, Diana Burrell and Johannes Schöllhorn and many others.
As well as being a soloist, Bartosz is extremely active chamber musician. He is a founding member of The Deco Ensemble, described as an “exceptional ensemble of the highest caliber”, with a “strong and highly individual voice”. Deco Ensemble’s debut album ‘Encuentro’ was released in July 2015 featuring works of modern tango composers.
During his career he collaborated with many great musicians such as Nigel Kennedy, Trevor Pinnock, Rob da Bank, Atom String Quartet, Meccorre String Quartet, Dave Maric and many others. Bartosz has worked with musical institutions like The Royal Opera House, The Royal Ballet, National Theatre, London Symphony Orchestra, The Chroma Ensemble, The Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Welsh National Opera, The City of London Sinfonia, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, The Sinfonia Varsovia, ORF Symphony Orchestra and many others. With these institutions, he has performed multiple new operas and orchestral works, which feature the accordion in several different styles. His plan for the year ahead is to release his debut CD “Out of the Depths” featuring contemporary music for accordion by composers such us Magnus Lindberg, Luciano Berio, Sofia Gubaidulina and Vladislav Zolotaryov as well as new commissions from promising British composers. Bartosz has been awarded the place in Open Space scheme 2016 in Aldeburgh Music to conduct innovative projects with accordion.
