We are working on a fantastic team of professional adjudicators and they are at the heart of our Festival, offering advice and encouragement so enthusiastically. If you would like to perform something unusual and unsure about which class, then contact us. We are happy to help and advise and will not turn away unusual requests.
Craig was born in Australia and is one of the most exciting guitarists of his generation. He studied guitar from the age of seven and percussion from the age of thirteen. In 2004, he became the youngest instrumentalist to receive a Fellowship from the Royal Northern College of… Read More >
Craig was born in Australia and is one of the most exciting guitarists of his generation. He studied guitar from the age of seven and percussion from the age of thirteen. In 2004, he became the youngest instrumentalist to receive a Fellowship from the Royal Northern College of Music in recognition of his achievements. Craig’s recordings for Virgin/EMI, Chandos, Nimbus, Hyperion and Sony have received wide acclaim, and BBC Music Magazine dubbed him "a worthy successor to Julian Bream". His debut solo CD for Nimbus Records of '20th Century Classics by British composers' was nominated for a Grammy Award. Craig has performed concertos with all of the major UK orchestras and also internationally. Craig regularly appears as soloist and chamber musician at the major London venues and collaborates with many of the UK’s top artists and ensembles. He has released a number of CDs and is Principal Lecturer in Guitar at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
Martin has recently retired from playing the Viola with the BBC Philharmonic, after 36 years in the job. A graduate of Chetham's School Of Music and The Royal Northern College Of Music, he has enjoyed an exciting and fulfilling career playing in many of the finest concert halls… Read More >
Martin has recently retired from playing the Viola with the BBC Philharmonic, after 36 years in the job. A graduate of Chetham's School Of Music and The Royal Northern College Of Music, he has enjoyed an exciting and fulfilling career playing in many of the finest concert halls in Europe, North and South America, China and Japan, as well as the BBC Proms and all the major concert venues in the UK.
Martin is hugely committed to his involvement in music education. He regularly advises senior students at the beginning of their professional career, and was for a number of years a Mentor for the BBC Philharmonic/RNCM Professional Access Scheme, where students spend time working alongside their mentor in the professional working environment. In addition to his playing commitments, he has always had a busy private teaching practice, as well as teaching for a number of years in the Music Department at Manchester University.
Martin has been increasingly in demand as an Adjudicator both at school music competitions and at a number of regional music festivals. He loves encouraging young people on their 'journey' to discovering the joy of making live music.
Away from music, Martin is a fluent French speaker and loves 'escaping' to France on holiday. He is a keen walker and will often be found hiking around the Yorkshire Wolds where he now lives with his wife (a cello teacher), 2 huge cats and 2 crazy dogs!
Fiona studied at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy of Music and has a passion for music in all forms. She combines a busy performing career with writing creative and collaborative national and international performance projects. She is Lead Tutor for Strings at… Read More >
Fiona studied at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy of Music and has a passion for music in all forms. She combines a busy performing career with writing creative and collaborative national and international performance projects. She is Lead Tutor for Strings at Trinity Laban Junior Conservatoire and a specialist strings adjudicator and examiner, including syllabus development for the Guildhall Examinations Board. Teaching posts have included the Junior Guildhall School of Music, Goldsmith’s, and the National Children’s Orchestra. She has been visiting professor of violin at Dartington and Cardiff University. In 2005 Fiona co-founded and was course director of the Youth Strings Programme at the Dartington International Summer School. She subsequently founded and is Creative Director of South-West Camerata whose work was nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society for Education. Fiona has delivered sessions on 'Mindfulness for Musicians' at the 2016 Music Education Expo in Olympia, a Federation conference in Edinburgh, Musicians Union, and at Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
James gives recitals throughout the UK including Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh festival and extensively in Europe. He studied at the Moscow Conservatoire and returns to perform concertos and recitals and lead chamber music courses in the former Soviet Union every year. He… Read More >
James gives recitals throughout the UK including Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh festival and extensively in Europe. He studied at the Moscow Conservatoire and returns to perform concertos and recitals and lead chamber music courses in the former Soviet Union every year. He has given concerto performances with the English and Scottish Chamber Orchestras and Moscow Symphony Orchestra. He is also a member of the Barbican Piano Trio, which recently celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary and performs regularly throughout Europe and the USA.
James teaches at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Hull. He is an Honorary Professor of the Rachmaninov Institute in Tambov, Russia, and serves on the juries of many International competitions, most recently in Russia, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia.
In addition to performing, David has been an ABRSM examiner since 1998.
Maria Jagusz trained as a dancer before taking up a place at the Royal Northern College of Music where she was awarded the Ricordi Prize for Opera. Further scholarships enabled her to continue her studies at the National Opera Studio.As a singer Maria has worked as soloist for… Read More >
Maria Jagusz trained as a dancer before taking up a place at the Royal Northern College of Music where she was awarded the Ricordi Prize for Opera. Further scholarships enabled her to continue her studies at the National Opera Studio.
As a singer Maria has worked as soloist for most of the leading opera companies in the U.K and Europe. Her roles include Carmen, Cherubino, Orlofsky, Hansel, Dorabella and Rosina. She has performed with many of the worlds leading singers including Domingo, Carreras, Freni and Dame Felicity Lott. Her last role was Filipevna in Eugene Onegin for Mid Wales Opera just before lockdown. She is a keen recitalist and a regular soloist for choral societies in the U.K.
As a teacher Maria has specialised in training students who are hoping to have professional careers in the world of opera and musical theatre. As well as her private teaching practise she is vocal consultant for the International College of Music Theatre in London.
Nicholas’ passion for music making and teaching is fuelled by his own early musical experiences, starting with his first cornet lesson, aged 6. Since then, he has performed with orchestras and ensembles across the world, has taught students to a high level (several of whom are… Read More >
Nicholas’ passion for music making and teaching is fuelled by his own early musical experiences, starting with his first cornet lesson, aged 6. Since then, he has performed with orchestras and ensembles across the world, has taught students to a high level (several of whom are enjoying their own careers as professional musicians and academics) and as a conductor, has led ensembles throughout the UK to critical acclaim. He enjoys working with both amateurs and professionals alike.
Nicholas is the Secretary of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators and has adjudicated both nationally and internationally. Since 2016, he has examined music, speech and drama, theory and conducting for the London College of Music and travels globally in this role, which as well as examining, includes the training of new examiners and the writing of new syllabuses.
Rebecca read journalism at Cardiff University, during which time she wrote a weekly column for The Guardian newspaper. She continues to work for a range of publications as a features writer, ghost writer, and theatre critic.Rebecca then studied as an actor at the London Centre… Read More >
Rebecca read journalism at Cardiff University, during which time she wrote a weekly column for The Guardian newspaper. She continues to work for a range of publications as a features writer, ghost writer, and theatre critic.
Rebecca then studied as an actor at the London Centre for Theatre Studies; and her theatre credits include off-West End, Fringe, tour, educational theate and voiceover. Favourite roles include Maggie (Dancing at Lughnasa); Elizabeth (The Crucible); Beverley (Abigail’s Party); Madame Arcati (Blithe Spirit); Martha (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)
Rebecca trained as a specialist drama teacher at The Guildhall. She has taught in a range of primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions for the last twenty years; and is the Principal of her own drama school, which operates internationally. Rebecca’s pupils have been awarded places at major conservatoires and bodies such as RADA, LAMDA, Central, Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall, Bristol Old Vic, Mountview, East 15, Guildford, AADA, Royal Birmingham, the Oxford School of Drama, National Youth Theatre, and the National Youth Music Theatre. Their work can be seen on the BBC, ITV, Sky, C4, E4, Netflix, Working Title, National Theatre, RSC, and with countless touring theatre companies in the UK and abroad.