Conductor, keyboardist and educator, Mark Tatlow is pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Gothenburg. His artistic research centres around developing a decolonising performance praxis for early vocal music. Mark was previously Artistic Director at Drottningholms Slottsteater (2007–13), Professor of Musical Studies at the University College of Opera, Stockholm (2002–12), and is a co-founder of Performing Premodernity, a research project based at Stockholm University. Since 2002 he has been Lilla Akademien’s Artistic Advisor, and acts as Executive Co-ordinator of the school’s on-going rebuilding work. Recent opera performances include compiling and conducting Georgiana, the new award-winning eighteenth-century opera pasticcio commissioned for the fortieth anniversary of the Buxton Festival (UK), conducting and staging Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas for the Stift Festival (Holland), conducting at the Trigonale Festival (Austria) and leading Performing Premodernity's Rousseau Double Bill (Pygmalion and Le Devin du Village) at Confidencen. Future work includes preparing Uttini’s Birger Jarl.

As violinist, leader and conductor, Hugo Ticciati imbibes all possible forms of creativity, whether it be performing world premieres in the most prestigious venues around the world, improvising with monks in India, or devising innovative programmes for O/Modernt Orchestra and Festival which he founded in 2011. Alongside his passion to discover and learn from the music of previous epochs and non-western traditions, Hugo embraces the world of contemporary music. To date, over forty works have been written for and dedicated to him by a host of eminent composers, including Erkki-Sven Tüür, Pēteris Vasks, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Albert Schnelzer and Dobrinka Tabakova.

As the Artistic Director of his own O/Modernt Orchestra, and Artistic Partner with Manchester Camerata, Hugo collaborates regularly with Kremerata Baltica, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra da Camera di Perugia. Most recently, he has been invited to work with Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and Vienna Chamber Orchestra.

Gaining a growing reputation for his innovative and adventurous programming, Hugo is frequently asked to devise and present concerts and festivals with a unique twist. This has led to ongoing collaborations with Wigmore Hall and Kings Place in London. Pursuing his passion for chamber music, Hugo has developed special artistic partnerships with members of the O/Modernt Soloists as well as other internationally renowned artists, notably Evelyn Glennie, Anne Sofie von Otter, Nils Landgren, Steven Isserlis, Angela Hewitt and Olli Mustonen.

Hugo frequently gives master-classes and lectures on music-related subjects both at Scandinavia’s leading specialist music school Lilla Akademien, where he holds the post of Deputy Artistic Director, and other educational institutions around the world.

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Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson works prolifically as soloist and chamber musician. Highlights of the 2018/19 season include appearances at Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Aldeburgh, Resonances and Ernen festivals, two appearances in the Time Unwrapped series at Kings Place, and collaborations with Adrian Brendel, Steven Isserlis, Viktoria Mullova, Pieter Wispelwey, the Doric String Quartet, the Gringolts Quartet and the Nash Ensemble among many. Throughout the season he is Chamber Pianist in Residence at Sage Gateshead.
Alasdair is renowned as a sincere musician and intrepid programmer. Alongside a particular affinity with the classical repertoire and the music of Schumann and Fauré, he often explores the more exotic: Catoire, Pierné, Thuille; Debussy’s Jeux (in the composer’s arrangement for solo piano); Ligeti Horn Trio, Thomas Adès Piano Quintet; and piano trio arrangements of Debussy’s La Mer, Janacek’s Kreutzer Sonata, Shostakovich’s 15th Symphony (with 3 percussionists) and Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht. His concerto repertoire includes works of Bach, Bartok, Fauré, Hans Abrahamsen, Hindemith, Mozart, Sally Beamish, Stravinsky, Messiaen, appearing in recent years with Britten Sinfonia, Moscow Virtuosi, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sønderjyllands Symphony Orchestra and Tapiola Sinfonietta.
2017 saw the release on BIS of a recording with Alec Frank-Gemmill of 19th century music for horn and piano, recorded on four exquisite historical pianos (and four fantastical historical horns) spanning 1815 - 1895. This release joins an acclaimed discography of three solo and numerous chamber recordings, on BIS, Claves, Champs Hill, Evil Penguin and SOMM labels.
A regular participant at the open chamber music at IMS Prussia Cove, Alasdair took part in their tours of 2007 and 2011, and collected the 2008 RPS Award for Chamber Music on their behalf. He has enjoyed working closely with composers George Benjamin, Harrison Birtwistle, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Heinz Holliger and Helena Winkelman.

A former student of John Blakely and Menahem Pressler, Alasdair is increasingly drawn to education, teaching annually on the Musicworks summer courses, as a regular mentor at London's Chamber Studio, and maintaining a class of solo pianists at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Alasdair is founder and artistic director of the French chamber music festival Musique à Marsac, and from 2019 a co-artistic director of the chamber music festival in Ernen, Switzerland.

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New Zealand-born Edward King began to play the cello at age three, taking his lessons on a 1/16th-sized instrument, and sitting on a tiny stool built by his grandfather. In the following years (after graduating through a series of progressively bigger cellos), he enjoyed studies with James Tennant, Julius Berger and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, a trio of encouraging and open-minded mentors. This led to prizes at the Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition, the International Cello Competition in Markneukirchen and the Australian Cello Awards. Edward enjoys a multi-faceted career, collaborating with a diverse array of ensembles around Europe and further afield. He is especially interested in projects that unearth new perspectives on long-standing musical traditions, and enjoys dabbling in a wide range of music: early, contemporary, world, chamber, electronic, improvised, rearranged and recomposed. Since 2019 Edward has lectured on the cello at the Leopold Mozart Center of the University of Augsburg, where he enjoys the challenges and inspiration provided by his students. Edward plays on a modern German instrument, made by Robert König in 2017.

The Chamber Orchestra of Lilla Akademien in Stockholm was founded in 2002. Since its establishment, the orchestra has given numerous concerts in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Italy, consolidating a broad repertoire ranging from the baroque of Bach and Handel to the modern-day music of Arvo Pärt and John Adams. The orchestra is made up of young musicians between the ages of 14 and 19, students of Lilla Akademien. The academy’s curriculum offers young people the opportunity to receive excellent musical training integrated within a regular school curriculum. Each young musician is trained in both the orchestral and solo repertoire and regularly attends chamber music courses. The orchestra’s activities involve intensive rehearsal work in sections with the teachers and the coordination of the Academy’s music director, violinist Nina Balabina. The orchestra is conducted by Maestro Mark Tatlow.

Finnish violinist Sini Simonen enjoys an active international career as a chamber musician and soloist. As the leader of Castalian String Quartet, she is an artist in residence at Wigmore Hall and Oxford University and appears at the world's leading concert halls.

Sini has won top prizes in several major international violin competitions including the Flesch, Lipizer and Cremona competitions.
She studied in Sibelius Academy, Musikhochschule Hannover and Musik-Akademie Basel with Rainer Schmidt and Lara Lev among others.
From 2013 to 2017, Sini was a violinist of Esbjerg Ensemble, one of Denmark's oldest chamber groups. The ensemble is comprised of a string quartet, wind quintet and percussion, and it is known for its innovative programmes combining contemporary and classical music. Working with composers continues to be a vital part of her musical life.
Her chamber music partners have included Ferenc Rados, Robert Levin, Midori and Steven Isserlis

Connie is an exciting British Violist, performing across Europe as a soloist and leader, and internationally as a chamber musician. Based in Amsterdam, Connie is a member of the Marigold Piano Quartet who recently took the Netherlands by storm, with performances at the Concertgebouw and multiple features on the Dutch classical Radio 4. Currently she is studying her masters degree at the Conservatoire van Amsterdam with Nobuko Imai and Marjolein Dispa. She freelances across Europe with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, 12 Ensemble and O'Modernt Chamber Orchestra, and is the co-founder of Seida Ensemble. Connie has a wealth of chamber music experience and enjoys putting together collaborative chamber concerts. Her artistic and conceptual approach has been largely influenced by musicians she has played with at festivals such as Yellow Barn, IMS Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music and Zermatt Music Festival. She plays on a Charle Coquet viola and an Emmanuel Carlier bow.

Daniel Eklund (1987) was born and raised in Lund, Sweden, where he started playing the viola at the age of 5. In 2015, he began his studies in the soloist class at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, with Professor Lars Anders Tomter and Tim Frederiksen.

Daniel Eklund plays a lot of chamber music, and is a member of the Nordic String Quartet. The quartet has performed at music festivals both within and outside the borders of Scandinavia. Their debut CD with music by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen won the 2019 Danish P2 Award in the category "Album of the Year with new classics". Danish, Nancy Dalberg's complete string quartets were also published in collaboration with Dacapo records in 2019. The English Music Web International has added the CD on their list of "Recordings of the year".
Since 2013, Daniel has a permanent position as principal violist in the chamber orchestra Musica Vitae, with whom he has been a soloist on several occasions.

One of the foremost violinists of her generation.
— The Strad

Priya Mitchell grew up in Oxford and studied with David Takeno at the Yehudi Menuhin School and with Zachar Bron in Germany. She was then chosen as the British representative of the European Concert Halls Organisation ‘Rising Stars‘ Series, which success led to highly acclaimed tours and performances in Europe and abroad.

She has worked with many eminent conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Yuri Temirkanov, Richard Hickcox, Emmanuel Krivine, Heinrich Schiff and Yan Pascal Tortelier. As a recitalist and chamber musician she has performed extensively at international music festivals including Schleswig-Holstein, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Kuhmo, Lockenhaus, Risør, Heimbach, Ravinia, Lugano, Cheltenham, Bath, Stavanger and Trondheim.

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As violinist, leader and conductor, Hugo Ticciati imbibes all possible forms of creativity, whether it be performing world premieres in the most prestigious venues around the world, improvising with monks in India, or devising innovative programmes for O/Modernt Orchestra and Festival which he founded in 2011. Alongside his passion to discover and learn from the music of previous epochs and non-western traditions, Hugo embraces the world of contemporary music. To date, over forty works have been written for and dedicated to him by a host of eminent composers, including Erkki-Sven Tüür, Pēteris Vasks, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Albert Schnelzer and Dobrinka Tabakova.

As the Artistic Director of his own O/Modernt Orchestra, and Artistic Partner with Manchester Camerata, Hugo collaborates regularly with Kremerata Baltica, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra da Camera di Perugia. Most recently, he has been invited to work with Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and Vienna Chamber Orchestra.

Gaining a growing reputation for his innovative and adventurous programming, Hugo is frequently asked to devise and present concerts and festivals with a unique twist. This has led to ongoing collaborations with Wigmore Hall and Kings Place in London. Pursuing his passion for chamber music, Hugo has developed special artistic partnerships with members of the O/Modernt Soloists as well as other internationally renowned artists, notably Evelyn Glennie, Anne Sofie von Otter, Nils Landgren, Steven Isserlis, Angela Hewitt and Olli Mustonen.

Hugo frequently gives master-classes and lectures on music-related subjects both at Scandinavia’s leading specialist music school Lilla Akademien, where he holds the post of Deputy Artistic Director, and other educational institutions around the world.

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Directed by violinist Hugo Ticciati, the O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra is an integral part of O/Modernt. Comprised of top players from all over Europe, the orchestra performs eclectic and adventurous programmes, with anything from arrangements of medieval motets to Bach, Webern and Metallica. The orchestra regularly collaborates with world-renowned soloists such as Evelyn Glennie, Steven Isserlis, Anne Sofie von Otter and Nils Landgren, as well as jazz artists, rappers, choreographers, rock-balancers and more!
Over the last decade, the orchestra has gained an international reputation, with critically-acclaimed performances at the Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Wiener Musikverein and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam. Recent and upcoming highlights include concerts in Kölner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie, Berwaldhallen, Kings Place and Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall. The O/Modernt players enjoy a wide range of outreach and educational projects in Sweden, the UK and further afield in India.

Festival 2022

Violins
CLARA BJERHAG
LUCA BOGNÁR
LAIA BRAUN
GABRIEL CORNET
XENIA GEUGELIN
JULIJA IVANOVAITÉ
ISKANDAR KOMILOV
SOFIA KORTELAINEN
MIRIAM LILJIFORS
LAURA LUNANSKY
JOHANNES MARMÉN
VICKY SAYLES
LIANA SVENSSON
HUGO TICCIATI
OSCAR TREITLER

Violas
JENNY AUGUSTINSSON
BRYONY GIBSON-CORNISH
FLORIAN HUBER
PRZEMYSŁAW PUJANEK
FRAUKE STEICHERT
HUGO SVENSSON

Cellos
JULIAN ARP
HEDVIG BENGSTON
REBECKA ERICSSON
CLAUDE FROCHAUX
EDWARD KING
SINÉAD O’HALLORAN

Double Basses
JORDI CARRASCO HJELM
JAKUB BECERRA PIETRYKA
BENJAMIN ZIAI

Oboe
HANNES HEINEMANN
INKEN MENCK
SIOBHAN PARKER

Bassoon
JONATHAN BAUER
ANDERS ENGSTRÖM

Horn
ANNA FERRIOL DE CIURANA
BJÖRN OLSSON
EELIS MALMIVIRTAV

Theorb
KARL NYHLIN

“His playing was commendable for its fluidity and virtuosity, distinguished by both a fleet-fingered lightness and a rich timbre” (Vivien Schweitzer, The New York Times)

István Várdai is highly regarded for his joyous energy, rhythmic vigour and elegant grace in his soulful renditions of solo, chamber music and orchestral repertoire for cello. In his third season as Artistic Director of Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, he continues to present inspiring and creative programmes. Alongside this, István welcomes world-renowned musicians at the Kapostfest Chamber Music Festival in Hungary, which he co-curates with violinist Kristóf Baráti, and continues his soloist career with leading orchestras performing repertoire from Bach to Péter Eötvös.

As a passionate chamber musician, he has performed with Vikingur Olaffson, András Schiff, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Mischa Maisky, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Liza Ferschtman at some of the world’s leading venues. In June 2023, he will play with Hugo Ticciati, Christoffer Sundqvist, Alasdair Beatson in variety of chamber music and orchestral programmes as part of O/Modernt’s Summer Festival in Stockholm.

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Alexander Melnikov completed his studies at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Naumov. His most formative musical moments in Moscow include an early encounter with Svjatoslav Richter, who thereafter regularly invited him to festivals in Russia and France. He was awarded prizes at eminent competitions such as the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau (1989) and the Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth in Brussels (1991). Known for his often unusual musical and programmatic decisions, he performs regularly with distinguished period ensembles including the Freiburger Barockorchester, Musica Aeterna and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. As a soloist, Alexander Melnikov has performed in a number of renowned concert halls, and has an impressive discography, including his recording of Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich, named by the BBC Music Magazine as one of the "50 Greatest Recordings of All Time." Furthermore he is an active chamber musician, working regularly with various partners such as Isabelle Faust, Sol Gabetta or Jean-Guihen Queyras.

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Sascha has quickly established himself as one of the most sought-after viola players in London. Since relocating to the UK in 2017 he has been in high demand as soloist, chamber musician and guest principal with symphony and chamber orchestras alike. He joined the Navarra String Quartet in 2018 and Britten Sinfonia in 2021 as associate leader of the viola section. Last season featured Sascha as soloist in the Musikverein Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Printzregententheater in Munich and Konzerthaus Berlin along with partner Antoine Tamestit and the AKAMUS Berlin. He is a member of the Oculi Sextet and Sakuntala String Trio, both based in London. Sascha appears frequently as guest principal player of Aurora Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Academy of Ancient Music, English Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and the Romanian Chamber Orchestra, a newly founded project very close to his heart in Romania. He enjoys both gut stringing his viola at different pitches as well as playing jazz in various ensembles. Newly Sascha has joined the professorial staff at Trinity University in London. Sascha joins the O’Modernt with great joy and commitment in both UK and international concerts.

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