Biography
GUY JOHNSTON | Cello
TOM HANKEY | Viola
NADIA WIJZENBEEK | Violin
LILY FRANCIS | Viola
MARIE MACLEOD | Cello
TOM POSTER | Piano
MAGNUS JOHNSTON | Violin
The Aronowitz works as a true ensemble, listening, responding, moving as one and creating mellifluous, fascinating textures.
Daily Telegraph
The Aronowitz Ensemble was formed out of the desire of seven outstanding international artists to explore and perform chamber music together in the highly adaptable combination of string sextet and piano and has now been established for over ten years. Since its sell-out debut at St John’s, Smith Square, the Ensemble has played across the UK and beyond, covering a vast range of repertoire - familiar, neglected and new.
As BBC New Generation Artists and afterwards, the Aronowitz Ensemble has featured extensively on BBC Radio 3. In addition to numerous studio recordings, broadcasts have included performances from the Wigmore and Bridgewater Halls, the Sage, Gateshead, and the Aldeburgh, Bath, Cheltenham and City of London Festivals. The Ensemble made its BBC Proms debut in 2008 and returned for further performances at the Proms.
Engagements have included concerts at the Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, St George’s Bristol, Queen’s University Belfast, and the Cambridge, Chichester, Gregynog, Dart, Newbury and Tetbury Festivals. The Ensemble gave the inaugural Aldeburgh Residencies tour in 2006, contributed five concerts as ensemble-in-residence at the Two Moors Festival and curated a series of performances at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. In addition, they have played in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, where they made their debut at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.
Composers including Gwilym Simcock, Huw Watkins, Martin Suckling and Mark Simpson have written works for the Aronowitz Ensemble in its full septet formation.
In addition to its wide repertoire of chamber works for strings and piano, the Aronowitz Ensemble enjoys collaborations with artists such as Alison Balsom, Gerald Finley, Matthew Hunt, Andrew Kennedy, Gwilym Simcock, Ailish Tynan and Elizabeth Watts. The Ensemble has also performed its own arrangements of lighter works by Gershwin, Weill and Katie Melua in cabaret performances for the Aldeburgh and City of London Festivals. They have recorded two CDs on the Sonimage label: the first, Climbing the Skies, with music by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Huw Watkins; the second, of music by Dvorak, Mendelssohn and Martin Suckling.
The Aronowitz Ensemble was awarded a Special Ensemble Scholarship from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, providing support and financial assistance towards a number of projects.
Representation: General Management
Contact: Aminah Domloge