Royal College of Music, YMF 2003
![[Sacconi String Quartet]](images/2003/sacconi160.jpg)
The Sacconi String Quartet is fast being acknowledged as one of the finest young string quartets in the country since its formation at the Royal College of Music in 2001. Winners of the prestigious Gerard Heller and Rosemary Rapaport String Quartet Prize (held for all UK conservatoires), they have also been awarded the Helen Just and Susan Connell String Chamber Music Prize at the Royal College of Music.
In April 2002, the Quartet performed the Mendelssohn Octet with the world-renowned Chilingirian Quartet, from whom they received a scholarship to study on their summer course. They pursue a busy schedule of recitals throughout the UK, and also have a programme of recitals in London schools in collaboration with the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust. The Sacconi String Quartet is coached by the Chilingirian Quartet and Professor Ani Schnarch.
Ben Hancox has played the violin since the age of four. In 1997 he became a student of Serguei Fatkouline, studying in Madrid and Bonn. Last year he entered the third year of the Royal College of Music where he now studies with Felix Andrievsky. Here, he has recently won the Helen Just Violin Prize and been awarded scholarships to study at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Ben has given many solo and chamber music recitals in this country and abroad. Last year he performed concerti by Bach, Haydn and Bruch and gave a performance of The Lark Ascending with the Kent Sinfonia. He has recently performed the Bach Double Violin Concerto with Maidstone Symphony Orchestra and has given recitals in the 2002 Sounds New Festival and in the Metrolpole Arts Centre. He was also soloist with the Kent County Youth Orchestra on their summer tour to Florence, performing the Bruch G minor Concerto.
Ben has a long-standing partnership with the Bulgarian pianist Lora Dimitrova and together they have given many performances, most recently at festivals in Swaledale, Deal and Aberystwyth. Ben plays a Testori violin on loan from The Royal College of Music.
Hannah Dawson is in her fourth year at the Royal College of Music where she is now learning with Professor Ani Schnarch, who coaches the Quartet. She studied with Howard Davis while at school and previously with Rodney Friend at the RCM. Hannah was educated at Sevenoaks School where she was a music scholar. She played in the Lydian Orchestra, the National Isis Strings Academy and the Kent County Youth Orchestra. In 1996 she reached the Regional Final of the Audi Young Musician of the Year Competition in Goodwood House which was broadcast on Classic FM. Composer Michael Omer heard Hannah playing Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 at St. John's Smith Square and asked if he could write a violin concerto for her. She premiered this at St. John's Smith Square in April 1999 and repeated it in the Sevenoaks Summer Festival later that year.
Hannah is currently leader of the Kent Youth Orchestra and recently toured Italy with the orchestra, giving concerts in Tuscany. As well as being a member of the Sacconi String Quartet, Hannah has also led an orchestra on camera in the film Thunderpants and been profiled on Sky TV.
Robin Ashwell graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2001 with First Class Honours. He plays both viola and baroque / classical viola and is continuing his studies at the Royal College of Music as an Associated Board Scholar. He is a student of Andreij Vijtovitch on viola and Annette Isserlis on baroque / classical viola. In addition to his work with the Sacconi Quartet, Robin performs regularly with the Phoebus Trio, a flute-viola-harp trio. He was Principal Viola of the European Union Baroque Orchestra for its 2001 season and since then he has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Whilst at the Royal College of Music he has been awarded all the major viola prizes. He was formerly a student of Ian Jewel, Jan Schlapp, Catherine Mackintosh and Marguerite Wilkinson. Robin pursues a keen interest in education work, and has worked alongside members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra on its Playerlink scheme, conducting music workshops in schools around London. He was also involved in running the first Higher Education Summer School to be held at the Royal College of Music in August 2000.
Cara Berridge graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2002 with First Class Honours. She is continuing her studies at the RCM as the Amaryllis Fleming Scholar, where she is a student of Melissa Phelps. During her time at the RCM Cara has been Principal Cello of the RCM Symphony Orchestra and RCM Sinfonietta under conductors including Martin Andre and Vassily Zinaisky, and has performed continuo cello with the RCM Baroque Orchestra in the Christmas Oratorio, directed by Peter Schreier at St. John's Smith Square. During 2003 Cara will be performing in the London Symphony Orchestra as part of its String Experience Scheme.
Whilst at College Cara has won some of the major cello prizes including the Anna Shuttleworth Prize for solo cello 2002 and the Helen Just Prize for cello 2001. As a soloist Cara has played throughout the UK and Europe, performing concertos by Dvorak, Elgar, Haydn, Saint-Saens and J. C. Bach. Cara's past teachers include Anna Shuttleworth, Alexander Boyarsky, Jenny Ward-Clarke and Sue Lowe, and she has participated in masterclasses with Alexander Baillie, Johannes Goritzki and Nicholas Jones.
Cara hopes to continue her studies with Melissa Phelps at the Royal College of Music next year on the Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Performance Course. This year she is supported by the Martin Musical Fund.
Programme details | Pictures from 2003 [1] [2] [3]