We're delighted to welcome another local musician - Ibrahim Aziz who will be joined by his colleague Sam Stadlen. The duo of baroque cellists will perform works by Boismortier, Barrier, Vivaldi and more.
Ibrahim Aziz
Ibrahim Aziz studied the viola da gamba with Alison Crum at Trinity College of Music London where he won several awards including the Ricordi Prize in conducting in 2003 and the college’s Gold Medal in 2005. A member of the Rose Consort of Viols and several other ensembles in Europe, he has collaborated with many distinguished artists such as singers Emma Kirkby and Clare Wilkinson, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, recorder players Emma Murphy and Pamela Thorby, gamba player Charles medlam, jazz musicians Liam Noble and David Wickins, the contemporary music company Sound Affairs with composer Charlie Barber and the Oxford-based baroque ensemble Charivari Agréable.
He has appeared on the BBC and Dutch radio stations as well as on various recordings on the Signum, Delphian and Deux-Elles labels. Ibrahim has performed in many festivals worldwide for all kinds of audiences ranging from the BBC Proms to Christmas shoppers on Oxford Street to Highgrove House for HRH The Prince of Wales. He leads the Historical Performance Practice course at Morley College, London.
Sam Stadlen
Sam Stadlen is a cellist, viola da gamba player, lecturer, musicologist, and teacher. Based in York, he is active as a musician in London and the North of England, performing as a soloist and with various period music ensembles. Taught baroque cello by Rachel Gray and viol by Susanna Pell, Sam has performed as a baroque cellist and viol player with Fretwork, Sestina Consort, Chelys, and with members of the Rose Consort, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the European Union Baroque Orchestra. He has also benefitted from masterclasses and tuition from players such as Christophe Coin, Wieland Kuijken, Jonathan Manson, Alison McGillivray, Alison Crum, Richard Boothby and Ibi Aziz.
Sam has just finished a PhD at the University of York investigating the influences of poetry and declamation on the pièces de viole in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century France. This research aimed to bring together a detailed understanding of the language, culture, and politics of French society in order to better understand both the composition and performance of music by the great French violists, most notably Marin Marais. It resulted in a series of recordings of both pièces de viole and vocal airs arranged for viol which demonstrated the poetic nature of this music. Other research interests include the history and construction of string instruments and French Baroque rehearsal and practice techniques.