Professor Neena Modi FMedSci

Neena Modi is Professor of Neonatal Medicine at Imperial College London, a fellow and member of council of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, and president-elect of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine.

She has held a number of previous health leadership roles. She is the immediate past-president of the British Medical Association and UK Medical Women’s Federation, and past-president of the UK Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. She has also headed the UK Neonatal Society and Academic Paediatrics Association of Great Britain and Ireland.

Neena leads a multidisciplinary neonatal research group. She established the award-winning UK National Neonatal Research Database, and recently, a new International Neonatal Research Database. Neena is committed to the values of health equity, social justice, and high quality, publicly provided and delivered healthcare.

@NeenaModi1

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/neonatal-data-analysis-unit/neonatal-data-analysis-unit/

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/n.modi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neena_Modi

Emeritus Professor Julian Lloyd Webber OBE

Professor Shirley Thompson, Interim Principal, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Molly Welling is a cellist from South Lincolnshire, currently in her third year at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She has studied under the tutelage of Ulrich Heinen, Peggy Nolan and Nick Stringfellow, as well as Baroque cello with Imogen Seth-Smith. Molly began playing the cello at the age of 7, with Melanie Cortese (LRAM) and performed in various orchestras across the East of England, most notably the Britten Sinfonia Academy. She gained orchestral experience working for conductors such as Dominic Wheeler, Timothy Redmond and Vladimir Ashkenazy, as well as performing with soloists including Alexandra Dariescu and Matthew Barley. At the age of 17, Molly was awarded Associate of Trinity College London (ATCL), before embarking on her undergraduate performance studies.

Molly’s inspirations are currently drawn from her opportunities to perform in masterclasses for musicians including: Hannah Roberts, Jian Wang, Matthew Sharp, Julian Lloyd Webber and Oliver Heath. This has encouraged her ongoing exploration of chamber music with a variety of ensembles and projects across Birmingham and London. In the past year, Molly performed as cellist for the world premiere of ‘The Monk of the River’ by member of the Millenium Composers Initiative: Anna Vienna Ho – in collaboration with Infinite Opera and Tete a Tete. More recently, Molly acquired a position as cellist for The Hadit Collective, a Birmingham based contemporary group, founded by Nicholas Olsen and Aidan Teplitzky. Molly currently enjoys her work as a freelance musician, recently working in partnership with organisations such as: Leicestershire Sinfonia, East London School of Music and the Birmingham-based ‘Music and Minds’.

After playing the flute in his home county of Leicestershire for over a decade, in 2018, Zac began studying with the esteemed Marie-Christine Zupancic (Section Leader & Principal Flute of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra). Under her tutelage Zac successfully gained a place to study a BMus(Hons) degree specialising in musical performance at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where he has now entered his third year of study. Having spent several extraordinary years with Marie-Christine Zupancic, Zac is now under the instruction of the revered Diane Clark (Principal Flute of the Orchestra of the Swan). As well as the flute Zac has a strong passion for piccolo playing and is taught by Andrew Lane (the now retired, Principal Piccolo of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra).

A keen orchestral and solo musician Zac has taken part in countless concerts and recitals over the years. Highlights being, Principal Flute for Fiddler on the Roof at Curve Theatre Leicester & Second Flute in a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Dreams at the Birmingham Hippodrome accompanying the dancers of the Birmingham Royal Ballet with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra.

As well as working as a performer Zac is a dedicated and committed teacher and has a growing number of private students.

Vasco Canastra is a Portuguese violinist. He began his musical studies on the recommendation of his music teacher at the Pedro Fesch Music School. Vasco went on to take music initiation classes with Professor Pedro Fesch. He joined the violin classes of Professor João Paz and after a few years at the school, he commenced violin studies with Professor Pedro Rocha for one year. In 2015 Vasco joined the Music Academy of Costa Cabral (AMCC): 5th grade violin with Professor Rafael Moreira and 6th grade with Professor Sergey Arutyunyan. He finished his 8th grade level of music with distinction.

In September 2020 he started his studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Professor Nathaniel Vallois. Vasco has also had private lessons with Iossif Grinmann, Tatiana Afanasieva and Suzanna Lidegran. In addition, he has had masterclasses with Afonso Fesch, Sergey Artyunyan, Augusto Trindade, Zofia Wóycicka, Ani Schnarch, Oliver Wille, Sergey Levitin and many others.

As an orchestra player he was selected national and internacional for projects such as Ensemble Symphony Orchestra,   Orquestra do Festival dos Dias da música de Belém, , Costa Cabral Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, BISYOC Intercultural Youth Orchestra Exchange and many others. Recently, he was awarded with the Meher Rohi Gazder Scholarship (£500), a scholarship to aid a promising violin student.

Beth began singing at the age of 8 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus and by the age of 17 achieved distinction in ABRSM grade 8 singing. She was also a member of the National Youth Choir of Scotland’s National Girls Choir from the ages of 12 to 16. Beth studied piano and clarinet to grade 8, playing in local youth orchestras.

She has sung in prestigious venues such as the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Usher Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. Beth studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Junior Conservatoire before beginning her studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she is studying under Anne Dawson.

During her first year, Beth has enjoyed singing with the RBC Chamber Choir and Consort as well as taking part in several Ex Cathedra engagements. During her summer break, Beth has performed with NYCoS all over Scotland culminating in several performances at the Edinburgh International Festival. Beth is looking forward to developing her vocal performance in choral and opera settings.

Camila Valerio is a portuguese pianist who is currently on her fourth year studying under the tutelage of Daniel Tong and Katharine Lam at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Camila started studying piano at the age of 8 years old with Oxana Khurdenko. Throughout her studies she was awarded some national and international prizes as well as played as soloist with the orquestra Ars Lusitanea that is based in Portugal with the conductor Alberto Roque. Her musical interests go beyond classical music and she is also a member of the jazz band SwingSamp from her home town. Before initiating her studies at the conservatoire Camila did the course of Visual Arts and recently, she has been developing didactic material for young piano students that join music and visual arts through illustrations and pieces made by her. Currently Camila is a piano teacher in the music school Progress Music Academy and during the past summer she worked with the Thame Youth Theatre to be the musical director of the musical ‘Mathilda’.

Sarah began piano at the age of 6 and by age 15 had achieved a Diploma in Piano Performance. Throughout her childhood, Sarah also learned both Clarinet and Cello to Grade 8 standard, and performed in many prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and Birmingham’s Symphony Hall with local youth orchestras.

Since dedicating herself to solely piano studies, Sarah has been prize-winner in the Two Moors Young Musician’s Competition 2021, and been invited to perform a lunchtime concert at the Budleigh Music Festival. During the summer break, Sarah has also played orchestral piano for the Amadeus Orchestra, performing at Wiltshire Music Centre and Exeter Cathedral.

After studying with local teachers until the end of her A-Levels, Sarah began her studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in September 2021, studying under Katharine Lam. She has enjoyed performing in many chamber ensembles – including a clarinet, viola and piano trio, and an Open Day performance with the percussion department. Sarah is hoping to develop both her solo and chamber playing throughout the rest of her time at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Charles is currently an undergraduate student at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where he studies the organ with Daniel Moult and Nicholas Wearne. Charles has spent the last two years as Organ Scholar at Birmingham Cathedral where he regularly accompanies the cathedral choirs and assists in the running of the music department. As well as this, he has also been accompanist to the critically acclaimed Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir under Paul Spicer. Becoming a prize-winning Associate of the Royal College of Organists whilst still at school, he also maintained regular deputising roles at Canterbury and Rochester Cathedrals. As well as occasionally playing for the resident choirs, this presented the opportunity to work with various choral ensembles from the UK, USA, Canada and the Netherlands.

Since winning First Prize in The Dame Gillian Weir Messiaen Competition in 2019, Charles has become increasingly in demand as a performer. Recent recital venues have included various chapels, churches and numerous UK cathedrals including St Paul’s Cathedral, London (2021) and Westminster Abbey (2022). In February 2022 Charles became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and from September 2022 will move to St Peter’s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton as Assistant Director of Music.