Orpheus Leander - Violinist, Founder/Artistic Director ACMF

Artur Haftman - Pianist

Giorgos Minas - Composer

Orpheus Leander performs as a violin soloist, leader of the Orfeas String Quartet and artistic director of the Music of the Spheres Ensemble. He has performed in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia. Orpheus studied at the Royal Academy of Music who awarded him a scholarship to further his solo studies with Carmel Kaine in Australia. His prizes include first prize in the Concerto Competition at the Richmond Music Festival playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto and the Silver Medal at the Marlow Music Festival.

High points include: Solo recitals of Bach, Mozart Concerto No 5, Sarasate Zigeunerweisen at St Martin in the Fields, Ralph Vaughan Williams 'The Lark Ascending' for his debut in Vienna, Paganini Carnevale Di Venezia in Roma, Vivaldi Four Seasons and Concerti by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Bruch, Mendelssohn & Tchaikovsky.

His playing has created a very strong bond with several outstanding composers of today; this has led to works being written for Orpheus. World Premiers include the ‘Ukrainian Fantasy’ with Andriy Viytovych (principal viola ROH) and ‘Chaconne of Resistance’ by Alla Sirenko, ‘A Greek in New York’ violin Concerto by Denise Mangiardi, Dr Susannah Self Night Sea Journey - Harbour for solo violin and chamber orchestra, solo violin works and string quartets by Giorgos Minas, Amir Konjani, Chihchun Chi-sun Lee & Aziza Sadikova. He gave the British Premier of Ezio Bosso’s ‘Sea Rain’ for solo violin and Strings with the late composer conducting.

He has more recently started to conduct orchestras and compose - perform/record music for several London theatre productions and the film 'My Dear Friend' which premiered in October 2025. Appearances include: Solo tango violinist with the BalletBoyz in the Queen Elizabeth Hall South Bank Centre. Leading London Early Opera and The Musicians of London in the Cadogan Hall, playing with the English National Opera, Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestra and performing for HRH Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and for HRH King Charles III. He has appeared on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and recorded for BBC radio. His debut CD is 'Colours of Europe'    

‘a penetrating account of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Orpheus Leander Papafilippou a commanding soloist of great breadth and sensitivity..... a very successful performance.‘     Robert Matthew - Walker - Musical Opinion

www.orpheusviolinist.com

Artur Haftman is an internationally renowned concert pianist, celebrated for his exceptional artistry and deeply personal interpretations of Chopin’s music. Critics around the world have praised the beauty, clarity, and emotional depth of his playing. In a review for The Boston Musical Intelligencer, David Moran expressed admiration for the exquisite, mellifluous sound and compelling artistic presence that Artur brings to the stage, comparing his impact to the remarkable impression Murray Perahia made more than four decades ago.

Born in Poland, Artur began his musical journey at the age of six. He studied first with Ewa Kubiak-Kubacka and Jolanta Reszelska, and made his orchestral debut at the age of eight with the Koszalin Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then, he has built an outstanding international career, winning prizes in more than 25 competitions, including major awards in Paris, Warsaw, Narva, Szafarnia, Moscow, Brussels, and Spain.

During his studies at the Royal College of Music, he received both the Gary and Eleanor Brass Scholarship and the Carnwath Piano Scholarship, the latter as the only pianist in the United Kingdom to receive it. He graduated in 2020 with highest honours from the Artist Diploma programme under Professors Dimitri Alexeev and Jianing Kong.

Now based in London, Artur performs and teaches internationally, appearing in leading venues across Europe, Asia, and the United States. He is also Artistic Director of SIMA Classics and co-founder of the London International Chopin Competition.

Acclaimed Chinese-born Operatic Soprano Beibei Wang has captivated audiences across the UK’s most prestigious venues, including the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace, and the Houses of Parliament. She made history as the first Chinese artist invited to lead soprano in the Royal Albert Hall’s 150th-anniversary Christmas Eve concert. Her powerful portrayals of Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica in London have cemented her dramatic and vocal prowess.

Her excellence has earned global recognition, including the 2026 Outstanding Artist Award at the United Nations, the 2025 China-Europe Music Exchange Ambassador title, and the 2017 Big Ben Outstanding Young Chinese Award. Her diverse repertoire spans Bel Canto to Verismo, with performances at the O2, Cadogan Hall, and Symphony Hall, and broadcasts on the BBC and China Central Television.

Beyond performing, Beibei serves as Principal Soprano of the London International Sinfonia and Artistic Director of the East-West Arts Initiative. She is a sought-after competition judge and was named "The Messenger of Sino-British Cultural Exchange" by Cultural Monthly. Her media presence includes a China Central Television-4 celebrity endorsement and a Phoenix Weekly cover feature.

Trained at Xinghai Conservatory and Milan under tutelage of leading opera masters of La scala, she then won scholarships in the UK, continued at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (Master of Music), the Royal Northern College of Music (Advanced Artist Diploma), and Trinity Laban as a scholar under Peter Knapp. With a career spanning continents and royal halls, Beibei Wang remains a luminous bridge between Eastern and Western musical traditions.

Alla Sirenko has graduated from 3 conservatoires - Kyiv as a Pianist, Lviv – as a Composer, and Tallinn as an organist. She also was studied at Cambridge, Lubeck and Moscow.

Alla Sirenko is one of the most exiting composers and pianists that has emerged from Ukraine. Her works have gained highest rewards and recognition in Europe and beyond. She made a mark in history of being the first Ukrainian Composer to have written and had performed her opera - fantasy “The Golden Penguin” which was premiered on the prestigious stage of the Royal Opera House - Covent Garden - London a few years ago www.thegoldenpenguin.com

She was a Composer in Residence for the Lviv Opera House of Ukraine where her 3 productions there (opera and 2 ballets) have been in the main repertoire of the theatre for the last 10 years. 

She is also a successful composer of film music worldwide for EMI, Sony and Warner Brothers. A performance and composition of her “Ave Maria”, especially commissioned for the late Pope’s John Paul first visit to Ukraine was televised to several million people around the world. 

Alla was for the last six years - the Composer in Residence, Producer and Artistic director of the Ukrainian Cathedral Concert Hall in Mayfair, where she has organised numerous of the classical concerts and events.

Recently she founded the Ukrainian Cultural Association in the UK (UCA-UK) and became a President of this organisation, where she is together with their committee have organised various cultural events regularly to promote the best Ukrainian talent among British and International audiences.

From November 2020 –The Ukrainian Cultural Association in the UK was invited to become a part of the FIWAL (The Federation of International Women’s Associations in London) www.FIWAL.org.uk. Committee and members of the Ukrainian Cultural Association in the UK are very happy to be part of the International prominent family of likeminded people, whom objectives are in promoting and engaging in various social, charity, cultural, theatrical and musical events and activities. This merger will greatly benefit the goals of the Ukrainian Cultural Association in the UK to integrate and to promote the Ukrainian Culture to the wide range of audiences not only in London, but through media in other countries in the world, such as USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Europe through the International contacts, events and memberships of the FIWAL.

Alla Sirenko is a full member of the ISM- Independent Society of Musicians in Great Britain; The Composers Union of Ukraine; Novello Academy, Worshipful Company of Musicians of City of London, the President of the Ukrainian Cultural Association in the United Kingdom

Youtube:   thegoldenpenguinuk

www.thegoldenpenguin.com

Distinguished Composer, author, teacher and visionary philosopher of arts and culture Giorgos Minas. His compositions have been performed internationally and throughout Greece. Born in Corfu Giorgos Minas search for enlightenment in music and arts is deeply rooted in his islands history, a birth place of enlightened thought and visionary in the continuous development of modern Greece, tying the strands of Classical, Byzantine, Romantic and post Ottoman Greece and leading forward. Giorgos compositions bridge multiple elements of European classical music and Greek cultures creating a rich and dynamic body of over 300 works; from Opera, incidental music for classical theatre, symphonic to chamber works.

His musical language incorporates multiple elements and is a virtuoso display of free flowing rhythmic, harmonic and melodic elements from Classical Greece, Byzantine monody, Greek Demotic asymmetric rhythmic structures through the huge western classical music tradition to the modern day.

Beibei Wang - Soprano

Alla Sirenko - Composer / Pianist / Writer

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