Alicja Smietana’s international debut was a concert with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Orchestra under Sir Neville Marriner in 2003. Since then, she has collaborated as a soloist with numerous world-renowned orchestras and chamber ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic and Simon Rattle. Earning the respect of many distinguished musicians, she has collaborated with Gidon Kremer, Nigel Kennedy, Ivan Monighetti, Yuri Bashmet, Martha Argherich, Thomas Zehetmair, and other distinguished artists. Born in Kraków, Alicja studied at the Academy of Music there, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and the Kronberg Academy in Germany in the violin class of Christian Tetzlaff. She also honed her skills with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Hagai Shaham, Dorothy DeLay, Tabea Zimermann, Ana Chumachenco, and Erich Gruenberg. In 2009, she was invited by Nigel Kennedy to co-found and co-direct the new ORCHESTRA OF LIFE, with which she performed in the most important concert halls in Europe. After studying music at the University of York, Nigel Yandell gained a postgraduate scholarship at Wadham College, Oxford, where his doctoral research focused principally on eighteenth and early nineteenth century keyboard music in Russia. Formerly a Director of the London Sinfonietta, Palace Opera and Pro Corda, he is currently a Director of the Stradivari Trust and a representative of CUMS within the recently established University Centre for Music Performance.