Surrey Mozart Players

Philip Ellis
www.philipellisconductor.com

This concert will be conducted by Philip Ellis who was appointed as Music Director of the Surrey Mozart Players in March 2023.  

Since winning first prize in the Leeds Conductors’ Competition in 1991, Philip Ellis has worked extensively throughout the UK conducting many concerts with the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, London Mozart Players, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, City of London Sinfonia, Northern Sinfonia and over 400 concerts with English Sinfonia.  He is a passionate supporter of Music Education and has worked extensively with amateur orchestras, community and youth groups throughout his career.  He is very much looking forward to a long and exciting collaboration with Surrey Mozart Players as their new Music Director, working together with this wonderful orchestra on the next stage of their already distinguished musical journey.

He made his international debut conducting the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 1987, leading to engagements with Hong Kong Philharmonic, Netherlands Radio Symphony, Belgian National Orchestra, Flanders Symphony, St Petersburg Philharmonic, St Petersburg Symphony, National Orchestra of Mexico, Western Australian Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Würtembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Neue Philharmonie Westfallen and many broadcast concerts with the BRTN Philharmonic (Brussels) for radio and television.

Philip Ellis works extensively as a conductor for dance.  As conductor for Birmingham Royal Ballet since 1989, he has conducted the majority of their productions.  He also regularly guest-conducts for international ballet companies: The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, La Scala Ballet in Milan, Paris Opera Ballet at the Opera Garnier, The Australian Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Mikhailovsky Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Hong Kong Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, Korean National Ballet and Gothenburg Ballet.

On CD, he has recorded Prokofiev Peter and the Wolf and Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals with the Philharmonia. Copland Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, El Salon Mexico and a series of Concert Classics discs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Contemporary Clarinet Concertos for Nimbus with Emma Johnson and Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with Dimitri Ferschtman, recorded live in concert from the Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam.   

In his free time, he is a keen artist, particularly interested in portraiture - working in a wide range of media. A selection of his work can be seen on his website www.philipellisconductor.com and on instagram @philellisart. 

Rachel Siu

www.rachelsiucellist.com

Described as "fearless" by Yo-Yo Ma in an interview with South China morning post, Australian born Rachel Siu has been making her mark all around the world. Rachel Siu started learning the cello at the age of five with Renat Yusupov. Her father was a loyal music lover, and curiously asked if she would be interested in a string instrument, and played a video recording of a Brandenburg Concerto by Bach. She picked the cello, simply because it was a large instrument. Rachel recently completed her Master of Music degree under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick at The Juilliard School, where she was a Kovner Fellow, and a recipient of the William Schuman Commencement Prize. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Juilliard in 2019. Her previous teachers include Peter Rejto and Susan Blake.

Since debuting as a soloist at the age of seven at the Sydney Town Hall, Rachel has performed in Europe, Asia, America, and Australia, and has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, and LGT Young Soloists, working under the baton of conductors such as Thomas Adès, and Long Yu. She has performed in venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, Alice Tully Hall, Xinghai Concert Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and the Musikverein.

Rachel more recently won the Gold Medal prize at the VIII David Popper International Cello Competition in Varpalota, Hungary.

At the age of 11, Rachel became the youngest winner in the 33-year history of the National Youth Concerto Competition in Australia. Rachel was the winner of The Juilliard School Concerto Competition in 2017, where she performed the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor with The Juilliard Orchestra. She performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall for the first time when premiering a movement of Julian Gargiulo’s Cello Sonata No.2 for the 2019 Getting to Carnegie International Competition, for which she received first prize. She was also a prizewinner of the IX Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition in Morelia, Mexico in 2019. This year, she was awarded an alumni award from the MLC School Sydney for outstanding international achievements.

Rachel is an avid chamber musician, having performed frequently with her young piano trio in Sydney, after winning Australia’s National Musica Viva Chamber Music Competition in 2012. She has performed with many musicians, including Paul Neubauer, Glenn Dicterow, and Karen Dreyfus, and has coached with artists such as Emanuel Ax, Pamela Frank, Hsin-Yun Huang, Yo-Yo Ma, and Laurie Smukler. She is currently a member of Austraia's own renowned Streeton Trio.

She has had the honor of playing in masterclasses for cellists such as Lynn Harrell, Frans Helmerson, Steven Isserlis, and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt.

Rachel is also a passionate teacher of both cello and music theory, having taught lessons in private, and at schools such as the Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School. She now currently holds a position as faculty at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, where she teaches university students. She completed her teacher training program at The School for Strings in New York, earning her Suzuki teaching certificate.

In January of 2019, Rachel travelled with select cellists from all around the world for the Scandinavian Cello School to perform at the Musikverein for the 78th Vienna Philharmonic Ball.

Rachel is currently a member of LGT Young Soloists. She was a recipient of the Australian Music Foundation Nora Goodridge Young Artist Award and the American Australian Association Dame Joan Sutherland Award.

Rachel was born into a creative family, although she is the only musician. She finds joy in rock climbing, outdoor activities in general, reading, and baking, and has recently been making resin pieces for friends and family.

 © www.rachelsiucellist.com

To follow

Venue Location

The concert takes place at Holy Trinity Church in the centre of Guildford.

Holy Trinity Church
High Street
Guildford
GR1 3RR

By Road

Guildford is reached via the A3 (London or Portsmouth directions).  

By Train

The church is approximately 10 minutes walk from Guildford Mainline Station which is served by regular trains to/from London Waterloo and Victoria, Portsmouth, Reading, Gatwick Airport, Haselmere and Ascot.

Parking

The nearest car park is:

Castle Car Park, Sydenham Road, GU1 3RW (for Holy Trinity & Trinity Centre)

Accessibility

A ramp is available at one of the entrances to the church.  Please contact us on surreymozartplayers@gmail.com if you have any specific requirements.

Refreshments

Drinks will be available before the concert and during the interval.