Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Wind Ensemble
VIDEO
PRESS ACCLAIM
“an ensemble of first-rate musicians, technically superb, generously expressive, and obviously enjoying themselves.”
-Dallas Morning News
“impressively seamless ensemble"
-Chicago Classical Review
“Impressive sophistication and complexity of phrasing, elegant articulation and an impeccable sense ofbalance... What sets the Academy apart from other ensembles is its exceptional musical intelligence.”
-Seen and Heard International
REPERTOIRE
PROGRAMS FOR WIND QUINTET
April, 2026
Musicians: Michael Cox, flute; John Roberts, oboe; James Burke, clarinet; Julie Price, bassoon;
Stephen Stirling, horn
Program 1
J.S.Bach: Concerto Nr.2 after Vivaldi (arranged for wind quintet by Mordechai Rechtmann)
Composer TBD: a newly commissioned work (8-10 min)
James Macmillan: ‘Untold’, for Wind Quintet
Jim Parker: ‘Mississippi Five’ for Wind Quintet
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Claude Debussy: Syrinx for solo flute
Erwin Schuloff: Divertissement for Oboe Clarinet and Bassoon
Amy Beach: ‘Pastoral’ for Woodwind Quintet
Mozart: Fantasy in F-minor, K 608 for mechanical clock (arr. Julian Phillips)
Program 2
Mozart: Adagio & Allegro in F-minor for musical clock, K 594 (arranged for wind quintet)
Composer TBD: a newly commissioned work (8-10 min)
György Ligeti: Six Bagatelles
Haydn: Pieces for musical/mechanical clock, HOB. XIX (arranged for wind quintet)
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Carl Nielsen: Quintet for Winds, Opus 43
Mozart: Fantasy in F-minor, K 608 for mechanical clock (arr. Julian Phillips)
June 2024
BIOGRAPHY
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was founded by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958 and is currently led by Music Director Joshua Bell. In 1967, the Academy Chamber Ensemble was formed to perform the larger scale chamber music repertoire with players who customarily worked together, instead of the usual string quartet with additional guests. Drawn from the principal players of the orchestra, the Chamber Ensemble’s touring commitments are extensive and include regular tours of Europe and North America, whilst recording contracts with Philips Classics, Hyperion, and Chandos have led to the release of over thirty CDs.
The Chamber Ensemble now performs in multiple configurations, including the Academy Wind Ensemble, which makes its US debut with pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips in the 2020-21 season, performing programs featuring the quintets of Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms, among other works.
FIONA CROSS, clarinet
Fiona Cross is one of the leading clarinetists of her generation, and enjoys combining chamber music with a solo career as well as playing guest principal clarinet with all the leading British orchestras. She performs regularly with the Academy of St Martins in the Fields and has travelled extensively with them on many tours to the Far East, Europe and The Americas. She is also principal clarinet of Glyndebourne Touring Opera and Manchester Camerata, with whom she appears often as a soloist. She has performed concertos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfonietta and English Sinfonia and has recorded Lefanu Concertino for Naxos and Horovitz Concerto for Dutton. As a chamber musician Fiona has appeared with many leading ensembles including the Vanbrugh and Alberni String Quartets, at venues such as the Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room. She has also performed alongside Andras Schiff at his Weimar festival. Fiona takes a keen interest in promoting new music, and has commissioned many new works for clarinet and piano, and clarinet and harp from composers such as Gary Carpenter, Rolf Hind, Paul Archbold and Diana Burrell. She is a professor of clarinet at Trinity College of Music, London.
JOHN ROBERTS, oboe
Glasgow born John Roberts has been based in London since 2008, where, after studying at the Royal College of Music with former ASMF principal oboe Christopher Cowie, he quickly became immersed in the city’s rich orchestral scene, and was appointed principal oboe of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2013. Outside of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, he still holds his position in the RPO as well as being principal oboe in the English Chamber Orchestra, and visiting professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He has performed concertos in Europe, Asia and Africa, and is also a very keen chamber musician, having worked at various times with London Winds, the Gaudier Ensemble, Zarek Chamber and London Sinfonietta.
In recent years John also has a small presence on CD, having recorded Poulenc’s Sonata, Trio and Sextour with the pianist Mark Bebbington, and a solo number in John Rutter’s “I Sing of a Maiden” EP. A keen cyclist and mountaineer, John lives in Croydon with his wife and two cats.
JULIE PRICE, bassoon
An orchestral musician, chamber musician, soloist, and teacher, Julie Price has held positions as Principal Bassoon with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been Principal Bassoon of the English Chamber Orchestra since 1994 and Co-Principal, now Principal Bassoon, of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 2001. With conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Ralf Gothóni, Andrew Litton, Edward Gardner, and Douglas Boyd she has appeared as a soloist at the Barbican, Cadogan Hall, and Royal Festival Hall as well as many venues outside London and abroad. As a chamber musician she has appeared with such groups as the Nash, Gaudier, and Razumovsky ensembles, London Winds, and the Lindsay and Chilingirian string quartets. She first studied the bassoon with Sonja Smith, then with Edward Warren and William Waterhouse in Manchester, and later with Roger Birnstingl in Geneva. Julie Price has been a teacher at the Royal College of Music in London since 1998. Her discography includes recordings of Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto and Sinfonia concertante and Elgar’s Romance, all with the English Chamber Orchestra.
STEPHEN STIRLING, horn
Stephen Stirling is a renowned soloist who has appeared at almost every major British venue and with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, BBC NOW, BBC SSO, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St John’s. Recordings of Mozart Horn Concertos with the City of London Sinfonia feature constantly on Classic FM and he gave the world première of Gary Carpenter’s Horn Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic on Radio 3. He holds the unique distinction of having been the soloist for the opening of both of London’s newest purpose built concert halls – Cabot Hall and King’s Place. His recording of the Weber Concertino Op. 45 with CLS conducted by Michael Collins recently came out with Chandos. He has a world-wide reputation as a chamber musician, in constant demand at festivals in the UK and abroad as well as being a founder member of Endymion, The Fibonacci Sequence, the Audley Trio, Arpège, and the New London Chamber Ensemble. Amongst over 75 recorded chamber works, Brahm’s Horn Trio, with the Florestan Trio, was nominated for a Gramophone award. CDs of York Bowen, Thomas Dunhill, Stanford, and Horn a Fibonacci/Deux Elles CD of rare chamber works featuring the horn, have met with great critical acclaim. Principal of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and the City of London Sinfonia, Guest Principal Horn with the Capella Andrea Barca, Orquestra de Cadaques and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and member then Guest Principal of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Stephen is privileged to have worked with many of the world’s finest chamber orchestras.
Other recent highlights include performing at the Wigmore Hall with Angela Hewitt and Isabelle Faust, releases of chamber music by Nielsen, Lennox Berkeley, Sound Census with Endymion for NMC and a disc of music for oboe, horn and piano for Oboe Classics.
Professor of Horn at Trinity College of Music, London, on the faculty of the Yellow Barn Summer Music School and Festival in Vermont, USA, Stephen is also a veteran of the Dartington International Summer School.
CAROLINE PALMER, piano
Caroline Palmer has established a reputation as a chamber musician and has worked with Johannes Goritzki, Alexander Rudin, Truls Mørk, Krzystof Smietana and Leonid Gorokhov. She has made over 50 broadcasts for the BBC and has also recorded for Swiss, French, German and Italian radio. She has recorded chamber works of Faure, Busoni, Saint-Saens, Fuchs and Brahms. Caroline was artistic director of the Paxos Music festival and appears at music festivals in Europe.She has been a Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama since 1990. Caroline was born in Singapore and later moved to London where she studied with Edith Vogel, Peter Wallfisch and Hans Keller. Caroline will be a guest pianist with the Chamber Ensemble in 2023.