Miriam Kramer
Miriam Kramer grew up in Connecticut and began studying the violin at age four. By the age of seven, she had already given her first public performance - Mozart’s Concerto in G Major. Her teachers have included Charles Castleman, Yfrah Neaman and Henryk Szeryng. Miriam is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music.
Miriam has appeared as soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center (USA) Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, St David’s Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, (UK) Vienna Konzerthaus and Theatre Champs Elysees (France). Praised by Strad Magazine as a 'violinist of superior natural talent, an exceptionally sensitive interpreter and a phrase maker of uncommon expressivity' and by the NY Times as a 'soulful and virtuosic performer'. Miriam has also received critical acclaim for her 6 CDs, including Editor's Choice for her recording of the violin music of Ernest Bloch, from Gramophone Magazine who has said 'Kramer's playing could hardly be more heartfelt. Scanning the catalogue for rivals, her musicianship is irresistible.' This disc has been listed in the 2017 guide - ‘1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die’ - compiled by Matthew Rye and Steven Isserlis. Miriam has also been included in David Milson’s book, A-Z of String Players, 300 Great String Players.
Alongside her performing and recording schedule, Miriam is in demand as a teacher and adjudicator and is regularly invited to give masterclasses at the Dartington Festival and for the Benslow Music Trust. She champions the music of new composers and her latest project, a recording of Elegy, by British composer Andrew Pearce, with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, has led to invitations from other composers in France and the USA to record and perform their music. Miriam performs regularly on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and has appeared on BBC television in a tribute to Yehudi Menuhin.
Nicholas Durcan
A prizewinning student, Nicholas Durcan studied the piano with Hamish Milne and the organ with Alan Harverson at the Royal Academy of Music. His first appointment was at the Westminster Cathedral as assistant organist, and as an organist, he has given recitals at the cathedrals of Westminster, St Paul's, Southwark and Lincoln. Early in his career, he was invited to perform at the 1984 Promenade Concerts with the National Orchestra of Wales. His concerto debut was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, playing the Haydn Concerto and since that time, he has performed at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Mozart Players and at other well known London venues such as Royal Albert Hall, St. John's Smith Square, St Martin-in the-fields, St. James of Piccadilly, and the Purcell Room. In addition to performing throughout the UK, he has played throughout Europe, the Middle East, Hong Kong and the USA.
Composing is another of Nicholas's interests and in this capacity, he composed the music for the BBC TV series, Painters' World, and the film music for ''Daughter's of De Beauvoir''. He has also broadcast on Classic FM,Radio 2, 3 and 4, and on BBC TV programmes. He is much in demand as a soloist and chamber musician and has collaborated with the well known artists Giuseppe DiStefano, Catherine Jenkins, Raphael Wallfisch and Nigel Kennedy. In addition, he is frequently asked to play harpsichord continuo and has performed the complete harpsichord Concertos by Bach. His CDs include Phantasmagoria on the Aeterna label, Marigold and More on the Pianophenalia label and the violin and piano music of Karol Szymanowski with violinist, Miriam Kramer, released to critical acclaim, on the Naxos label - 'Durcan is much of a partner as an accompanist and supports Kramer with sympathy and affection' - American Record Guide. Nicholas has also been praised by The Observer in a recent performance of Gershwin's music - 'Undoubtedly, the highlight of the evening was Nicholas Durcan's sparkling and virtuosic performance of Rhapsody in Blue'.
