The Blake Ensemble
Meet The Musicians
- Michael Sanderson ~ Tenor
- Althea Ifeka ~ Oboe, Oboe d'Amore, Cor Anglais
- Katharine May ~ Harpsichord
- Richard May ~ Cello
Michael Sanderson, Tenor After graduating from Nottingham University, Michael Sanderson became a lay clerk at St George's, Windsor Castle, where he sang for three years. During this time he was also a soloist with the Baroque opera company Opera Restr'd, with whom he toured and recorded on CD. In recent years Michael has worked as a freelance soloist with many baroque chamber groups. Recent recordings include a CD of Dowland Lute Songs and another of the songs of the Irish composer Thomas Moore
Althea Ifeka, Oboe, Oboe d'Amore, Cor Anglais Althea Ifeka studied at Girton College Cambridge, the Royal Academy of Music in London - where she won prizes and scholarships from several bodies including the Countess of Munster Musical Trust - and the Banff Centre of the Arts in Canada. Based in London, she works as a freelance soloist and orchestral player, giving regular concerto performances, music society recitals and radio broadcasts, and playing Guest Principal Oboe and Cor Anglais with major orchestras.
She is the Artistic Director of Orchestra 18/20.
More on Althea Ifeka
Richard May is an internationally acclaimed solo cellist and chamber musician, having performed at venues including the Carnegie Hall, the Wigmore Hall and the South Bank and Barbican Centres. An Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, he is Professor of Cello at both the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and at Wells Cathedral School. In his role of cellist in the Angell Piano Trio, Richard performs frequently at concert halls throughout Europe and broadcasts for radio. He is a former winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year String Section, and has studied with
Florence Hooton, William Pleeth and Paul Tortelier.
Katharine May, Harpsichord Katharine May studied the harpsichord at the Royal College of Music and later at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena with Kenneth Gilbert where she was awarded the coveted Diploma of Honour. As a freelance harpsichordist she gives recitals for music clubs, festivals and universities and writes regularly for
Music Teacher and Early Music Today magazines.
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