Sophia Kannathasan (Violin) & Ziteng Fan (Piano)

Free admission | Donations welcome

Programme

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Violin Sonata in D minor Op. 28
Vinthya Perinpanathan: Caprice in Raga Kharaharapriya
Gabriel Fauré: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 13

Artist Bio

Sophia Kannathasan made her BBC Proms debut as a member of Chineke! Orchestra, aged just 21. She enjoys regular solo, chamber and orchestra performances in venues including Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Barbican, and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. She is currently in her second year of her Masters at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with Krzysztof Smietana. She is also the recipient of the The Ruth Wright Memorial Award. She is also incredibly grateful to The Craxton Memorial Trust, The Zenith Fund and The Wavendon Foundation for supporting her studies.

Sophia has a growing reputation as a freelance orchestral musician, with recent performance engagements with the Chineke! Orchestra and Brixton Chamber Orchestra. Sophia is proud to have been the solo violinist in the world premiere of HER DAY, an all-female opera, commissioned for Coventry UK City of Culture. She was also the violinist in the Promise opera by Danny Saleeb, which was composed to encourage its audience to come together to take personal and collective action on the climate crisis.

Sophia connects with openness and honesty, which shine through her music making. Her candid approach to sharing the daily reality of practice and performance – chiefly on Instagram – has fostered a supportive community for fellow musicians. Sophia has been a featured guest on the Things Musicians Don’t Talk About podcast as part of their injury awareness week, and will star in a soon-to-be released episode of podcast B4 The Stage, where she will speak about practice schedules, diversity in classical music and imposter syndrome.

Another skill Sophia loves to hone in on is playing genres other than classical musical. She was very lucky to lead the National Youth Jazz Orchestra on multiple projects including a collaboration with Nikki Yeoh, composer and pianist. This culminated in performances at Ronnie Scott’s, Milton Court Concert Hall, Saffron Hall and the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.
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Sophia hopes to never stop learning. She received a £3000 scholarship to study at the Summer Strings Academy for Girls where she was honoured to have a masterclass with Rachel Barton Pine. She also received mentorship from renowned violinists Dovid Friedlander and Richard Amoroso through The Violin Virtuosos programme. In October 2022, Sophia was accepted onto the pilot mentorship scheme with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

Born and raised in North East London, Sophia studied with Roberta Sullivan at the Redbridge Music Service. She led the Redbridge Music School Symphony Orchestra and co-led the University of Leeds Chamber Orchestra. She also led the Redbridge String Quartet which performed at Hampton Court Palace for Prince Edward.

Sophia has gained a wealth of valuable industry experience through her undergraduate degree placement year at award-winning Essex concert hall, Saffron Hall. She plays on a Richard Duke violin made around 1750.

Chinese-born Finnish pianist Ziteng Fan is a versatile musician whose career spans solo performance, chamber music, and collaborative piano. Active on the international stage, she performs regularly in recital and chamber music concerts across Europe and China, with festival appearances including the Buxton International Festival (UK), Musica Nova Helsinki (Finland), the Bartók Salon Concerts (Amsterdam), and the Romsey Chamber Music Festival (UK). As a concerto soloist, she has performed with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Camerata. She currently serves as Artist in Residence at the Piano Art
Development & Promotion Association in Changchun, China.

An accomplished prize winner, Ziteng has received awards at competitions such as the Helmi Vesa Piano Competition in Helsinki and the Sterndale Bennett Piano Competition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She is a recipient of the Royal Academy of Music Else Cross Prize and has been generously supported by Help Musicians, the Finnish Wihuri Foundation, and the Martin Wegelius Foundation. She has also been named “Young Artist of the Year” by both Zonta International and the Finnish Rotary Club.

Ziteng is a founding member of the Mila Piano Trio, with which she performs widely across the UK. Recent successes include debut appearances at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St. John’s Smith Square, and First Prize at VERÃO CLÁSSICO in Portugal. The trio has also received awards at the Isaacs and Pirani Piano Trio Competition and the Historical Women Composers Competition at the Royal Academy of Music.
Ziteng graduated with Distinction from both the Royal Academy of Music and the Sibelius Academy, earning MA and MMus degrees. Her teachers included Hamish Milne, Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna and Juhani Lagerspetz. She is currently pursuing an Advanced Diploma in Ensemble Piano at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with James Baillieu and James Cheung.

Presented in association with Guildhall School of Music and Drama