Martyn Brabbins
is an inspirational force in British music. Music Director of English National Opera 2016-2023, Brabbins has had a busy opera career since his early days at the Kirov and more recently at La Scala, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and regularly in Lyon, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Antwerp. He guests with top international orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw, San Francisco Symphony, DSO Berlin and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, as well as the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony and most of the other leading UK orchestras. He is a popular figure at the BBC Proms, who in 2019 commissioned 14 living composers to write a birthday tribute to him. Known for his advocacy of British composers, he has conducted hundreds of world premieres across the globe. He has recorded nearly 150 CDs to date, including prize-winning discs of operas by Korngold, Birtwistle and Harvey. In 2023 he received the RPS Conductor Award for his “colossal” contribution to UK musical life.

Laurent Ben Slimane
was born in France where he studied the clarinet at the Conservatoire Superieur de Paris (CSP) with Richard Vieille and the bass clarinet with Bruno Martinez. Laurent joined the Philharmonia Orchestra in 2005 and is also a founding member of Ailleur5 in France with whom he has recorded two CDs for Cristal Records. Laurent has played with different orchestras including the London Symphonic Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic of Manchester, Northern Sinfonia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Orchestre National de France. He is currently Professor of bass clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music, and Professor at the PonteCultura International Summer Academy in Corsica.

Dimitri Mestdag
has been the solo English horn player of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra since 1996. He graduated at the Conservatory in Brussels under Paul Dombrecht and Alex Van Beveren with master degrees in oboe, English horn and chamber music. After masterclasses with Thomas Indermuhle, Alain Denis, Dominik Wollenweber, Ingo Goritzki and David Walter he completed his training at the Rotterdam Conservatory with Emanuel Abbühl. Dimitri a was prize winner of Belfius Classics in 1991 and in 1996 the very first laureate on English horn of the Tenuto competition. In 2020, BIS Records released the world premiere recording of Kalevi Aho’s double concerto of English horn and harp. Geoffrey Gordon’s English horn concerto ‘Mad Song’ was composed especially for him and was commissioned by the Antwerp Symphony and recorded with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Next to his activities as a musician and teacher he is, since 2010, artistic director of Arbanassi Summer Music, a unique chamber music festival in Bulgaria. This festival has become one of Eastern Europe’s most innovative and high-profile festivals. Dimitri leads a thriving English horn class at the Royal Conservatory of music in Brussels.