Since performing at the Wigmore Hall at the age of sixteen, Ryan has played in many distinguished venues throughout the UK and abroad in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain and Switzerland. His performances have also been broadcasted live on BBC Radio 3 and Medici TV. Ryan graduated with an Artist Diploma and MMus with distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and a first-class BMus (Hons) from the Royal Northern College of Music where he was awarded the Alfred Clay Scholarship for achieving the highest mark in an undergraduate final recital. He won the RNCM Concerto Competition, subsequently playing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 (Op.23) with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra in the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Previous tutors include Ronan O’Hora, Martin Roscoe, Helen Krizos and Seta Tanyel.
More recently, Ryan performed Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3 with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall and was a quarterfinalist in the Leeds International Piano Competition. Ryan received first prize in both Brant International Piano Competition and the piano category of the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition, and was awarded the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Scholarship and the Carnwath Scholarship. Ryan was also a recipient of the Yehudi Menuhin English Speaking Union Scholarship, enabling him to attend the prestigious Piano Masterclass International Series at Banff Arts Centre in Canada. He has also studied alongside Michel Beroff, Jonathan Biss, Nelson Goerner, Richard Goode, Noriko Ogawa, Murray Perahia, Pascal Rogé and Kathryn Stott.
Away from the piano, Ryan loves to read and lives with his partner (Sarah), his food-obsessed Labrador (Winnie) and his typically self-entitled cat, Nala.
Rebecca enjoys a varied musical life, combining teaching and performing. Following the completion of an undergraduate degree at Durham University, where she was winner of the inaugural Soloist’s Competition, Rebecca undertook three years of postgraduate study at the Royal Northern College of Music. Here, she was a winner of the Salon Prize and enjoyed the diversity of opportunities available to her. Rebecca holds a teaching position at Chethams School of Music in Manchester and at Yorkshire Young Musician’s Hull centre, and undertakes cover teaching for the RNCM’s junior department and Sheffield Music Academy. She also maintains a busy private teaching practice.
As a performer, highlights have included a tour of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden in collaboration with dance company Fertile Ground and numerous engagements as both a soloist and within orchestral and chamber music settings. She is violinist in the violin and harp pairing Duo Azure and was a recent prizewinner of the Monday Musicales concert series for the audience’s most enjoyed concert of the season. Rebecca has cultivated a strong interest in historical performance and enjoys life as a Baroque violinist as part of her freelance career. Away from music, Rebecca loves to be outdoors and can often be found on trails in the lake district, or at home baking cakes.
Greta Gasser is a Romanian-born British pianist currently residing in the Manchester, United Kingdom. Since coming to the UK, she has given recitals in many churches and venues, including St. Martin in the Fields (London), Lansdowne Club (Mayfair), St. Ann’s Church, St Emmanuel’s Church and the RNCM Concert Hall (Manchester). Greta has also been involved in various musical projects which have included collaborating with musicians when performing in Spotlight Concerts, Recital Series, and competitions.
Always interested in expanding her experiences with exciting projects, Greta has played the piano in the ITV Series Victoria as a hand double for Jenna Coleman starring as the young queen (UK, 2016).
Greta is also a passionate piano teacher who loves to help her students achieve their musical potential. Apart from teaching at Yorkshire Young Musicians, she is running her own music teaching studio (Gasser Music Studio), delivering music workshops, and teaching at Manchester High School for Girls. Her students have a 100% exam success rate in all examinations enrolled.
Educational and outreach projects are also an important part in Greta’s musical interests. Some of these projects have included performing at the Bridgewater Hall for the Christmas with the Halle and for the Pre-Composing project, taking part in the RNCM Guinness World Record for the largest number of people simultaneously playing the same piano, performing for the RNCM/MMU Rosamond Prize, the SU Music for Health Scheme and RNCM Music in Hospitals.
She graduated with Master of Music with Distinction from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), where she studied Piano Performance under the distinguished teacher Helen Krizos. Greta has also studied with Frank Wibaut at the RNCM, Gabriela Nemes and Roxana Sava at George Georgescu Special Music and Arts High School, and Diana Brătan at the PianoForte Music School (Romania). She was prize winner of the ‘George Georgescu International Music Performance Competition’ (Tulcea 2003-2011), the ‘W. A. Mozart International Music Competition’ (Targoviste 2008), and The Romanian National Olympiad of Music Performance (2003-2010).
Greta is very grateful for the generous support offered by the FW Wright Piano Scholarship, Helen Rachael Mackaness Award, George Stanger Music Trust and Prodan Romanian Cultural Foundation throughout her studies.
