New Ensemblists 2024-26

Leo Appel, born in Oxford, performs as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe and the US. He is the winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Julius Isserlis prize, the Prix de Festival Ravel, Schiermonnikoog Festival’s audience prize, and the Countess of Munster Trust’s Peter Cropper award for most outstanding string player.

 As a soloist, Leo has recently performed with Kammerorchester Basel, Oxford Philharmonic, and Sinfonieorchester Basel, winning Best Soloist at the Musik-Akademie Basel for his recent Berg Violin Concerto. He appears regularly with Danish chamber collective Esbjerg Ensemble. Leo is also a keen artistic director and has led large-scale projects from the violin, including Bach’s St Matthew Passion. In 2019, he founded an ensemble specialising in Judeo-Spanish, Arabic and baroque music.

 Leo is a graduate of St John’s College, Cambridge and recently completed a masters degree at the Musik-Akademie Basel with Barbara Doll and Amandine Beyer. He has given recitals at Wigmore Hall and Kings Place, and appeared at international festivals including IMS Prussia Cove, Marlboro, and Yellow Barn, with broadcasts live on BBC Radio 3. Leo is generously supported by Rahn Kulturfonds and Stiftung Melinda Esterházy de Galantha.

Violinist Carmen Lavada Johnson-Pájaro, native of Birmingham, Alabama, is a community-based artist living in New York City. Raised in a family of music lovers, Carmen embarked on her musical journey with jam sessions in the living room and eventually found her way to the world of historical performance. She’s had the opportunity to work with renowned early music figures such as Masaaki Suzuki, William Christie, Reggie Mobley, Jonathan Cohen, Rachel Podger, Richard Egarr, Lionel Meunier, among many others. Carmen’s 2023/24 season includes performances with the Handel & Haydn Society, Twelfth Night, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Repast Baroque, Washington Bach Consort, Staunton Music Festival, and more. Beyond performing, Carmen’s commitment to community engagement has led to years of nonprofit work in schools, shelters, hospitals, and detention centers across the world. Carmen holds degrees from The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and the Eastman School of Music, where she was a Lois Rogers and Links Scholar. Carmen is also a serious popcorn addict, podcast junkie, dog lover, and gym rat!

Jaume Pueyo Solà was born in Barcelona. He began playing the violin as a child, actively returning to his studies at the age of 20 and taking his Bachelor’s degree in violin at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona with Dani Cubero. Having also developed a strong interest in playing the viola, he is currently studying for his Master's degree on a full scholarship at the Royal College of Music in London with Bryony Gibson. During his studies, he has had the opportunity to receive tuition from musicians including Catherine Manson, Michael Gurevich, Lukas Hagen, Gordan Nikolic, David Quiggle, Richard Lester and Ana Puig. He was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2020-23, touring across Europe, and was also invited as a member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Academy from 2021-2023. 

Hailing from the world of modern symphonic orchestras and ensembles, in recent years Jaume has developed a growing interest in historically informed performance of  baroque and classical repertoire in which he has now found his true vocation. A passionate chamber musician, he has enjoyed playing with groups including Camerata Bern and the Agon ensemble. 

Martin Egidi is part of the new generation of versatile musicians who embrace the vast spectrum from ancient to contemporary music. Born in Lausanne, he studied with renowned teachers such as Patrick Demenga, Stephan Forck or Danjulo Ishizaka and on baroque cello with Christophe Coin. In 2019, he won the Migros Cultural Percentage and became part of the concert placement program of the same institution. Since a young age, Martin has appeared in various festivals in Switzerland and abroad, including the Davos Festival, Hirzenberg Festival, Musikdorf Ernen, Altstadtserenaden Basel, the Swiss Chamber Music Festival in Adelboden and the Open Chamber Music seminar at IMS Prussia Cove. He can be heard performing with various chamber music ensembles, including a duo with percussionist Augustin Lipp, the Opalio Piano Quintet, and the Ensemble Zeitgeist or in orchestras such as Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble and the Kammerorchester Basel.

Francisco Javier Sánchez Castillo was born in Jaén (Spain). He studied for his bachelor's degree in modern bassoon at the Conservatory of Music of Castilla y León with Álvaro Prieto. He studied for his master’s degree in modern bassoon at Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag with Bram van Sambeek, combined with a minor in baroque bassoon. later commencing a bachelor's degree in Early Music at the same conservatory with Donna Agrell. He has received tuition from Sergio Azzolini, Benny Aghassi, Lucia Swarts, Frank de Bruine, Alfredo Bernardini, Teunis van der Zwart and Eric Hoeprich among others. He has played in orchestras including Bremer Barock Orchester, The Orchestra of the 18th Century, and La Sorpresa, and has participated in education projects with Theresia Orchestra, Jeune Orchestre Baroque Européen, and the Academy of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.