Musical Bridge

After their hugely successful premiere at Christ Church Spitalfields in London, the Musical Bridge Project comprising a Burmese folk singer, a classical pianist and a string quartet, brings to Greenbelt its curious and wonderful mixture of Burmese folk music and Western classical music. Through stories and warm renditions of old and new folk songs, their lead singer takes you on a journey to Mandalay, his hometown situated in the heart of Burma. His band, made up of the graduates from the leading music conservatoires, helps him paint the picture with the classical interpretation of the songs on dreamy strings and nostalgic tunes on the piano.Musical Bridge Project works closely with well known classical composers and has commissioned pieces to various composers including Brian Inglis (Trinity College of Music London), Tim Benjamin (Oxford University) and Bev Lewis. Zaw Lu Aung was born and raised in Burma until he was 16. He is the founder of Musical Bridge Project and the lead singer of the band. As a vocalist, he has performed at various Burma-related events across London including Christ Church Spitalfields, Wesley Chapel, Burmese Arts Festival, Amnesty International events, CSW conferences and Prospect Burma. Sudeshna Chakravarty studied violin with Gina McCormack at Trinity College of Music, and completed her Masters at Guildhall under the tutelage of Krysia Osostowicz. As a violinist, she has been a leader of Ernest Reed Symphony Orchestra and a principal player for various ensembles including the Young Musician’s Symphony Orchestra. Abigail Dance studied at Royal Academy of Music and has performed worldwide and while in London leads the Angel Orchestra and King William Orchestra. Her recent engagements include a performance of Mozart’s 3rd Violin Concerto in Italy. Alison Jones holds a Masters from the Royal College of Music in performance. She performs regularly with orchestras and chamber groups. Recent engagements include an afternoon recital at St Martin in the Fields with her flute, harp and viola trio, The Lilium Trio. Jo Keithley is forging a successful musical career having recently toured the United States with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. In January 2010 she took up a place in Southbank Sinfonia, and is studying privately with Roman Broide.Alex Wilson recently completed his Masters in Performance at Royal College Music with distinction. He has also been awarded 3rd prize at the British Contemporary Piano Competition, and performed either solo or with his contemporary music ensemble Dr K Sextet at prestigious venues including Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and King’s Place, London.