LSO Discovery

Jani Pensola
^{LSO Double Bass}

Jani Pensola, also known as the ‘Funky Finn’, is equally at home in the fields of classical, jazz and tango. The double bass has taken Jani to almost every corner of the world, ending up in London.

Jani has already achieved a prodigious reputation being a member of the LSO Double Bass section as well as delving deeper into the mysteries of solo double bass, contemporary and chamber music.

When Jani is not spending time with the bass, you might find him experimenting in South London’s curry houses with the hope of an extreme dining experience, and he is also English enough to understand what good bitter means every now and then.

Adam Summerhayes
^violin

Awarded folk music’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2021, Adam’s classical pedigree is also established, with direct links via his grandfather to the violinists who premiered Johannes Brahms’ and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s violin concertos. His classical discography includes discs that have received exceptionally high praise in the press: 'Adam Summerhayes – to die for' wrote The Strad of his debut release, which included premiere recordings of works by Aaron Copland. References to virtuosity are frequent in the international press: 'intoxicating … virtuoso fiddle playing' (The Times) and The New York Times reported 'astonishing, all-out virtuosity'. Extensive international touring as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral director has taken him across the majority of Europe and to Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Canada, New Zealand and 45 US states, including Alaska.

David Gordon
^{piano/harpsichord}

Harpsichordist, jazz pianist, and composer David Gordon trained as a mathematician before turning to music full time. He has since toured all over the world with various groups including the Baroque orchestra English Concert, the piano-led jazz group David Gordon Trio and the early-music/jazz group Respectable Groove. He has also toured with violinist Andrew Manze and singer Jacqui Dankworth. As a soloist and musical director, he has appeared with both London Chamber Orchestra and Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. A self-taught jazz player, he appears on numerous CDs as a composer, leader and sideman. His works are heard on radio both in the UK and abroad, and he is regularly commissioned by festivals, publishers and fellow musicians. Recent premieres include JazzPsalms for Peace with Jacqui Dankworth, choir and jazz group, arrangements of Finnish tangos with Matti Salminen and Helsinki Philharmonic, and Earthcycle, four short violin concertos with David Le Page and Orchestra of the Swan.

Jarmo Julkunen
^{guitar/ukulele}

Jarmo Julkunen is a ukulele artist, guitarist, composer and producer. Over the last ten years Julkunen’s passion has been the ukulele, and he has been playing it in concerts all over the world, including Japan, China, the US and countries in Europe. In addition to producing music recordings you can also hear his playing in various international television productions and movies, in TV commercials and in globally famous mobile games such as Angry Birds.

As a performing artist Jarmo has wanted to expand the ukulele’s repertoire and raise the instrument’s profile through collaboration with many contemporary music composers. Jarmo has premiered compositions as a soloist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, the Umo Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, and with the London Symphony Orchestra’s string quartet.

Jarmo has composed a lot of music for stage. During the 2008 season, the Helsinki City Theatre performed Raimo Reiska Raksa, his musical play for children. Jarmo is also an experienced and appreciated coach. He works at his own ukulele studio (Helsinki Ukulele Studio) and teaches at the Sibelius Academy, Finland's only music academy.

Annimaria Rinne
^singer

Annimaria Rinne is a Helsinki-based singer who has been known in Finnish popular and jazz music for over 30 years.

Annimaria performs extensively with top Finnish musicians. She has been heard as a soloist with The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, The Lapland Chamber Orchestra, and The UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra.

Along with Jani Pensola and Jarmo Julkunen, Annimaria is part of the multi-international art collective, Alakulo.

Tero Saarti
^trumpet

Tero Saarti is a jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger based in Helsinki, Finland. He has been a member of the prestigious Umo Helsinki Jazz Orchestra for nearly 30 years. 

Saarti is a versatile trumpetist and jazz improvisor who plays fluently in different jazz genres and crossover projects. In recent years he has also performed as a soloist in various big bands and small ensembles all across Europe. 

In addition to his playing skills, Saarti is a sought-after teacher and masterclass lecturer. Tero Saarti is the endorsed artist of Eclipse Instruments.

Stefan Bulyha
^clarinet

Stefan Bulyha was born in 2000 and grew up in Rivne, Ukraine. After graduating from high school, he entered the college Glieré Academy of Music in Kyiv, where he studied for 4 years under Roman Vovk. During his studies at the college he participated in more than 20 competitions, where he either became a winner or laureate. He received the first prize for the best performance by a chamber ensemble of Béla Bartók’s Contrasts at the Zodiac Music Academy & Festival in Nice, France, and second prize at the Silverstein Global Clarinet Contest (New Jersey, US), in addition to first prize at the Sevenoaks Music Competition and first prize at the Alcobaça Chamber Music Competition in Portugal.

Stefan successfully auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and received a double scholarship to study with his current teacher Chris Richards, LSO Principal Clarinet. In 2022 he performed the UK premier of Vitaliy Hubarenko’s Aria for clarinet and string orchestra in the Royal Festival Hall with the London Contemporary Orchestra. Stefan is also a scholarship holder with the Hattori Foundation, Drake Calleja Trust, Talent Unlimited, and the Hnatyshyn Foundation.

Alisa Zaika
^piano

Alisa was born in 2001 in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she graduated from a specialised music school as a pianist and a composer. She is currently finishing her undergraduate degree at the Royal College of Music, with a first study in composition and second study in orchestral conducting. Alisa had her international debut in December 2022 when she was commissioned to write music for the Kyiv Dispatch festival, presented by the InterAKT Initiative in Stuttgart, Germany.

Previously, she has successfully taken part and won prizes at international masterclasses and competitions, both in composition and piano. 

Alisa doesn’t ascribe any particular stylistic direction to her music; she describes it as a free exploration of what sound and artistic concepts can be and embody, always drawing inspiration and knowledge from the huge spectrum of existing techniques of composition.

Rachel Leach
^presenter

Rachel Leach was born in Sheffield. She studied composition, and her music has been recorded by NMC and published by Faber. She has won several awards including, with ETO, the RPS award for best education project 2009 for One Day, Two Dawns.

 Rachel has worked within the education departments of most of the UK’s orchestras and opera companies. The majority of her work is for the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Rachel has written well over 20 pieces for LSO Discovery and 15 community operas, including seven for English Touring Opera.

Increasingly in demand as a concert presenter, as well as presenting the LSO Discovery Free Friday Lunchtime Concert series, she regularly presents children’s concerts and pre-concert events for the LSO, LPO, Philharmonia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal College of Music and Royal Northern Sinfonia.