New Talents-Uriah Piano Trio

For the May performance of New Talents, we are delighted to introduce Uriah Piano Trio, featuring Michelle Choi(Flute), Helen Meng(Piano) and Joseph Reynolds(Cello), in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Music.

Don’t miss the chance to enjoy Uriah Trio’s amazing performance this May!

Programme

• C. Debussy Piano Trio in G major
  I. Andantino con moto allegro
  II. Scherzo · Intermezzo. Moderato con allegro
  III. Andante espressivo
  IV. Finale. Appassionato
• A. Piazzolla Oblivion
• Yongjin Roh Psalm 23

About the Artists

Uriah Piano Trio

Uriah Piano Trio started working together whilst studying at the Royal Academy of Music. Having performed a wide range of repertoires, each of the members is an experienced ensemble player covering works such as : Debussy, Weber, Kapustin, Farrenc, Piazzolla, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Faure, Tchaikovsky, and Frühling.

Michelle Choi (Flute)

Michelle lately released "Michelle Choi and William Bennett's To All the Children of the World" by ALM Records in Japan in memory of William Bennett OBE who had participated in the recording with her string quartet and Jazz piano trio at Menuhin Hall. Other albums include her recent release of Piano Trio albums recorded in Sony Music Studios Tokyo, and her solo album. Her discs regularly appear on FEBC Radio, CTS Broadcast, and CPBC radio in Korea.

Michelle currently works as the Second Flute with the Orchestre national Auvergne Rhone-Alpes in France where she plays second to Vincent Lucas, the Principal Flute of the Orchestre de Paris, and as the Principal Flute and Piccolo of the Prom Praise All Souls Orchestra in the UK. She is also the official artist and adjudicator of the Singapore International Flute Competition and its Flute Festival since 2019. She has also performed and given classes as the guest artist at the William Bennett International Flute Summer School.

As an internationally active artist, Michelle has appeared at prestigious venues such as Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, Royal Festival Hall, Duke’s Hall, Opera Theatre de Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne (France), Barocksaal Aoyama Memorial Hall in Kyoto (Japan), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, Auer Hall in USA, British Embassy Seoul, and Lotte Concert Hall in Korea.

Michelle's passion for expanding the repertoire for her instrument has led her to work extensively on works composed for strings with such renowned musicians as Steven Isserlis CBE, Mats Lidstrom, Henri Demarquette, Dong-suk Kang and Alex Redington, which is often a distinctive feature of her programmes.

Joe Reynolds (Cello)

Praised as a ‘highly gifted and intelligent cellist’ (Hannah Roberts) with a ‘strong, individual musical voice’ (Elizabeth Kenny), Joe Reynolds is a prize-winning English-Italian cellist. Recent highlights include performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Forest Philharmonic and winning First Prize and the Suzanne Beer prize at the North London Festival for Strings.

Joe’s musical voice was shaped by studying music at Oxford University, where he won the Fitzgerald Prize and graduated with a Double First. He is now studying as a Calleva Scholar at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) with Hannah Roberts. He also studies baroque cello with Jonathan Manson and Andrew Skidmore. He has led the cello section of the Academy Symphony Orchestra and of the Academy Chamber Orchestra, and will headline at the 2025 Aldeburgh Festival with the Knussen Chamber Orchestra.

Joe has featured in masterclasses with Steven Isserlis, Arto Noras, Lawrence Power, Anthony Marwood, Alasdair Tait, Viktoria Mullova, Pieter Wispelwey, Yo-Yo Ma, Natalie Clein, Jonathan Manson and Elinor Frey. Regular collaborators of Joe’s include internationally renowned pianists Seth Schultheis and Julian Trevelyan. His string quartet, the Sintra Quartet, was selected for the Frost Trust ASSET scheme. The quartet is mentored by John Myerscough, has taken part in masterclasses with Alasdair Tait, Anthony Marwood and Lawrence Power, and receives regular coaching from Alex Redington and Jon Thorne.

In autumn 2024 Joe gave two 90-minute recitals in Cambridge of music by visually impaired composers in aid of CMBUK, a charity for the blind. The concerts were well attended and raised hundreds of pounds for the charity. Joe’s interpretations are informed by his experience as a prize-winning composer whose works have been performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ligeti Quartet.

Joe plays on a William Forster II cello and Lupot bow kindly loaned from the Royal Academy of Music Collection. He is grateful for the generous support of the Ian Fleming Instrumental Award.

Helen Meng (Piano)

Praised for her complete technical mastery, great elegance, and sensitivity to her performances, British-born Chinese pianist Helen Meng is a versatile and highly and cultivated musician.

Helen has appeared across Asia, Europe and the US, in venues such as the Wigmore Hall and Milton Court in London, Forbidden City Concert Hall and Shanghai Concert Hall in China, the Fazioli Hall in Italy as well as venues in France, Thailand, Germany and the USA. In 2015, Helen held a solo recital for the Danish Royal family at their Cahors Manor Castle in France at the behest of the Queen and Prince of Denmark.

Helen is a prize winner at many international competitions in China and Europe. She was a laureate and Special Prize winner in the Pianale International Competition, as as well as the First prize winner at the Royal Academy of Music's Beethoven and Mozart Concerto Competition. Most recently, she was rewarded 1st Prize at the Concours International de Piano Henri Kowalski.

Helen is currently pursuing her Advanced Diploma under Professor Joanna MacGregor and Professor Rustem Hayroudinoff at the Royal Academy of Music. She also attained a Bachelor's Degree with First Class Honours and a Master's Degree with Distinction under Professor William Fong. She has also worked with renowned musicians such as, Michel Beroff, Dang Thai Son, Stephen Kovacevich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Stanislav Ioudenitch and Marios Papadopoulos