A soloist with regular concerto appearances and a keen chamber musician, André Gaio Pereira was nominated Young Musician of the Year in Portugal for the current season after a performance with Gulbenkian Orchestra live for national television and radio. Highlights this season include his debut with Portuguese Symphonic Orchestra, Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra and Metropolitana Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, André was the first violinist of the Tagus Quartet, with whom he has appeared at Wigmore Hall and Cadogan Hall. He has played alongside the Doric and the Chilingirian Quartets and appeared at Harmos, Mendelssohn on Mull and Oxford Lieder music festivals.
He is now pursuing his Master degree at the Royal Academy of Music - where he obtained the prize for the highest graduand in 2015/2016 - under the tutelage of Levon Chilingirian. André is generously supported in his studies by the ABRSM, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Help Musicians UK and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
Pianist and collaborative artist Malgorzata Garstka specialises in chamber music and piano accompaniment. The idea of creating a collective vision and cooperating with others to share experiences is something she values highly. She was appointed the Hodgson Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music in 2016.
Born in 1991 in Poland, Malgorzata has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at many prestigious UK venues including Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, St Martin in the Fields, London School of Economics, Colston Hall. She has performed in Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine, France, Portugal, Italy and Poland and has won top prizes at numerous solo and chamber music competitions, including the Patrons’ Award and May Mukle Prize at the Royal Academy of Music, Johann Sebastian Bach International Piano Competition in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Friedrich Kuhlau International Competition. She has also been awarded the Thomas Jennings Exhibition Prize, Marjorie McAdams Scholarship and several scholarships from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Malgorzata has participated in masterclasses with such eminent musicians as Christopher Elton, Maxim Vengerov, Daniel Hope, Mario Brunello, Rodney Friend, Levon Chilingirian, Tatiana Sarkissova, Andrzej Jasinski, members of Apollon Musagete Quartet She also participated in the ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ exchange programme at the Conservatorio Escola das Artes in Funchal, Portugal.
Malgorzata graduated from the State Music School Complex in Warsaw and gained her Bachelor’s degree at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, where she was studying with Wojciech Switala and Hanna Holeksa. She received a Master’s degree with distinction from the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Diana Ketler and Michael Dussek.
Free recital (retiring collection)