Presented by the Royal College of Music
Spanish saxophonist Manu Brazo was born in Utrera (Seville) in 1993.
He is currently studying for his Master in Performance at the Royal College of Music, London with Kyle Horch. He is an RCM scholar supported by Dr Michael West. Manu completed his undergraduate studies in Seville at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel Castillo with Juan Jimenez.
He made his concerto debut in UK with Guildford Symphony Orchestra in 2016. In 2017 he performed Tansy Davies's Saxophone Concerto with London Sinfonietta, he has also performed with RCM Philharmonic, London City Orchestra, OSC (University of Seville), Orquesta FiIlarmonía de Granada and RCM New Perspectives with which he premiered Dan Chappel Saxophone Concerto.
Recently, he won the Royal College of Music Saxophone Competition 2017 (Jane Melber Prize), he was also awarded the Jellinek Award in the 2017 'Guildford Symphony Orchestra Competition for Young Soloists' and he won first prize in the 2016 Concerto Competition at Conservatorio Superior de Musica Manuel Castillo of Seville. He also has been selected to take part in the 2017 London Sinfonietta Academy and to collaborate with the national youth orchestra Youth Musician Symphony Orchestra.
In 2016 Manu and pianist Prajna Indrawati created Vario Duo, with which they perform recitals in London and in Spain and with which they will go on tour to Indonesia in 2018. Manu plays the baritone saxophone in the SQ4 saxophone quartet, with whom achieved First Prize in the I Jose Gamez Chamber Music Competition and Third Prize in I Yago Foundation Chamber Music Competition; the quartet has performed for national and international radio and TV channels and also in many notable venues including the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville and MAMA in Algeria.
Born in Jakarta, Prajna Indrawati is studying at Royal College of Music towards a Master of Performance degree in Piano Accompaniment under Roger Vignoles and Kathron Sturrock.
She began studying piano with Juuke R Widjojo, and continued to study at Pre-Conservatory and Teaching Certificate level with Oerip S. Santoso, and Music Pedagogy with Latifah Kodijat. She has participated in masterclasses with pianists including Adam Gyorgy, Patrick Zygmanowsky, Anna Kijanoewska, Jessica Bruiser, Ichiro Kato, and Ananda Sukarlan. Prajna has a huge range of accompaniment experience, working with choirs including Paramabira (Bina Nusantara University Sudent Choir), PSM UMB (Mercubuana University Student Choir), and Kotawaringin Barat Choir (Central Kalimantan).
In December 2012, she accompanied the opera Hansel and Gretel in a four-hands arrangement with pianist Priska Budihardjo. She has accompanied singers in Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan, and in several festivals abroad, including with SMPN 19 Choir in Thailand and with Svara Prasetiya in Malaysia.
In 2015, Prajna held a first collaboration recital series with Elly Yu (Soprano) and also finished Grade 8 Singing ABRSM with Distinction. In 2016, she held another Collaboration Series Concert 'One step at a time' with her soprano and harpist friends. Prajna is also an accompanist in Musicasa directed by Joseph Kristanto Pantioso and Budi Utomo Prabowo.