Sainsbury Royal Academy Soloists

First violin
Thomas Bowes
Claudia Tarrant-Matthews
Mikako Shimatani
Elizabeth Jirickova
Aleksandra Halaczkiewicz

Second violin
Iona McDonald
Konstancja Smolorz
Eleanor Hill
Harry Kneeshaw

Viola
Rachel Spence
Long Okada
Romane Eymard

Cello
Rowena Taylor
Lavinia Scarpelli
Caleb Curtis

Double bass
James Trowbridge
Thea Sayer

Thomas Bowes is one of the UK’s finest violinists. His concerto appearances in the UK, Germany and the USA have included highly praised performances of concertos by Elgar, Britten, Szymanowski and Walton. He is very active in the realm of cinema, and millions have heard him on the soundtracks of his numerous film credits.

Bowes's recording of the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas was released in 2018 on the Navona label to great critical acclaim. His ‘Bach Pilgrimage’ is now a feature of every season and future events will take him all over the world. In 2019, he was given a ‘Sebastian Award’ by the Ars Ante Portas Civic Association of Bratislava, Slovakia.

Between 1988 and 1993 he was the founding leader of the Maggini String Quartet and together with his wife, the composer and pianist Eleanor Alberga, he formed the duo Double Exposure in 1995. The duo toured extensively with concerts and broadcasts in the USA and Europe and together they made a major tour of China in 1997, where they returned in November 2019.

Bowes is an enthusiastic champion of Alberga’s music and has given first performances of many of her works including her first violin concerto in 2000. Between 2003 and 2015 he was the Artistic Director of the Langvad Chamber Music Jamboree in Denmark. More recently, with Alberga, he founded the music festival ‘Arcadia’ in north Herefordshire, England.

He is privileged to own and play a violin by one of the great Cremonese makers – a splendid 1659 Nicolo Amati.