Classical Coffee Mornings: Leo Behrend and Inez Karlsson at Royal Albert Hall

Leo Behrend is an 18 year old violinist from Liverpool. Initially taking up the violin at around 4 on the Suzuki method, he now studies violin with Ani Schnarch and piano with Alvin Moisey at the RCMJD, where he has performed at the likes of the final of the Chamber Music Competition, the Gordon Turner Competition at which he was highly commended, and as leader the Symphony Orchestra.

Inez Karlsson began playing the cello at the age of 6 and since the age of 10 she has been studying at the RCMJD. For five years she studied with the late Michal Kaznowski, and from autumn 2023 she started to study with Professor Melissa Phelps. In 2023 at age 15 she made her concerto debut performing the Rococo Variations by Tchaikovsky with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden, conducted by Delyana Lazarova. She was awarded first prize in the Nordic Edition Polstjärnepriset 2023, the biggest competition in the Nordic countries for those aged under 19.