Rising Stars

Three to look out for

Helen Charlston Mezzo-soprano Born: Harpenden, UK Career highlight: Performing Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Gabrieli Consort and Players in Leipzig’s Thomaskirche, where the composer himself would have first directed it.

Musical hero: The mezzo Janet Baker and song composer Barbara Strozzi both embody the most important parts of singing: honesty of delivery through your own unique voice, and the insatiable need to sing and perform above all else.

Dream concert: I’m working on a couple of projects bringing period instruments into a modern setting which are currently fulfilling a dream, but singing my first Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas would be top of the list!

Rob Luft Jazz guitarist

Born: London, UK

Career highlight: Releasing my debut album Riser, made up of my compositions. Having just joined the BBC New Generation Artists scheme as its sole jazz artist, I’m looking forward to performing my own music and sharing it with the BBC’S listenership. Musical hero: Thelonious Monk’s piano playing embodies everything that is beautiful about jazz: deep blues roots, great sense of groove, emotional projection, a unique tone and an experimental improvisational flair. Dream concert: I played Piazzolla’s Double Concerto for Bandoneón, Guitar and String Orchestra – the combination of strings with electric guitar was such a lush, full sound.

Sonia Ben-santamaria Conductor Born: Toulouse, France Career highlight: Making my UK debut conducting two performances of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera at Opera Holland Park.

Musical hero: Classical music is too vast to have just one hero. I treasure Glenn Gould, David Oistrakh,

Vlado Perlemuter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Haitink, Georg Solti, Pierre Boulez, Antonio Pappano, Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti and Fiorenza Cossotto, and am particularly fond of Verdi, Stravinsky and Bach.

Dream concert: One in which we make music at the highest level – but that type of concert doesn’t come without pressure!