Rising Stars

Three to look out for…

Hugh Cutting Countertenor

Born: Oxford, England Career highlight:

The concert I did for Soundvoice UK exploring vocal loss in conditions like Parkinson’s and Motor Neurone Disease. More recently, winning First Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards. Musical hero: I admire Iestyn Davies and Tim Mead for their tone and consistency, Alice Coote for her flair and dramatic immersion and James Gilchrist and Michael Chance for being singers who perform with their hearts above all else.

Dream concert: Singing Britten’s Abraham and Isaac with my brother Guy or a chamber opera by Piers Kennedy in an epic cathedral. Amalie Stalheim Cellist

Born: Bergen, Norway Career highlight: Performing Schubert’s Death and the Maiden with Janine Jansen at her festival in the Netherlands. Our communication on stage was so intense, it felt almost electric. Plus recording Lasse Thoresen’s Cello Concerto with the Oslo Phil for my debut album. Musical hero: Mstislav Rostropovich is my inspiration, both as a cellist and for his dedication to combining core repertoire with new music. He played with such conviction. Dream concert: To play Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante in one of the great halls in Europe, followed by a jazz session with

Ella Fitzgerald!

Malin Lewis Piper and fiddler

Born: Eilean Shona, Scotland

Career highlight: My year spent studying at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki taught me how to listen deeply. Recently, I worked as musical director on the play The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart. I wrote music and improvised with musicians from all genres, which was only possible because of my Finnish training.

Musical hero: It’s so interesting to see artists who studied classical violin – like the Celtic musician Martyn Bennett – be influenced by their training to transcend genre.

Dream concert: A performance of improvised and semi-improvised music with set design at the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, a mind-blowing space.