KNIGHTON AND DISTRICT CONCERT SOCIETY

Cellist Ellen Baumring-Gledhill was a 2020 BBC Young Musician Strings Category Finalist and won Junior Guildhall’s Lutine Prize the same year. She is currently a Scholar at The Royal Academy of Music studying for a Professional Diploma with Guy Johnston and Felix Schmidt, supported by a Calleva Foundation Award. She studied with Christoph Richter and Felix Schmidt for her Master’s, graduating with Distinction in 2025 as well as being awarded a DipRAM for an outstanding final recital. Prior to this, she completed her undergraduate studies with Felix Schmidt, graduating with a first-class degree.

She has won a number of prizes for performance at The Royal Academy of Music including the Jacob Barnes Award, Sir John Barbirolli Memorial Prize, Historical Women’s Composer Prize, the Wolfe Wolfinsohn String Quartet Prize, the Katie Thomas Memorial Prize and the Rhoda Butt Award. Previously, she studied with her uncle, Dr Oliver Gledhill, at Junior Guildhall as D’Addario Strings Cello Scholar, receiving the Principal’s Prize in her final year.

Winner of the Westbourne Orchestral Society’s 2025 Concerto Competition and runner up in the 2022 Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra Soloist of the Year Competition, Ellen has given a number of concerto performances with orchestras in England and Scotland.

In 2023, Ellen was selected to participate in a residency with Guy Johnston at the Lake District Summer Music Festival and in 2022, premièred and recorded John Cooney’s Tendril for solo cello, composed for the Royal Academy of Music’s Bicentenary.

Ellen is cellist of the Regency String Quartet, winners of the 2025 Royal Overseas League String Ensembles Prize. The quartet performed at Wigmore Hall in July 2025 as part of the Gold Medal Final concert. They were also chosen as Kirckman Concert Society Artists for 2025/26, performing at Kings Place in Autumn 2025.

Ellen has participated in masterclasses with Zuill Bailey, Marc Coppey, Gary Hoffman, Steven Isserlis, Maria Kliegel, Mischa Maisky, Phillipe Muller, Arto Noras, Miklós Perenyi and Alisa Weilerstein. She has also participated in IMS Prussia Cove and the Curtis Institute’s Young Artists Summer Program.

As well as coming to Knighton, Ellen will be giving recitals for the Egham and District Concert Society and Arts at Elstree in Spring 2026 and as part of the Music at Beaulieu Concert Series in Autumn 2026.

Forthcoming 2026 concerto performances include the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Bridgnorth Sinfonia and Welwyn Garden City Orchestras, the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Langtree Sinfonia and the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto with the Angel Orchestra in London.

Dafydd Chapman is an acclaimed pianist and accompanist known for his contributions to chamber music, having made his concerto debut at the age of 13 and securing five victories in the Welsh national competitions (URDD).

Born in Wales, Dafydd completed his Bachelor’s degree in Piano at the Royal Academy of Music with first-class honours. He is currently in his final year of a Master’s in Ensemble Piano at the same institution, studying under the guidance of renowned pianists Mei-Ting Sun and James Baillieu.

Dafydd’s career highlights include extensive performances across the UK, with notable appearances at prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall. His international presence extends to recitals and festivals in Europe, including Portugal, France, Andorra, Germany, and Italy, as both an accompanist and chamber pianist.

Outside of chamber music, Dafydd has extensive experience and expertise as a choral accompanist, with positions across various choirs in London.

As he prepares for upcoming competitions and festivals, Dafydd continues to build on his early successes, poised to contribute meaningfully to the evolving landscape of ensemble performance and musical theatre.