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A more detailed biography is available here

The twenty four year old cellist has just completed her undergraduate degree at the RNCM with a first degree (honours) and after receiving 100% in her final recital was awarded the Leonard Rose Award 2006, the Sir John Barbirolli Prize 2008 and won the RNCM Gold Medal 2008. She has recently been invited to be a part of the Countess of Muntser Recital Scheme. Rowena was a National String Finalist of BBC Young Musicians 2002 and has also won the Busenhart – Morgen Evans Award (from the Worshipful Company of Musicians), the Tillett Trust Education Award 2007, the Haworth Trust for cellists, an Ian Flemming Award (from the Musicians Benevolent Fund), a Countess of Munster Award, The Jellineck Award, A Myra Hess Award, The Oglesby Education Award, a bow from the Scottish Arts Council and an opportunity to play the Dvorak cello concerto with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra.

She studied at St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh with Ruth Beauchamp and the Yehudii Menuhin School in Surrey with Leonid Gorokhov. After this she went to live in India for six months where she ran two music schools, played concerts for the British Council and Sangat Western Classical Music Festival. She also did her debut television performance of the Vivaldii Double Concerto in Kolkata. When she returned she got a scholarship to study at the Royall Northern College of Music where she is currently studying for her PG Dip with Hannah Roberts.

She has had master classes and lessons from masters such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Steven Isserlis, Miklos Perenyi, Ralph Kirshbaum, Bernard Greenhouse, Gary Hoffman, Tsyuoshi Tsutsumi, Anner Bylsma, Frans Helmerson, Young Chang Cho and Timothy Eddy in the World Cello Congress (USA) and previously mentioned festivals.

Prominent solo appearances include the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, the Queens Hall (Edinburgh), Fairfield Halls (Croyden), the UNESCO celebrations (Paris), the Kronberg Cello Festival (Germany) and the Manchester Cello Festival (UK). She has performed concertos with the London Mozart Players, the Guildford Symphony Orchestra, Edinburgh Festival Orchestra, the Meadows Chamber Orchestra, The Covent Garden Actors Orchestra, the RNCM Symphony Orchestra and the Harlow Symphony Orchestra.

Rowena is part of the Calvert-Turner duo and they have recently released their debut CD, El Pano Moruno. They will be having a promotional tour of the UK later this year. Her Piano Trio have just been awarded the Contemporary Music Award 2006 from the RNCM and the Weil Prize. As part of the Yewfield Trio, Rowena has recently returned from Bangkok where they have been performing for the Thai Royal Family. As part of a quartet, Rowena has performed in the Wigmore Hall twice, the Linbury Studio Theatre (Royal Opera House) and has had lessons from Mstislav Rostropovich and Yehudi Menuhin. As well as recently rehearsing with the LPO as a result of being principle cellist of the Britten Pears Orchestra, Rowena has won a place on the PAS Scheme for the Halle and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestras.

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Rowena is part of the Calvert Turner harp and cello duo with harpist Eleanor Turner. They are a unique and original cello and harp duo who have been performing together since 2003. Their programmes feature their own compositions, music from around the world and virtuosic repertoire. They have toured Britain extensively, have played in festivals throughout the UK and have released their debut CD, El Pano Moruno, to critical acclaim. They will be touring Scotland in November 2008.

Trio

Her piano trio has recently won the Contemporary Music Award 2006 and the Weil Prize 2007 from the Royal Northern College of Music and have been prize winners in all the major competitions for their performances of Brahms, Casken and Haydn. They have recently performed the London premier of John Caskens Piano Trio in the Venezuelan Embassy (London) which promted Casken to write them a piece. They study with Malcolm Layfield and have worked with the Florestan trio on Britten - Pears in Aldeburgh.They have also had lessons from the Gould Piano trio, Ian Brown, Alisdair Tait and Christopher Rowland. Rowena has recently been performing with the Yewfield trio for the Thai Royal family in Bangkok.

Quartet

As part of a quartet, Rowena has performed twice at the Wigmore Hall, the Lindbury Theatre (Royal Opera House) and in festivals in Cambridge and Manchester. She has also had quartet lessons from Mstislav Rostropovich and Yehudi Menuhin.

Orchestra

As a member of an orchestra, Rowena has recently been performing with the Orchestra d’Almeria (Spain) with Maxim Vengerov. Whilst principle cellist of the Yehudi Menuhin School ensemble, she performed in the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad (Switzerland), and also in the Queen Elisabeth Hall. Within this ensemble she also performed with Clio Lane and Johnny Dankworth under Yehudi Menuhin in the Goldsmiths Hall (London) when Princess Anne was present. She has recently won the opportunity to perform with the Halle Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Es Muss Sein!

Alongside Max Baillie, George Corbit and Andre Marmot, Rowena was a founding member of the unique and exclusive chamber music course Es Muss Sein. While chamber music provides an intensive focus, Es Muss Sein! serves as a wider inspirational forum for young musicians and a seed bed for performance arts projects. Top-level music-making, coaching and workshops in a lovely summer camp environment make it a must for any dedicated young string players. From its foundation in 2005, Es Muss Sein! quickly developed a devoted following. This dynamic summer course has a unique approach, providing the opportunity to study chamber music in a beautiful setting while introducing participants to improvisation as well as music and dance from Africa to Brazil.