John Paul Jones is one of the most accomplished and respected musicians in the world of music today. As a prolific session musician in the 1960’s he played on or arranged innumerable recordings for artists such as Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, and Cat Stevens. He was a founder member of Led Zeppelin.

Following his unparalleled career with Led Zeppelin, John began to work as a performer, arranger and producer with a diverse range of artists such as Diamanda Galas, REM, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, and La Fura dels Baus. His debut solo album, Zooma, was released in September 1999, followed by The Thunderthief in 2001.

Since 2004, his sonic explorations have also led him to perform as part of John Cage’s Music Circus at the Barbican under the direction of Stephen Montague, touring with bluegrass trio Nickel Creek, and working as co-composer and performer for Merce Cunningham’s Nearly Ninety which was performed with Sonic Youth and Takehisa Kosugi in New York, London and Madrid.

In 2009 John formed a group called Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and Joshua Homme, releasing a universally acclaimed album and touring the world to sold-out venues. In 2011, John appeared and performed in Mark-Anthony Turnage's opera 'Anna Nicole’, at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

More recently, John’s wide and varied career in music continued as he toured the USA with Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch as part of the 'Dave Rawlings Machine’, as well as releasing the debut Minibus Pimps album ‘Cloud to Ground’.

John has also made several guest appearances with Norwegian avant-garde group Supersilent.

John is currently finalising the orchestration of his first opera, entitled 'The Ghost Sonata' which is based on the play written by August Strindberg.

Anssi Karttunen has always been on the cutting edge of classical music performance and is one of the most innovative cellists in today's international music scene. He subsequently built up a worldwide reputation both as a soloist and chamber musician. In his repertoire, he takes a fresh look at the work of well-known composers and brings forgotten masterpieces to the public ear, as well as his own original transcriptions. He plays on modern, classical, and baroque cellos, as well as the violoncello piccolo.

Highlights of his 2016/17 season include the German and UK premieres of Magnus Lindberg’s Cello Concerto No. 2 (which he first performed in 2013 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen) with the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, both conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

Anssi Karttunen is a passionate advocate of contemporary music. He has performed over 160 world premieres, an astounding 29 concertos have been written for him. He premiered Magnus Lindberg’s Cello Concerto No.1 with the Orchestre de Paris (1999), Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Mania with Avanti! (2000), Martin Matalon’s cello concerto with the Orchestre National de France (2001) and Luca Francesconi’s Rest with the RAI Torino (2004). Kaija Saariaho wrote the concerto Notes on Light for Karttunen, which he premiered with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in February 2007. Future premieres will include works by Denis Cohen, Pascal Dusapin, Jérôme Combier, Betsy Jolas, Oliver Knussen, Fred Lerdahl, Thierry Pécou and Sean Shepherd.

Anssi Karttunen has worked with world-renowned orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Ensemble Modern, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic and many more. He also performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician at Europe’s most important music festivals.

His recordings traverse a broad musical spectrum, including Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano on period instruments, 20th century solo pieces, and concertos performed with the London Sinfonietta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen. 

Magnus Lindberg is one of the most talented European composers of his generation, particularly admired for his orchestral scores. His Music is programmed by the world's leading conductors, performing organisations and festivals. Energy, colour and a thrilling density of material are the hallmarks of his recent style, which defines a new classical modernism.

His compositional breakthrough came with two large-scale works, Action-Situation-Signification (1982) and Kraft (1983-85), which were inextricably linked with his founding with Salonen of the experimental Toimii Ensemble. This group, in which Lindberg plays piano and percussion, has provided the composer with a laboratory for his sonic development.

Lindberg's output has positioned him at the forefront of orchestral composition, including the concert-opener Feria (1997), large-scale statements such as Fresco (1997), Cantigas (1999), Concerto for Orchestra (2002-3) and Sculpture (2005), and concertos for clarinet (2002), violin (2006) and two for cello (1999 and 2013). Works also include Seht die Sonne (2007), commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Simon Rattle and the San Francisco Symphony, his first choral-orchestral work GRAFFITI, premiered in Helsinki in May 2009 and Era (2012) for the 125th anniversary of the Concertgebouw.

Lindberg was Composer-in-Residence of the New York Philharmonic between 2009 and 2012, with new works including the concert-opener EXPO premiered to launch Alan Gilbert's tenure as the orchestra's Music Director, Al Largo for orchestra, Souvenir for ensemble, and Piano Concerto No.2 premiered by Yefim Bronfman in 2012. He was appointed Composer in Residence with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for three years from the 2014/15 season, with commissions including a second violin concerto for Frank Peter Zimmermann. The LPO residency in this season includes the UK premiere of Lindberg’s Cello Concerto No.2 in March with soloist Anssi Karttunen conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. More international highlights in early 2017: a feature by the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra including five works conducted by Christian Vásquez and Pierre-André Valade, and the Canadian premiere of Accused with soprano Anu Komsi and the Toronto Symphony under Hannu Lintu.

Lindberg’s music has been recorded on the Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, Ondine, Da Capo and Finlandia labels. In 2003 Lindberg was awarded the prestigious Wihuri Sibelius Prize.