We are delighted to welcome four outstanding musicians for this concert:

Flautist Alena Walentin and classical guitarist Niklas Johansen have performed as soloists with major orchestras around the world and come together as a duo to perform works by Eugene Bozza, Claudia Montero, Bela Bartok and Astor Piazzolla.

Marie Schreer and John Garner formed innovative violin duo ‘Mainly Two’ in 2013 and have performed together at major venues in the UK. Their programme will include works by Peteris Vasks and Grażyna Bacewicz.

Alena Walentin

Alena Walentin is a flautist known for her versatile career, actively working as a soloist, chamber musician, freelance principal flute, workshop leader and teacher at several conservatoires. She is an Altus Artist and a former Vice President of the British Flute Society. In 2020 Alena’s debut CD was chosen as "CD of the Week" by the Danish Radio. She's given numerous concerts all over the world with, among others, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and Moscow Chamber Orchestra and has played as a Principal flute with the London Concert Orchestra, Halle, London Mozart Players, Verbier Chamber Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and others. Alena Walentin is a professor at Koninklijk Conservatorium den The Hague and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Niklas Johansen is a classical guitarist born in 1989 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has received international acclaim after winning 8 first prizes at international guitar competitions and awards such as the Danish Radio P2 Talent Prize and the Sonning Talent Prize.
He has played concerts as a soloist and in chamber music groups in 17 countries all around the world. He has frequently been invited for concerts and masterclasses at renowned festivals across Europe, Russia and China. He recorded his debut CD in 2016 which has since been heard by more than 80,000 listeners across the world, and he has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the ADDA Simfónica (Alicante).

Marie Schreer and John Garner formed Mainly Two in 2013 with a view to expanding the repertoire for two violins and bringing greater attention to an oft-neglected medium. They have since commissioned works by over twenty composers from across the globe and have performed live at celebrated venues including Sage Gateshead and St David’s Hall, Cardiff. Their two-part album Poetry / Synergy was independently released in November 2014 and re-released digitally on Turquoise Coconut in May 2016, followed some months later by an EP, Live at Listenpony.
Their latest album, Squirrels in Matchboxes, was released in April 2020 and features new works by James Brady, Kate Williams and MT’s own John Garner, as well as two improvisations by the duo.

From the playful to the melancholic, the brutal to the plain silly, Mainly Two are rejuvenating the world of two violins, summoning a universe of colour from eight strings.