The Bellatrix, a classical trio from the Menuhin School , will be performing in charity concerts for Fund for Classical Music Promotion under Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana on Friday 20th August, 2004 , at Thailand Cultural Center (Small Hall), at 1930 hr. Ticket 1000, 800, 500 (Students 50%) contact Thai Ticket Master 02 204 9999 www.thaiticketmaster.com , and on Sunday 22nd August , at Pantone Hall, Pang Suan Kaew Hotel, Chiangmai , at 1900 hr. Ticket 500, 300 (Students 50%), contact Acoustic Studio (053) 300 456, 213 040.

Bellatrix is a trio of young musicians, aged 19, who are graduating from the famous Yehudi Menuhin School founded by Yehudi Menuhin in 1963. The school was created to have the ideal conditions in which musically gifted children might develop their potential to the full on stringed instruments and piano. Living together as friends, and working intensely with each other, Mary, Prach, and Josh have prepared an exhilarating programme of two of the greatest trios, by Haydn and Ravel, Beethoven?s much loved “Waldstein” sonata, and Schumann's Adagio and Allegro for cello and piano.

Studying with Louise Hopkins, Mary Ellio tt, from Wales, performed as a soloist in recitals in France, Scotland and Tunisia, and in venues such as Mercers Hall, Brangwyn Hall, and Fishmorngers Hall. She played in St. John?s Smith Square, Spittalfields Festival, and in Manchester. She recently performed Elgars?Cello Concerto with the Jupiter orchestra and Elegie by Faure with the Guildford Symphony Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, she performed in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, St David's Hall, Bishopsgate Hall and in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Studying with Ruth Nye, Prach Boondiskulchok, from Thailand, has been performing in many venues, both solo and chamber music, including Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Fairfield Halls. Also as a composer, his works have been well received. Recently his String Quartet II was premiered in the Manchester Quartet Fest, and later in the Purcell Room in which he played Stravinsk?s Petrouchka for piano duet as well. In January 2004 his Bach Inventions and Sinfonia in the Royal Festival Hall won a critical acclaim in the Independent as “ecstatic… would have been a high point in any recital programme”.

Studying with Maciej Rakowski, Joshua Burke, from Ireland, performed in the USA, South Africa, Germany and the Caribbean, since he was 10. A scholarship awardee in the Mozarteum International Summer Academy, he also led a quartet on BBC TV and at the Wigmore Hall. In a review of his Miami concert last year, the “Coral Gables Gazette” welcomed him to “the next generation of violin virtuoso” describing his performance as “extraordinary… he played with a devilish brilliance.”

Mary Elliott :

Mary was born in 1985 in Wales where she started playing the cello at the age of 3 and the piano at the age of 8. She won several local competitions and took part in many concerts from 1991 onwards. In 1999, she performed her first recital in aid of the Kosovo appeal, and later that year, took a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School where she is currently studying with Louise Hopkins. Since joining the school, she has given many performances as a soloist in recitals in France, and tours to Scotland and Tunisia, and in venues such as Mercers Hall, Brangwyn Hall and Fishmongers Hall. She recently performed Elgars's Cello Concerto with the Jupiter Orchestra, and Elegie by Faur? with the Guildford Symphony Orchestra.

In 2003, she played trio number 2 by Shostakovich in St John's Smith Square, Mendelssohn's Octet in the Spittalfields festival, Shostakovich's quartet number 3 in the Quartet Fest in Manchester, and more recently, chamber works by Malcolm Singer also in St John's Smith Square. As an orchestral musician, Mary has performed in venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall, St David's Hall, Bishopsgate Hall, Mansion House and in tours to the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland. She has been involved in masterclasses and lessons with such musicians as Rostropovich, Bernhard Greenhouse, Timothy Eddy, Gary Hoffman and Colin Carr. In July, she performed Carl Vines Inner World for cello and tape and Prach Boondiskulchok's second string quartet in the Purcell Room.

Prach Boondiskulchok :

Prach was born in 1985 in Bangkok. He started to play the piano at the age of 6, with Dr. Apisit Songsasen. In 1997 he went to school in England, where he decided to study music seriously, and started performing in concerts and composing. Prach later came back to Thailand to decide further on his education, during which time, he received lessons from Ajarn Suda Banomyong, and Dr. Narongrit Dhammabutr. He went to England again to Brockwood Park School, and had lessons with Alan Rowlands and Peter Norris, before he joined the Menuhin School in 2001 to study with Ruth Nye.

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Since then Prach has been performing in many venues, both solo and chamber music, including Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, and Fairfield Halls. He has had lessons and coaching from Martin Roscoe, Pascal Devoyon, Klaus Hellwig, Jeremy Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Zachar Bron. He gave his recital debut in Bangkok in 2003 at the Thailand Cultural Centre, a few months after having brought his quintet from the Menuhin School, performing his own composition with Schubert's Trout, in Bangkok and Chiangmai.

As a composer, his works have been well received, and his String Quartet II was premiered in the Manchester Quartet Fest, and later in the Purcell Room, in which programme he also played Stravinski's Petrouchka for piano duet. With the Stravinski, Prach took part in the Rochdale Spirit of Youth in April 2004.

In January 2004, his Bach Inventions and Sinfonia in the Royal Festival Hall won a critical acclaim in the Independent as “ecstatic… would have been a high point in any recital programme”.

Joshua Fayal Burke :

Born in 1985 on the island of Fayal in the Azores, Joshua began his violin studies in Cape Town while sailing around the world as a child with his family. He gave his first concert at age 8 on the island of St. Helena with his father, a classical guitarist, and subsequently played in the USA, South Africa, Germany, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. He has given concerts on the eastern seaboard of the USA almost every year since he was 10.

Since 2000, Joshua has studied with Maciej Rakowski at the Yehudi Menuhin School. He was awarded scholarships to attend the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in Kentucky, USA, where he studied with Prof. Moore, and the Mozarteum International Summer Academy where he studied with Igor Ozim. He has had lessons with Zachar Bron, Zvi Zeitlin and Dora Schwarzberg.

Joshua has led a quartet on BBC TV and at the Wigmore Hall in London, played a solo concert at Leighton House Museum in London, and performed in orchestral performances with the YMSO at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, the Gower Festival in Wales, and the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland. This year he has performed in the Quartet Fest at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and was soloist with the YMSO in a performance of the Violin Concerto by Andrzej Panufnik at the Trinity Arts Centre in Royal Tunbridge Wells. With the YMSO he participated in the recent “Genius of the Violin” Festival at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

In a review of his Miami concert last year, the “Coral Gables Gazette” welcomed him to “the next generation of violin virtuosos” describing his performance as “extraordinary … he played with a devilish brilliance.”