HELIOS ENSEMBLE

PROGRAMME

Rameau – Gavotte and Rondeau
Francaix – Woodwind Quartet
Beethoven – Trio on Mozart’s “La ci darem la mano”
Ibert Deux – Pieces
Bennett – Weep o mine eyes
Monteverdi – Il dolce e il tormento
Byrd – All as a sea
Purcell – Machine Merveilleuse
Bizet – Carmen Suite

Daniel Swani FLUTE
Emily Penn OBOE
Poppy Beddoe CLARINET
James Fisher BASSOON

HELIOS ENSEMBLE are a flexible and versatile group. At their heart is a woodwind quartet featuring some of the country’s most sought after soloists and musicians who come together to exploie innovative ways of making chamber music. Fresh from a series of concerts in southern France, the group bring staples of the repertoire alongside arrangements and transcriptions.

Daniel Swanni is a versatile flautist and recorder player who performs regularly with many of the UK’s leading orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Royal Ballet and Opera, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hallé, Scottish Ballet Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Sinfonia of London. His career highlights include recording under Sir Mark Elder, John Wilson and Thomas Adès, recording as Principal Flute with Royal Northern Sinfonia, and appearing as a recorder soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Daniel has also performed extensively in the West End and on UK tours, including Miss Saigon, The Lion King, Wicked and Mary Poppins, and can be heard on numerous film, television and game soundtracks. He studied flute, recorder and baroque flute at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with First Class Honours. Alongside his performing career, he teaches at the Junior Royal Academy of Music and City of London School for Girls, where his students have gone on to leading conservatoires and specialist music schools, receiving major scholarships and awards.

Emily Penn is a professional oboist, cor anglais player and educator, performing across orchestral, chamber and contemporary music settings. She graduated with distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has since developed a diverse freelance career, performing with ensembles including Sinfonia Smith Square (formerly Southbank Sinfonia) and the St Endellion Festival Orchestra, as well as internationally with the Shanghai Opera House.

A passionate chamber musician, Emily regularly performs in woodwind ensembles, including the Helios Ensemble, and has premiered new works at venues including Wigmore Hall. Alongside her performing career, she is a dedicated educator, teaching oboe, cor anglais and music theory to the next generation of musicians.

Poppy Beddoe is a versatile solo, orchestral and chamber clarinettist performing widely across the UK and internationally. Her debut album, Soliloquy (2021, Ulysses Arts), features her own transcriptions of works by Bach and Hildegard of Bingen. Recent highlights include premiering and recording Matthew Taylor’s Concertino with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, alongside concerto performances at St James Piccadilly, St John’s Smith Square and Manchester Cathedral. She has also appeared as a Guest Artist at the University of Houston, Texas New Music Festival and Clifton International Festival.

Poppy is passionate about music education and outreach, teaching at the Junior Royal Academy of Music and working with its Widening Participation team. She is Artistic Director of the Berkshire Chamber Music Festival and a concert series in the South of France. In 2023, she was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for her significant contribution to the profession. She studied at King’s College London and the Royal Academy of Music, where she completed her Master’s in 2016.

James Fisher is an Australian bassoonist and woodwind teacher. He graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2015 with a Bachelor of Music in Performance before moving to London to study at the Royal College of Music, where he completed a Master of Performance with Distinction in 2018. James has performed with leading UK and international orchestras, including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Denmark, and has appeared as Guest Principal Bassoon with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

He is currently a bassoonist with Southbank Sinfonia, holding the Sir Charles Mackerras Chair, with additional support from the Tait Memorial Trust. Alongside his performing career, James is also an experienced woodwind teacher.