Introducing Our New Sinfonia Cymru Leader – Roberto Ruisi
Published Tuesday 14 December 2021
Introducing Our New Sinfonia Cymru Leader – Roberto Ruisi.
Sinfonia Cymru is excited to announce our new orchestra leader Roberto Ruisi. Having been involved in the orchestra as a violinist for five years, Roberto has been in several exciting projects with Sinfonia Cymru, including a concert with Karl Jenkins at the Wales Millennium Centre as part of the Aberfan Memorial and a performance at the Abu Dhabi Festival with Sir Bryn Terfel.
“Sinfonia Cymru is a great place to be. The quality is always amazing, it’s collaborative, fun, sociable and really welcoming, it’s unique. This role means I get to be involved for the long term, helping new and exciting musicians to develop and gain some amazing experiences at the beginning of their own careers. I’m thrilled!”.
Roberto started his new role was during the recent tour of Wales & at Wigmore Hall with Timothy Ridout. His new role will involve a lot of variety; being part of the orchestra’s auditions, searching for new talent, the opportunity to share ideas on programming, music choices, directing pieces, not forgetting the opportunity to play and share his talent with audiences in Wales and beyond.
Peter Bellingham, Chief Executive of Sinfonia Cymru is delighted with the appointment.
“We’re thrilled that Robbie has agreed to become Sinfonia Cymru’s next Leader. With our focus on young musicians in the early years of their careers, it’s important that we have a leader who is not only an exceptional musician but also someone who can inspire and support the young players and provide artistic leadership. Robbie fits that profile perfectly.”
Roberto has been playing the violin since the age of two! His journey was influenced by his two older brothers;
“Our parents aren’t musicians themselves, but we were always brought up to love music from day one. I remember my older brother Max coming home with a cello one day, my parents told him to return it to school as they knew how much work and commitment was involved in learning an instrument. He didn’t and, with the support of our parents, stuck at it! Alessandro followed with a violin and then I quickly wanted to get involved. I guess the rest is history!”
All three are now professional full- time musicians in London, they play together as part of the 12 Ensemble, who have developed a reputation as one of Europe’s most exhilarating collectives. Like his brothers, Roberto studied with Lucy Akehurst, an acclaimed violin teacher in Birmingham.
As a teenager, Roberto led the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for three consecutive years, after which he moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music. On completion of his studies he was awarded the prestigious Tagore Gold Medal.
He’s had the opportunity to travel too, being invited to play at some of the most acclaimed chamber music festivals in the UK and abroad. “I love to travel, I always learn a lot from it. I’ve been lucky enough to play in all corners of the world through music, and I hope for that to continue well into the future.”
He’s looking forward to spending more time in Wales in 2022 and he has lots of ideas for Sinfonia Cymru;
“I’m looking forward to helping develop this orchestra in the way it deserves. Sinfonia Cymru brings music and joy into communities across Wales and the wider world, and it has also always been obvious to me that they make a huge difference to the careers and lives of young musicians. I’m looking forward to being a part of that, helping to spread the word of this wonderful orchestra. We’ve got lots to look forward to already, kicking off with our tour from 3 – 6 of February, with Lucienne Renaudin Vary, a wonderful young artist. I can’t wait”.
Other recent changes at Sinfonia Cymru include the appointment of former member, Simmy Singh, as Creative Associate and new Board members Jo Marriott and Alistair Vennart – Alistair is also a former member of the orchestra.
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For further information please contact Heulwen Davies, Marketing & Communications Officer at Sinfonia Cymru on post@llais.cymru or 07817591930.
For further information about Sinfonia Cymru please visit or website www.sinfonia.cymru