JULIAN LEAPER
Leader / Principal Violin
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In 1978 Julian won a Junior Exhibition Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where
he studied violin with Emanuel Hurwitz and piano as joint first study with Hamish Milne.
He was awarded several prizes for solo performance and chamber music including the prestigious Gerard Heller award for which he won first prize for Quartet playing.
In 1982 he continued his studies with Alberto Lysy at the Yehudi Menuhin Academy Gstaad and Tomatada Soh and Kenneth Sillitoe in London. He made his London debut performing
a programme of British music at the Purcell Room. He has since performed as leader and soloist with many British orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Worthing Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia and the New London Orchestra. He has worked regularly with all the major chamber Orchestras and ensembles including the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, English Chamber Orchestra , Chamber Orchestra of Europe, London Mozart Players and the Orchestra of St Johns Smith Square.
He has worked with the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia and BBC Symphony orchestras.
His solo and concerto performances include the complete Brandenburg concertos at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Vivaldi’s Four Seasonsat the Purcell Room, Mozart D major violin concertoat St Johns Smith Square, Beethoven Triple concertoat Truro Cathedral, Vaughn Williams Lark Ascendingand Mozart Sinfonia Concertanteat Worthing Assembly Hall together with a number of other solo performances at venues across the UK. He has recorded a large number of sound tracks for Film and TV including Harry Potter, Lord of
the Rings, James Bondand has recorded the solo violin tracks for Ridley Scott’s Tristan
and Isoldeand TV blockbusters such as Upstairs Downstairs, Cranford, and Downton Abbey.
In 2014 Julian was appointed leader of the internationally acclaimed Maggini String Quartet.
He is passionate about introducing live music to children and has made many visits to schools across the UK with the Maggini Quartet together with visits to special needs schools with the Music for Autism Charity.
Julian is very interested in antique string instruments and has acquired a collection of beautiful violins over the years, his pride and joy, a 1735 Januarius Gagliano, on which
he plays.
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Find out more about Julian here
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