Michael Foyle (violin) won The Netherlands Violin Competition 2016, giving an acclaimed performance of Szymanowksi’s Concerto No.1 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2018-19 he made concerto debuts with English Chamber Orchestra in Cadogan Hall (Prokofiev No.1) and Polish Baltic Philharmonic (Korngold), as well as returning to the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Russia (Brahms and Mendelssohn).
Alongside his performance work, Michael recently became Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the youngest violinist appointed in the institution’s 200-year history. He has also performed as Guest-Concertmaster with BBC Symphony Orchestra and The Halle, working with conductors including Semyon Bychkov, Mark Elder, Oliver Knussen, Sakari Oramo and Vasily Petrenko. A passionate advocate of contemporary music, he has given premieres of solo and chamber works by over thirty living composers.
Michael was born in Scotland in 1991 and, as a teenager, won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Tabor Award and led the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Afterwards, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the University of Music and Arts in Vienna with Maureen Smith, Daniel Rowland and Pavel Vernikov, alongside regular masterclasses with Maxim Vengerov. During this time, Michael won the Royal Overseas League String Competition. He plays a Gennaro Gagliano violin (1750) on loan and is represented by Interartists Amsterdam.
(www.michaelfoyle.org)
‘From his beautifully shaped opening phrase, it was immediately clear we could expect something special and so it proved.’
Wells Journal – Bruch Concerto
‘Of this performance, there was nothing to say except “Bravo!” The long and rapturous applause was richly deserved.’
Eastbourne Herald – Tchaikovsky Concerto
‘The playing of the Royal Academy of Music Chamber Ensemble is pleasingly flexible throughout … with Michael Foyle’s sinuous, snaking violin solos worth special mention.’
Gramophone Magazine
Delius Violin Concerto with the Lambeth Orchestra, London
Recital at Snell Auditorium, University of Red Deer, Canada
Recital and Masterclass residency at University of Calgary, Canada
Recital at ArtsPlace Canmore, Canada
Masterclass and jury member for China-UK International Music Competition, London
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with East Anglia Chamber Orchestra. West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with East Anglia Chamber Orchestra at The Apex, Bury St. Edmunds, UK
Brahms Violin Concerto with Kew Sinfonia, London
Delius Violin Concerto with Epsom Symphony Orchestra
Elgar Violin Concerto with Polish Baltic Philharmonic, Gdansk, Poland
London Conchord Ensemble concert at Imperial College, London