Cellophonics – Biography

Four of the UK’s finest cellists, Christopher Allan, Michael Atkinson, Adrian Bradbury and Benedict Rogerson make up the group CellophonicsSon of Stroud, Chris graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama before joining the acclaimed “Gogmagogs”. He keeps his interest in contemporary and cross-arts work fresh by working with a broad array of artists amongst them: Gare St Lazare, White Light Festival, the Clod Ensemble, Hofesh Shechter, Chroma, Goldfrapp, and Mumford and Sons.Hailing from Teeside, Michael studied at the Royal College of Music before joining the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the cornerstone of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. It is also resident at London’s Barbican Centre and maintains a busy international touring schedule.Originally from Chichester, Ben is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and a former member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Friday Night is Music Night, and Radio 2’s Piano Rooms are central to his current role with the BBC Concert Orchestra.Whilst the others were still at school, London born Adrian was reading Veterinary Science and Music at Churchill College, Cambridge, before going on to the Royal Academy in London. After further study in Berlin he developed a career as an international chamber musician and is highly sort after as a guest principal cellist by Britain’s leading orchestras. He has recorded the complete operatic fantasies of the 19th Century cello virtuoso Alfredo Piatti on the Meridien label.Together, they have given concerts and presented courses for young and not-so-young cellists across the UK and Ireland. Champions of all things cello, they have been fortunate to receive generous support from the Ferrer Foundation, the Hinrichsen Foundation, and the Marchus Trust to broaden the repertoire for cello quartet. They have also discovered a hitherto unknown work by the ‘English Rachmaninov’, York Bowen, which they are planning to record alongside William Alwyn, and new commissions by composers including Guy Barker and Roderick Elms.Their performances brim with warmth, and sparkle with virtuosity, bringing to life the contrasting characteristics of the cello. Their programming aims to have something for everyone, be they music lovers in general or the more seriously afflicted cello-holic.