Aleks Szram

Aleksander was born in Southampton to Polish parents, and has been playing the piano since the age of five. He was awarded the Wilner Scholarship to study at Trinity College of Music under Douglas Finch, and won prizes for piano, chamber music, vocal accompaniment and composition, including first place in the John Halford and John Longmire Piano Competitions, the John Ireland Chamber Music Prize and the Leonard Smith Duo Prize for Strings and Piano. He also came second in the inaugural PACA Piano Competition. Upon graduation, Aleksander was awarded the TCM Trust Silver Medal, as well as the Haynes Scholarship, the Stopford Scholarship and the Joan Greenfield Fellowship to fund his study for a MMus Degree, which he passed with Distinction. He was subsequently awarded the Worshipful Company of Musicians' Silver Medal for Excellence in Performance, and the Wilfred Stiff Prize. He is particularly interested in the performance of contemporary repertoire and has given world premières of works by Dai Fujikura, Harris Kittos, Anthony Green, and Danny Ledesma.

Aleksander has performed at many UK venues, including the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Room, and Purcell Room, as well as across France, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Israel, Bahrain, and Taiwan. He has performed concertos with several orchestras, including Salisbury Sinfonia, Southend Philharmonic, and the Wallace Ensemble. As a member of the Lycydas Piano Trio, Aleksander has performed twice at the Peter the Great Festival in Gröningen, Holland, and in 2003 gave the UK première of the Sibelius Trio in A minor. Aleksander is an enthusiastic composer, having studied with John Thomas and Francis Pott. He has collaborated in concert with Philip Fowke and Wissam Boustany, and was recently awarded a full scholarship to study for a doctorate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In 2004 he was also awarded the English-Speaking Union Norman-Butler Scholarship, as well as the Franco-British Society Vlado Perlemuter Scholarship to attend the Ravel Academie course in France.

back to index of artists