David López Ibañez

Violin

David has played violin with Explore Ensemble since 2016. They are a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Hill Quartet, and have played with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, Haydn Philharmonie and Spira Mirabilis. They have performed around the UK and internationally, in venues like Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Vienna  Musikverein, Koernel Hall Toronto, and Tokyo Metropolitan Hall, among others. 

They studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Professors Detlef Hahn, Radu Blidar and Lucy Russell, and currently studies with Lorenza Borrani at Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy. 

In their spare time they enjoy running, cycling, reading and painting.

Taylor MacLennan

Flute

Taylor has been the flute player of Explore Ensemble since its foundation in 2012.  Originally from Scotland, Taylor moved to London in 2010 to study at the Royal College of Music where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as well as an Artist Diploma in 2017. During his time there, he won the RCM Flute Prize and had the opportunities to work with conductors including Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Sir Roger Norrington. Taylor took up further study with Patrick Gallois at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena where he was awarded the Diploma of Merit.

Taylor was a member of Southbank Sinfonia in 2018 and has since worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera and the Oxford Philharmonic, as well as guest principal flute with Scottish Ballet. Taylor has appeared at festivals including the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and Encuentro de Música Santander.

Taylor enjoys tennis, being a home barista and all things culinary.

Nicholas Moroz

Artistic Director, Electronics

Nicholas is a composer and co-founded Explore Ensemble in 2012. His music has been performed by musicians including the GBSR Duo, Sebastiaan Kemner, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, ensemble recherche, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the Britten-Pears Ensemble, at venues and festivals such as Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Abbaye de Royaumont, Moscow Philharmonic, Aldeburgh Festival, St Magnus International Festival, and EXPO Oxford.

He studied composition at the Royal College of Music with Jonathan Cole, Kenneth Hesketh, Simon Holt, and Gilbert Nouno. He also completed a musicology Masters degree at the University of Oxford, where he is currently studying an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded DPhil in Music (Composition) degree. His research involves composition with acoustic instruments and live electronics, and his musicological work investigates the role of technology in Luigi Nono’s live electronic music. His supervisors are Professors Jonathan Cross and Martyn Harry. He has also published articles and given conference presentations on the music of Fausto Romitelli and Morton Feldman.

Besides music he also enjoys the outdoors, sci-fi, tropical plants, and sampling his fellow ensemble members’ food and coffees.

nicholas-moroz.com

Sarah Park

Piano

Edinburgh-born South Korean pianist Sarah Park began playing with Explore Ensemble in 2015, including the group’s first performance outside of the UK at the Zeitströme Festival in Darmstadt.

Sarah began her musical studies at St Mary’s Music School where she had a number of successes from an early age, including performing her concerto debut at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall and broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. Sarah continued her studies at the Royal College of Music where she received a Master of Performance degree with Distinction under the guidance of Norma Fisher and Danny Driver. Sarah has enjoyed participating in masterclasses by renowned artists such as Lilya Zilberstein, Jacques Rouvier, Idil Biret and Peter Donohoe. Throughout her studies she was generously supported with a Donald Dewar Arts Award and the Kendall-Taylor Scholarship. Sarah has since given concerts at Steinway Hall, Purcell Room and the Royal Festival Hall and her performances have also taken her further afield to Italy, Germany, Spain and South Korea.

Sarah enjoys drinking coffee, playing chess and cuddling her dog Cookie in her spare time.

Siwan Rhys

Piano

Siwan started playing the piano with Explore Ensemble in 2019. She enjoys a varied career of solo, chamber, and ensemble playing, with a strong focus on contemporary music and composer collaboration.

She has played at venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, Shanghai Symphony Hall, and Esplanade Singapore. She has appeared at the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, London Contemporary Music Festival, Lux aeterna, Principal Sound, and has recorded many times for television, radio, and for labels NMC, all that dust, Another Timbre, Classical Remix, TakuRoku, nonclassical, and Prima Facie.

As ensemble pianist Siwan has worked with the London Sinfonietta, Colin Currie Group, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Clod Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, among others.

Siwan is a member of piano-percussion duo GBSR Duo and also works with mezzo-soprano Lucy Goddard.

In her spare time she enjoys cocktails and tending a meadow.

siwanrhys.co.uk

Alex Roberts

Clarinet

Alex has played clarinets and various other instruments with Explore Ensemble since 2014. As a freelance orchestral musician, he has played regularly with the Philharmonia and Welsh National Opera. After graduating from the Queensland Conservatorium, Alex completed post-graduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music and has since taken part in masterclasses with Francois Benda and Yehuda Gilad. 

Passionate about social justice, Alex is the assistant musical director for Liberty Choir, a charity which creates choirs in prisons with the people inside them and volunteers from local communities.

Alex has hiked in the Carpathians, Pyrenees and the Pennines and, perhaps not surprisingly for an Australian, looks forward to brewing the perfect cup of coffee every morning.

Morag Robertson

Viola

Morag has been a member of Explore Ensemble since 2018. Originally from Glasgow, she attended St. Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh and later studied at the Royal College of Music in London and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester on the Hallé String Leadership Training Scheme.

Morag is a member of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and has worked with many orchestras around the UK including the Hallé, Scottish Ensemble, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra and was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2015 – 2017.

As a chamber musician, she enjoyed success with the Manon Quartet during her studies in London and has performed as guest violist with the Edinburgh Quartet. She is currently a member of the Roxburgh Quartet based in Edinburgh.

In her spare time Morag enjoys hill-walking, perfecting her sourdough bread and photographing her cat, Bella. 

Deni Teo

Cello

Deni has been a member of Explore Ensemble since 2013. She completed her Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees at the Royal College of Music, studying with Melissa Phelps. She currently enjoys a varied career in orchestral, contemporary and film session playing. Deni regularly performs with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, London Contemporary Orchestra and was on trial with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Deni also performs with Cardiff based new music group Uproar Ensemble and is a member of Her Ensemble, a group dedicated to promoting music written by women and non-binary composers. She performed Tyshawn Sorey’s cello concerto For Roscoe Mitchell at the London Contemporary Music Festival 2022 with the LCMF Orchestra to critical acclaim.

Baking is Deni’s other major passion and you’ll find her posting photos and videos of her creations on Instagram @deniteocello.