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​AERA Ensemble is an artist-led chamber group bringing together clarinet, violin/viola and piano. Through imaginative programming and collaborative performance, the ensemble explores stories of identity, belonging and human experience, creating engaging musical experiences that combine artistic excellence with accessibility, curiosity and connection.

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Since its formation in 2025, AERA Ensemble has rapidly established itself as an exciting new voice in the UK chamber music landscape. In 2026 the ensemble won First Prize in the Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensemble Competition and subsequently performed at Wigmore Hall as part of the Royal Over-Seas League Gold Medal Final. The ensemble is also a member of the Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist Scheme.

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The ensemble's 2026–27 season includes appearances at leading chamber music venues and series across the UK, including Britten Pears Arts, the Holywell Music Room in Oxford, York British Music Society, Barnes Music Festival and Marlborough Recital Series. AERA has worked with distinguished chamber musicians including Daniel Rowland, Richard Hosford, Danny Driver, Tim Lines and Sue Thomas.

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Looking ahead, the ensemble aims to expand its work through interdisciplinary collaborations and innovative projects that bring together diverse artistic voices and perspectives. At the heart of AERA's work is a commitment to thoughtful storytelling, meaningful artistic exchange and performances that foster connection between performers and audiences.

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Isabella Todes is a London-based violinist and violist who recently completed postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music with Daniel Rowland and Simon Rowland-Jones, following undergraduate studies with Detlef Hahn.

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At the heart of Isabella’s work is a deep commitment to chamber music and collaboration. She performs across a wide range of ensembles, including three string quartets and a mixed ensemble of violin, viola, clarinet, and piano, moving fluidly between violin and viola. Particularly drawn to the shifting roles within ensemble playing, she values the dialogue, trust, and shared musical language that emerge through close collaboration.

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Her performances have taken her to leading venues across the UK and Europe, including Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Kings Place, Southbank Centre, Cadogan Hall, and Philharmonie de Paris. In March 2026, she was awarded First Prize in the Mixed Ensembles category of the Royal Overseas League Competition with the AERA Ensemble, joining the Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist Scheme, and performing at Wigmore Hall in May 2026. She also reached the semi-finals of the competition in the Strings and Piano category with the Slate Quartet. Festival appearances include the Oxford Chamber Music Festival, the Stift Festival, and the Cividale del Friuli International Music Festival.

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Isabella performs as first violinist of the Slate Quartet and is a founding member of the Fiora Quartet, with whom she was awarded Second Prize in the RCM String Quartet Competition and selected for both the RCM String Quartet Platform Scheme (2023–24) and the Britten Pears Arts Young Artist Programme (2024–25). Her work has brought her into close collaboration through performances and masterclasses with ensembles including the Brodsky Quartet, Chiaroscuro Quartet, and Quartetto di Cremona, and with musicians such as Alfred Brendel, Ida Haendel, Rachael Podger, Alina Ibragimova, Krysia Osostowicz, and Robin Ireland.

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As a soloist, Isabella has performed concertos on both violin and viola with the Cavatina Orchestra, appeared at the BBC Proms under Sakari Oramo, and performs regularly with the Fantasia Orchestra. In 2025, she was invited to perform Bach’s Chaconne at Sotheby's on the Joachim–Ma Stradivari violin.

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Clarinettist Emily Crook is currently completing her Masters degree at the Royal College of Music as a Headley Trust Scholar. She is currently on trial for the position of Principal Eb Clarinet with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and has previously trialled for Principal Clarinet with Manchester Camerata and Sub-Principal Clarinet with Welsh National Opera. Alongside this, she freelances regularly, performing with orchestras across the UK. This year, Emily has been selected as a Foyle Future First with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and is a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Emerging Musicians Fellowship. During her time at the RCM, she has also been awarded places on prestigious schemes with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and English National Opera.

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As a devoted chamber musician, Emily has performed at the Cerne Abbas Music Festival alongside one of her professors, Richard Hosford, and the Gaudier Ensemble. She regularly performs with the Hyde Quartet, winners of the Tunnell Trust Award 2025–2026, with upcoming performances including a recital at Chipping Campden Festival. She has appeared at leading venues including Wigmore Hall; collaborating with Ensemble 360, as well as with other varied ensembles at The King’s Gallery Buckingham Palace, Gardens of Highgrove House, Garsington Opera, Royal Albert Hall Elgar Room, 11 Downing Street, Champs Hill, and Dorchester Arts.

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Emily has performed as part of the Hattori Foundation Recital Series at the 1901 Arts Club as a soloist, and will also appear at the Harrogate International Festival this summer. Some other exciting upcoming events include a performance of Weber Clarinet Concerto No.2 with the Norwich Mozart Orchestra and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the RCM Symphony Orchestra.

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Emily is deeply grateful for the generous support she has received throughout her Masters studies and would like to thank the Headley Trust, Drake Calleja Trust, Hattori Foundation, Help Musicians, Craxton Memorial Trust, and the Countess of Munster Musical Trust for the Neil Black Award.

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British pianist Amiri Harewood has performed at many of the UK’s most prestigious venues, including the Royal Albert Hall (as part of the Steinway Young Artist series), St Martin-in-the-Fields, Wigmore Hall and the Royal Festival Hall. In May 2024 he was selected as a Grand Prizewinner of both the Young Classical Artist Trust and the Concert Artists Guild International Auditions. Following these honours, Amiri was named a Classic FM Rising Star for 2025 and has given recitals across the UK, including appearances at St George’s Hanover Square, the Brunton Theatre near Edinburgh and the Harrogate International Festival Sunday Series.

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The 2025/26 season saw Amiri build on this momentum with successful debuts at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Konzerthaus Berlin. He returned to Wigmore Hall for a second recital in February and will make his North American debut on a tour that includes recitals in Chicago and New York in April. His Royal Festival Hall concerto debut with Chineke! Orchestra attracted wide critical praise, described as a “Royal Festival Hall debut of considerable panache” (Geoff Brown, The Times) and noted for bringing “confidence and a touch of grandiloquence to Grieg’s Piano Concerto” (Richard Fairman, The Financial Times).

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A postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music studying with Danny Driver, Amiri’s international engagements also include recitals at the Conservatorio in Venice, the Schleswig‑Holstein Music Festival, Kissinger KlavierOlymp, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam and the Mozart Music Festival in Forlì. He was selected to participate in the 2025 Lieven Piano Festival, where he attended masterclasses with Arie Vardi, Andreas Staier and Eldar Nebolsin.

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Committed to outreach and education, Amiri uses his varied experiences to inspire younger musicians. He has undertaken youth outreach work with Music Masters and served as one of the first Tabor Piano Ambassadors of the Leeds International Piano Competition, representing the Royal College of Music.

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