LEV ATLAS - violin
Lev Atlas (violin and viola) is currently Principal Viola of the Scottish Opera Orchestra and lecturer in Strings at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. A virtuoso Klezmer and Eastern European music performer, he is a living encyclopaedia of hundreds of traditional tunes and has influenced many musicians across Europe.

Lev has enjoyed an outstanding career as a classical musician in his native Russia, then USA and now the UK. A member of the international award winning Rostov String Quartet, winner of the first prize at the International Shostakovich Competition and grand prix winner of the Borodin Quartet Competition, Lev has recorded extensively with Koch Swan International in Vienna, MCA Classics in New York, BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and WCBH Boston. His solo and lead performances include Wigmore Hall, Great Hall, Moscow State Conservatoire, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Usher Hall, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Atlantic City Music Festival.

In 2013 completed his PhD and was awarded a title of Doctor in Music and Philosophy by the University of Saint Andrews and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for his research, titled “In the Shadow of Shostakovich”.


STEPHEN ADAM - keyboard
Born in Stirling, Stephen was playing the piano by the age of 3 and later became a student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, where he won prizes for Chamber Music, Composition and Lieder Accompaniment. After two years of postgraduate study under cellist Rachael Sommer in Manchester, he worked in Spain as a pianist and arranger before returning to London and Birmingham to freelance with various orchestras. 

In 1982, he was appointed sub-principal cello with the orchestra of the Scottish Opera and performed for numerous music clubs as accompanist and chamber musician. His arranging work has involved projects for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Scottish Ensemble and the recording of Mozart’s Seraglio for Scottish Opera, as well as the BBC’s “Songs of Praise”. His award winning compositions include a commission from the National Trust to celebrate the architect Robert Adam and a Suite for Cello and Strings featuring the traditional music of the Western Isles. 

Stephen is an enthusiastic and consummate Jazz musician, who is also in great demand in Britain and throughout Europe for his knowledge and skills in performing and arranging Bohemian and Russian music.