Players

Sohan Kalirai, creative director

Sohan Kalirai is a pianist, composer and violinist. Alongside Big Lips, he currently works as manager of the Cambridge New Music Network, a hub for student-led contemporary music making in Cambridge University. His work focuses on music in a theatrical environment, directing and composing for productions including Shakespeare's Measure for Measure (2026), Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale (2024), Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George (2023), and collaborative projects with the Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts. He founded Big Lips in 2022, whilst studying music at St John's College Cambridge, where he was President of John's Music Society (2024). He held joint first studies in Piano and Composition at the Junior Royal Academy of Music, studying with Graham Caskie and John Cooney. He was awarded the JRAM Piano Prize (2022), first Prize in the East Anglian Young Composer Competition (2019 & 2021), and the International Clementi Keyboard Award at the Dulwich Music Festival (2019).

Joshua Herberg, theatrical director

Joshua Herberg is a theatre director, dramaturg and performer. His work explores hybrid forms and performance contexts, often combining music, dance and live cinema with classical dramaturgy, archival research and non-dramatic writing. Specialising in movement-based performance practices, he has training in Butoh, Meyerhold’s Biomechanics and Theatre Anthropology. Alongside his recent theatrical interpretations of Chekhov, Wilde and Beckett, he has directed operatic works by Purcell, Britten, Nyman and a staged version of Schubert’s Winterreise.

Tamara Redmond, violin

Tamara Redmond is a violinist studying Music at Queens’ College, Cambridge. In Cambridge she has led the University Orchestra and is also on the Instrumental Award Scheme. She studies with Professor Jack Liebeck at the Royal Academy of Music.

Ed Hinchliff, trumpet

Ed Hinchliff started playing the trumpet aged 9, and after playing in local youth orchestras, started studying at Junior Guildhall in 2018. From there, Ed joined the National Youth orchestra for the 2023 season, staying for two years. Since coming to Cambridge, Ed has enjoyed playing in the University orchestra, and putting on projects including Stravinsky’s Soldiers Tale and Copland’s Quiet City. Starting in September, Ed will be attending the Guildhall school for a postgrad on the Orchestral Artistry scheme.

Tabitha Appel, violin

Tabitha Appel is a violinist reading music at St John's College, Cambridge, studying violin with David Takeno. As a soloist she has performed multiple concerti with local orchestras in Oxford including by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Saint-Saëns. In 2023 she won the Oxford Philharmonic Junior Concerto Competition. Tabitha led the National Youth Orchestra GB in its 2021 season. Her piano trio, on the Instrumental Award Scheme, have been selected to perform at the upcoming University Showcase recital at Wigmore Hall.

Adah Charles, clarinet/alto sax

Adah Charles is a music student at St John’s College, Cambridge. She attends the Guildhall School, studying with Joy Farrall, where she has a scholarship to study a masters degree next year. During her time at Sheffield music academy she was a member of several award schemes, including Young Sounds UK; the Christine Brown Trust; and the Universal Music UK Sound Foundation. She was a finalist in the Cambridge University Concerto Competition in 2025 and now in her third year, she plays in the Cambridge University Orchestra.

Tom Yang, piano

Tom, 20, began playing at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where he studied piano from the age of 8 with professors Ruth Nye and Ashley Wass. He has appeared at venues across the UK from King's Place in London to Blair Atholl in Scotland, regularly collaborating with instrumentalists and vocalists. In a different capacity, Tom worked with Orchid Classics, having his orchestral arrangement ‘Horse Race’ recorded for a commercial CD project. He current studies music at St John’s College, Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music.

Leon Sturdee, violin

Leon Sturdee is a violinist and private violin teacher living in Helsinki, Finland. Following studies at Menuhin School and St John's College Cambridge, focuses of his are Schubert and Schnittke, which he often performs alongside pianist Sohan Kalirai. He also sings, most recently as a member of the Saint Nicholas Chamber Choir and Uspenskii Cathedral orthodox choir.

Harry Scott-Burt, cello

Harry Scott-Burt, 20, is a cello player studying at St John's College, Cambridge. He is the principal cellist of the Cambridge University Orchestra and performs regularly both as a soloist and with a variety of ensembles. In May 2021 he won the Junior Royal Academy of Music senior cello prize, and in 2023 the prestigious JRAM concerto competition, performing Shostakovich’s 1st cello concerto that year. A member of the National Youth Orchestra from 2019-23, he enjoyed the position of principal cellist in his final two years.

Jude Ellacott, percussion

Jude is an orchestral and Latin percussionist studying music at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He is currently principal percussionist in Cambridge University Orchestra and gives both ensemble and solo performances across the university.

Alex Jones, electric bass

Alex is an electric bassist who grew up playing in rock/pop bands before getting involved with funk, hip-hop and jazz at university. More recently he's been moving away from the standard cover bands for more exciting projects such as Pulsar, an electronic/hiphop/jazz fusion band writing originals, who have won the Take It To The Bridge competition at Cambridge in 2026.

Ben Andrews, trombone

Ben is trombonist, currently working at the European Space Agency, who has performed in ensembles across London and Cambridge in both jazz and classical contexts. These have included the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Churchill College Jazz, Cambridge University Orchestra and Imperial College Orchestra and Big Band.

Manav Paul, clarinet/baritone sax

Manav enjoys a freelance career as a conductor, bass-baritone, organist, and saxophonist. He is Organist and Director of Music at St Mary Magdalene, Enfield, and Musical Director of Sititngbourne Orpheus Choral Society. Additionally, he is Project Manager for, and a bass-baritone in the Holst Singers, as well as singing freelance. Manav studied for a BA in music at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he played keys and saxaphone in the Cambridge Jazz Orchestra and was Organ Scholar at Homerton College.

Csenge Kosaras, flute

Csenge Kosaras is a Hungarian flautist and singer who trained with Emma Halnan during her studies in Cambridge. She enjoys a wide range of musical projects, both academic and performance-based, from large‑scale orchestral and choral work to intimate contemporary collaborations.

Mika Petrovic, sound tech

Mika Petrovic is a multi-disciplinary musician working as a pianist, composer, conductor, producer, and sound technician. A former student of the Yehudi Menuhin School, he now studies at the University of Cambridge. He debuted at the Royal Opera House at age 10, and has since toured across Europe and Japan performing his own music. He is also currently producing an album for singer Jo Hogg in Northern Ireland.

Isaac Chan, horn

Isaac Chan is a conductor, pianist and horn player, studying music at Clare College, where he is conducting scholar and principal horn for the University Symphony Orchestra. Since 2024 he was named conductor of the Hong Kong Youth Philharmonia, and has served as assistant conductor/repetiteur in numerous opera/oratorio settings in the country. In September, Isaac will start his Masters’ in Orchestral Conducting at Juilliard.

Michael Calnan, percussion

Michael Calnan is a percussionist, keyboardist and composer, who studied music at the Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He currently works as an educator for the Luxembourg Philharmonic.

Claudio Gaete, trumpet

Claudio Gaete is a trumpet player who performs regularly in classical and jazz ensembles across Cambridge where he studies Architecture at Magdalene College. Alongside Big Lips, he performs in the function band Half Orange and the Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra.

Annabel Beniston, double bass

Annabel Beniston is a double bass player studying for her Master of Performance with professors Tim Gibbs and Sebastian Pennar at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since graduating from Cambridge she has enjoyed playing with many of the UK’s major orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Flora Faulconbridge, violin

Flora Faulconbridge is a violinist reading music at Christ’s College, Cambridge. She studies violin under Ani Schnarch at the Royal College of Music. Flora has made several concerto appearances with orchestras in London, Cambridge, and her home city, Bristol. As a chamber musician she has performed in venues such as the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall and the Wigmore Hall, and as an orchestral musician she has worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in concert and live broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Next year Flora will take up a scholarship for a Masters at the Royal College of Music.

Simeon Francis-Dehqani, viola

Simeon is a violist and conductor studying philosophy at St Johns College Cambridge. He has been the president of St John's College Music Society (2025-2026), conducting and performing in various ensembles and orchestras across the university. This has included a series of concerts in St John's Chapel, which have involved supporting and commissioning new works.

Liam Lichy-Lightman, singer/actor

Liam Lichy-Lightman is a tenor with Trinity College Choir, Cambridge, where he is a regular soloist during international tours and recording projects. He is a recent graduate of the Music Tripos, and is heavily involved with the Cambridge opera scene, having performed lead roles in the CUOS Main Show and student-written chamber operas. He has held Musical Director positions within Trinity College Music Society and Cadenza, and continues to produce concert series focused on multimedia exploration and innovative programming.