Vasily Petrenko (born 7 July 1976, Leningrad, USSR) is a Russian conductor. He attended the Capella Boys Music School and the St Petersburg Conservatoire. He studied conducting with Ilya Musin, and later under the tutelage of Mariss Jansons, Yuri Temirkanov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He was resident conductor at the St. Petersburg Opera and Ballet Theatre from 1994 to 1997. He has served as chief conductor of the State Academy of St. Petersburg since 1994. In 2002 he won the first prize of the Cadaqués Orchestra International Conducting Competition.

Petrenko made his conducting debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO) in November 2004. After this appearance, in July 2005, he was named the RLPO's principal conductor, the youngest-ever conductor in the post, effective with the 2006-2007 season for an initial contract of 3 years. Since taking up the post, the orchestra's financial situation and attendance have improved. He has also received critical praise for revitalising the orchestra, in Russian repertoire (especially Shostakovich) as well as standard repertoire such as Brahms, and in English music. In May 2007, the RLPO announced that Petrenko had extended his contract with the orchestra to 2012. In September 2009, the orchestra announced a further extension of his contract to 2015, with a change of Petrenko's title to Chief Conductor. His first conducting appearance at The Proms was with the RLPO in August 2008. Petrenko and the RLPO have recorded several compact discs for Naxos. Petrenko's recording of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony won the Gramophone orchestral recording of the year in 2009.

Simon Trpcheski (Simon Trpčeski), OMM (Macedonian: Симон Трпчески) (born September 18, 1979, in Skopje, Macedonia), is a Macedonian classical pianist.

The youngest of three children, his father was a judge and his mother a pharmacist. In 2002, he received his degree in music from the University of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, where he studied with Professor Boris Romanov. By then he had already made his debut in recital at London's Wigmore Hall in 2001 and had won prizes in international competitions in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Italy.

Building on his exposure as a member of the BBC New Generation Scheme 2001-2003, Trpčeski has since 2005 made a rapid series of debuts with orchestras worldwide—including the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Toronto Symphony—and has made recital tours in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In December 2005 he appeared for the first time in the International Piano Series in London, and he has performed with English orchestras including the London Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestras, the Hallé Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In Scandinavia, he has performed with the Stockholm, Bergen, Gothenburg, and Helsinki orchestras and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

Ottorino Respighi (Italian pronunciation: [ottoˈriːno resˈpiːɡi]; 9 July 1879 – 18 April 1936) was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome (Le fontane di Roma); Pines of Rome (I pini di Roma); and Roman Festivals (Feste romane). His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to also compose pieces based on the music of this period. He also wrote a number of operas, the best known being La fiamma.

Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy. He was taught piano and violin by his father, who was a local piano teacher. He went on to study violin and viola with Federico Sarti at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna, composition with Giuseppe Martucci, and historical studies with Luigi Torchi, a scholar of early music. A year after receiving his diploma in violin in 1899, Respighi went to Russia to be principal violist in the orchestra of the Russian Imperial Theatre in St Petersburg during its season of Italian opera. While there he studied composition for five months with Rimsky-Korsakov. He then returned to Bologna, where he earned a second diploma in composition. Until 1908 his principal activity was as first violin in the Mugellini Quintet. In 1908-09 he spent some time performing in Germany before returning to Italy and turning his attention entirely to composition. Many sources indicate that while he was in Germany he studied briefly with Max Bruch, but in her biography of the composer, Respighi's wife asserts that this is not the case.

Jean Sibelius ( pronunciation (help·info); 8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period. His music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."

The core of Sibelius's oeuvre is his set of seven symphonies. Like Beethoven, Sibelius used each successive work to further develop his own personal compositional style. His works continue to be performed frequently in the concert hall and are often recorded.

In addition to the symphonies, Sibelius's best-known compositions include Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste, the Violin Concerto in D minor and The Swan of Tuonela (one of the four movements of the Lemminkäinen Suite). Other works include pieces inspired by the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala; over 100 songs for voice and piano; incidental music for 13 plays; the opera Jungfrun i tornet (The Maiden in the Tower); chamber music; piano music; Masonic ritual music; and 21 separate publications of choral music.

Katie Derham (born Catherine Beatrice Margaret Derham on 18 June 1970) is a British newscaster and a presenter on television and radio.

Derham was born in Stockport to John and Margaret Derham, and grew up in Wilmslow. She was educated at Cheadle Hulme School and read Economics at Magdalene College, Cambridge graduating with a BA (Hons).

Derham began her broadcasting career at the BBC, starting as a researcher on Radio 4's Moneybox. In 1995 she won the Bradford & Bingley "Best Personal Finance Broadcaster Award" for her work as a presenter on Radio 5 Live's Moneycheck. She moved to BBC television in 1996 as a consumer affairs correspondent and was also a reporter on the long-running Film programme.

In 1998 she joined ITN as the Media and Arts Editor for ITV News and, at the age of 27, became the youngest newscaster on British national television since ITN's creation in 1955. In 2004, Derham became the main female presenter of the ITV News at 1:30, and a relief presenter of both the ITV News at 6:30 and the ITV News at Ten. She also co-presented the ITV London news programme London Tonight. Derham hosted her last programmes on ITV1 on 25 June 2010. On 3 August 2010 Derham hit out on the "perceptions of young female newsreaders".