Jasmin Iris Ghera & Junyan Chen
Biography Jasmin Iris Ghera & Junyan Chen
Jasmin Iris Ghera
is an Italian trumpeter from Sardinia, where, in 2017, she graduated with a bachelors degree in music at the age of 16. In 2021, she continued her studies in Switzerland with Eric Aubier at the Lausanne High School of Music (HEMU), gaining a master’s degree with the highest marks. Since November 2022 Jasmin has been studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Mark David where she has already obtained the Professional Diploma and is now studying on the Advanced Diploma. Thanks to being awarded a Bicentenary Scholarship at the Academy, Jasmin will have the opportunity to record a solo album with Linn Records in 2024.
Following her ambition to become a soloist, Jasmin has undertaken numerous solo concerts, including the opening concert of the 31st International Music Festival in Prague, a performance of the Telemann trumpet concerto with the Bristol Ensemble, and a recital for trumpet and piano at the Centre Le Phénix in Switzerland. She performed Haydn’s trumpet concerto with the orchestra of her native Sassari, and had the honour of presenting a recital inside the Vatican Museums. She has played as both soloist and member of the Junior Orchestra La Verdi of Milan and took part in the event “Concerti in Sala Siglienti”. Jasmin had the pleasure of playing for a UN event against child exploitation held in Milan and Pesaro, and has also participated in the television programme “Mattina in Famiglia” on Rai1 within the “Conservatories a Confronto”.
In addition to her solo career, she is also a committed orchestral player, performing with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester for the 2022 Salzburg Festival with conductor Teodor Currentzis, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Sardegna, and the Ente Marialisa de Carolis as part of the Sassari Opera and Symphony Season. She has also played with the Wind Orchestra conducted by Maestro Lorenzo della Fonte and with the Sardinia Jazz Orchestra.
In 2021 she came 4th at the international Jeju Competition and in 2019 she won first prize at the “Golfo degli Angeli” in Cagliari. In 2015 she was ranked 3rd in the international competition “Premio Claudio Abbado” in Matera.
During her formative years she has participated in numerous masterclasses and private lessons with performers including Jeroen Berwaerts, Reinhold Fredrich, Philip Cobb, Omar Tomasoni, Gabor Tarkovi, Benjamin Moreno, Jorge Giner, Metrailler Gerard, Jonathan Williams, Giuseppe Bodanza, Andrea Lucchi, Marco Pierobon, Andrea Giiuffredi, Immanuel Richster, Jean-Francois Michel, Luis Gonsalez, Kristian Steenstrup and Giuliano Sommerhalder.
"Those who know me understand that I’m not one to speak much, but the trumpet is an instrument that allows me to express my emotions without filters. Music, being a universal language, connects me with people from different cultures, creating a profound emotional bond."
Junyan Chen
won Second Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition 2024 also winning the chamber music prize and Alexandra Dariescu award for a work by a woman composer. In the competition final she performed Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 4 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Domingo Hindoyan. She has also performed this work with Edward Gardner and the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, in a concert that was live-streamed on Classic FM.
Forthcoming solo engagements include London (Wigmore Hall), Leeds, Harrogate and Liverpool. In Spring 2025 Junyan will collaborate with the Manchester Collective in a project including a world premiere by Héloïse Werner with performances in Manchester, Leeds and London (Southbank Centre). An enthusiastic performer of contemporary music, she has collaborated with Hans Abrahamsen whose Piano Concerto she performed with the Manson Ensemble at the Royal Academy of Music. In addition, she was invited to take part in Eleanor Alberga's music festival Arcadia in 2022, recording and performing Dancing with the Shadows and On a Bat's Back I Do Fly. She has also collaborated with composers Mark Anthony-Turnage and Dominic Muldowney.
Junyan's debut solo album, It's Time, features works by Fazil Say, Unsuk Chin, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Eleanor Alberga. Released by Linn Records in 2022, this disc explores cultural identity through different musical genres and art forms, including Turkish folk ballad, jazz, Russian poetry, and African dance.
Following her time at the Shanghai Conservatoire, Junyan moved to London and continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, with Professor Joanna MacGregor. She holds a fellowship with the RAM, having recently graduated with a first class honours MA degree.After receiving her first Honours BMus degree, first Honours MA degree, and the Principal's Award with a full scholarship supported by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and the Bicentenary scholarship, Junyan continues her Advanced Diploma with a full scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music under Professor Joanna MacGregor CBE. She has been awarded Aud Jebsen Piano fellowship 2024-2025. Engaging in masterclasses with Pascal Roge, Thomas Kreuzberger, Paul Badura-Skoda, Christopher Elton, Tomas Vasary, Yevgeny Sudbin, Tamara Stefanovich, Adrian Brendel, and Claudio Martinez Mehner at Prussica Cove IMS 2023 .
