Shulah Oliver and Simon Marlow have performed together since 2003 and have given a number of recitals, which have been very well received. They have a particular passion for performing the works of nineteenth and twentieth century British composers especially the lesser-known part of the repertoire.
Shulah Oliver completed her Masters Degree in Performance with Distinction at the Royal Academy of Music in 2006, having studied with Howard Davis. She was awarded the Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music for her outstanding Final Recital. Her studies were assisted by awards from the Elmley and EMI Music Sound Foundations, Musicians’ Benevolent Fund and Winifred Disney. She graduated from the Royal College of Music with a First Class Honours Joint Principal (violin/viola) degree in 2004.
Shulah received the John Mundy and D-Day Fund Prize Awards from RAM, was a finalist in the Delius Prize and has received commendations in several competitions including the Wilfred Parry Prize, the Winifred Small Prize and Sir Arthur Bliss Prize. She is a member of Duo Armande and was violinist of the Lichnowsky Piano Trio who were prize winners at the 2003 European Music Competition for Youth. As a soloist and ensemble member she has been invited to play in festivals such as the Paganini London Festival, Norfolk & Norwich, Peter-Maxwell Davis and St. Endellion Festivals.
Shulah was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra. As a member of orchestras including the National Youth Orchestra, she has performed at a variety of prestigious events and venues including Cheltenham International Festival, BBC Proms, Young Euro Classic, Southbank, Concertgebouw, and Royal Albert Hall and with prominent conductors such as Yan Pascal Tortelier, Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Colin Davis and Sir Charles Mackerras.
Shulah freelances with orchestras including BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the English Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Swan. She is the founder of the Worcestershire based string Quartet Selina Bella Strings and also teaches in Worcester and London.
Simon Marlow read music at Cambridge University, studied the piano with Ivey Dickson and Lilli Raeburn, and chamber music with Manoug Parikian. He made his debut recital with the violinist Roger Garland at the Wigmore Hall, and established a successful career as soloist, chamber musician and in song recitals.
Among the many musicians Simon has worked with, he has built an outstanding partnership with Ivo-Jan van der Werff, the Medici Quartet violist, with whom he has recorded music by Max Reger and more recently a CD of all the viola/piano works of Arnold Bax. They made a round-the-world tour with concerts in New York, New Zealand and Hong Kong, where they also gave a series of master classes at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
He has a busy musical career which features frequent concert appearances in Britain and many other European countries as well as recitals in the United States, Sri Lanka and Iceland. He has appeared with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, broadcast and made several recordings.
