About us

Welcome to Pitchstone Music, where we believe in the transformative power of chamber music to connect and uplift communities.

Our vision centers around bringing world-class classical music to St John's Church in Leytonstone, where we aim to create experiences that touch the hearts of diverse audiences.

Beyond concerts, we are dedicated to making chamber music accessible to all through outreach activities designed for local schools, care homes, and interest groups, including those affected by dementia and autism.

Our goal is to use music to bring a sense of relief, joy, and community spirit to all who listen, fostering moments of connection and beauty in our neighborhood. Guided by conversations with music therapy experts and in collaboration with esteemed musicians, we are continuously learning how best to reach and support our community.

At Pitchstone we are committed to bringing passion, skill, and commitment to each performance, hoping to share the powerful, unifying force of music.

On 20th February 2025, we will be so lucky to be joined by international concert pianist Tim Horton, for a solo piano recital of Haydn and Chopin.

As we grow, we invite volunteers, patrons, and music lovers to join us on this journey.

Find out more about chamber music >

our founder - rachel Roberts

Rachel Roberts is the founder of Pitchstone Music and is passionate about taking classical music to the heart of local communities, particularly her local community of Leytonstone.
She is a member of the award-winning 'Ensemble 360', nominated for the Royal Philharmonic Society award for Best Ensemble in 2023.
She performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Carnegie Hall New York and Musikverein Vienna with artists including Christian Tetzlaff, Steven Isserlis and Joshua Bell.

Rachel has received the Diapason d'Or three times for her chamber music recordings (2009, 2021, 2023) and has broadcast live for BBC Radio 3 and other networks many times. She was Principal Viola at the Philharmonia Orchestra for ten years, from 2000-2010.
Rachel currently teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

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Meet the Team

pitchstone players

Gemma Rosefield

Cellist

Winner of the prestigious Pierre Fournier Award in 2007, Gemma Rosefield made her concerto debut at the age of sixteen when she won First Prize in the European Music for Youth Competition in Oslo, Norway, playing a televised performance of the Saint-Saens Concerto with the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Described by The Strad on her 2003 Wigmore Hall debut as ‘a mesmerising musical treasure’, by the London Evening Standard as ‘a phenomenal talent’, and featured in BBC Music Magazine as ‘one to watch’, Gemma has made her solo debut in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and in The Diligentia, The Hague, in the New Masters International Recital Series. She gave the highly successful Pierre Fournier Award recital in September 2008 at Wigmore Hall, as well as the 2008 and 2009 Jacqueline du Pré Memorial Concerts at the same venue.

Visit Gemma's website here

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Tim Horton

Pianist

Tim Horton is one of the UK’s leading pianists, equally at home in solo and chamber repertoire. He is a founder member of both the Leonore Piano Trio and Ensemble 360 and has been a regular guest pianist with the Nash Ensemble. He was invited to make his solo debut at Wigmore Hall in 2016, and presents his complete Chopin Cycle there over the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons.

Tim has performed for Sheffield’s Music in the Round and with their resident group Ensemble 360 to great acclaim. He has also performed for the City of Birmingham Symphony orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and the Royal Festival Hall, London, as well as with the RLPO, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra.

Visit Tim's website here

Josephine Knight

Cellist

Josephine Knight holds the Alfredo Piatti Chair as Professor of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music.

She made her Proms debut in 2005 and has gone on to perform as a soloist with leading orchestras in the UK and abroad with conductors Sir Colin Davis, Ed Gardner, Vasily Petrenko and Jac Van Steen.

Josephine has recorded for EMI Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, Chandos and Orchid Classics, and has appeared at multiple international festivals.
Her edition of Schumann's Cello Concerto is the first ever publication of the original version published by Edition Peters and her recent CD release 'Schubert Reimagined' was chosen for the Apple Ten Best, receiving over 150,000 streams.

Visit Josephine's website here

Ben Nabarro

Violinist
Described by Musical Opinion as "an outstanding artist", Benjamin Nabarro has performed throughout Europe, North America, Africa, and the Middle and Far East, as a violin soloist, director and conductor.
He has performed with the BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, English Chamber and Scottish Chamber Orchestras, and Philharmonia, among others. His concerto performances have won praise for their "purity of style, elegance of phrasing and unsurpassed perfection of technique" (Musical Opinion).

Since 2009, Ben has been first violin of Ensemble 360, and he is also plays regularly as first violinist of the Nash Ensemble where he has appeared in concerts worldwide. In 2016 he conducted and played as a soloist with the European Sinfonietta in a concert to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday in Gibraltar.

Benjamin Nabarro is the violinist of the Leonore Piano Trio.

Visit Ben's website here

Sergey Levitin

Concert master & violinist

Sergey Levitin is the Concert Master of the Royal Opera House.
In 1996, he became the youngest-ever concert master of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg with whom he toured and recorded extensively, notably Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade under the baton of Valery Gergiev for Decca.

Sergey performs as a soloist internationally and has collaborated with highly acclaimed artists including Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Antonio Pappano and Alison Balsam.
He regularly guest leads British and European orchestras including Tonhalle in Zurich and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Sergey has won many international competitions, including the Paganini International Violin Competition.

Visit Sergey's website here

our VALUES

QUALITY

Musical excellence is at the heart of our work. Pitchstone Music delivers performances of the utmost artistic integrity and skill, and provides musical experiences of the highest quality.

EDUCATION

We believe education is about the development of the whole individual and their well-being. We provide an open-minded, creative approach to learning, and a safe environment for the individual to explore opinions that contribute to personal growth.

community

At Pitchstone Music, we believe that sharing experiences is a vital part of our humanity. We work to engender a sense of belonging, shared experience, robust communities and lifelong friendships through all our activities.

INCLUSIVITY & DIVERSITY

We believe that everyone has the right to access classical music, regardless of race, gender, religion, socio-economic status or educational background. We offer concessions to our programmes to those in need, and we run events in non-traditional venues such as care homes, prisons and community centres.

mental health

Classical music possesses a unique ability to evoke profound emotional responses in listeners. There is a deep connection between music and our innermost feelings. With this impact on emotions and mood in mind, we seek to alleviate stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness by creating safe environments in which to experience relaxation and togetherness.