Cormac Henry

Cormac Henry has been a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since March 2002. He has played as guest principal with most of the orchestras in the U.K. and continues to appear regularly with many. A personal highlight was playing music from the classic Hollywood era with the John Wilson Orchestra. Further afield, Cormac has also performed as guest principal with many European orchestras, including the Concertgebouw, Tonhalle and Bavarian Radio Symphony.

As a soloist Cormac has appeared and recorded many times with the RLPO, most recently playing the Nielsen concerto with the orchestra in 2021. In September 2012 he gave the world premier performance of Kurt Schwertsik’s “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht” a new concerto in 4 movements.

Playing in chamber ensembles is a passion of Cormac’s. He has played in all sorts of ensembles over the years, most recently with colleagues from the RLPO in a Flute, Harp and Viola trio. Cormac has also performed, coached and taught for many years with the Arlequin ensemble on their summer course at the Hindemith Institute in Blonay, Switzerland.

Cormac teaches flute at the Royal Northern College of Music and is a tutor for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.  

Starting out with Joosje le Coultre in the Kerry School of Music, Cormac studied in Dublin before leaving Ireland to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Averil Williams. A postgraduate year in Stuttgart with Jean Claude Gerard in Stuttgart followed before returning to the U.K.

 Outside of music, Cormac is a keen if not especially talented golfer, and when work allows tries to play as regularly as possible at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake, where he is a member. He is also an enthusiastic follower of rugby, being a particularly passionate supporter of Munster and Ireland.

Helen Wilson

Inspired by many genres of music, Helen is a passionate advocate for musical versatility. She enjoys a varied performing career working in orchestras, shows and sessions, and also as a soloist, chamber musician, composer, arranger and educator. 

As an orchestral player, Helen is currently Principal Second Flute in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also played with many of the top UK orchestras as guest principal flute, 2nd flute and piccolo for international tours, radio and television broadcasts, BBC Proms performances and CD recordings.

Helen has played in pit bands for many musical theatre shows and held the flute chair positions in West End productions of An American in Paris (Dominion Theatre), The King and I (London Palladium) and Evita (Regent Park Open Air Theatre).

Helen also works with a variety of smaller ensembles including Liverpool Wind Collective, and has played with leading contemporary ensembles such as RIOT Ensemble, Psappha and Manchester Collective

In 2011, Helen formed Tempest, a flute trio looking to expand the repertoire for this line up. In doing so they explored music from many genres and commissioned over 20 works from leading UK composers. The trio won competitions including the Royal Overseas League Competition, Nonclassical Battle of the Bands and were 2nd prize winners of the International Kuhlau Competition. They were also Park Lane Group Artists, Manchester Midday Concert Series Artists and performed across the UK, Europe and America in venues ranging from the Wigmore Hall, London to Ceaser’s Palace, Las Vegas!

Passionate about music education, Helen has led creative workshops, youth orchestra sectionals and flute masterclasses for organisations, schools, universities and conservatoires. She teaches flute at Chetham’s School of Music, Liverpool Hope University, Leeds Conservatoire and on the popular course at the Royal Northern College of Music.  Helen also writes and arranges music, her most recent composition “People, Planet, Profit” written for Sinfonia Cymru, a 3 set work that explores the topics of Climate Change and Sustainable Development. 

Helen studied at Chetham’s School of Music with Gitte Marcusson and the Royal Northern College of Music with Richard Davis, graduating with an International Artist Diploma and the RNCM Gold Medal Award. Whilst studying, some of Helen’s solo competitive achievements include being a woodwind category finalist in BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2006, winner of the British Flute Society Performance Plus Competition, winner of RNCM Concerto Competition, she was a Park Lane Group Young Artist, a Concordia Artist and Royal Overseas League finalist.  Helen also plays ethnic flutes, studied jazz flute and played with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of GB.

Sameeta Gahir

Sameeta Gahir began learning the flute at the age of eight, and the piccolo two years later. Growing up in London, she attended Alleyn’s School as a music scholar, and performed with youth orchestras including London Schools’ Symphony Orchestra as both Principal Flute and Piccolo.

In 2007, Sameeta became a Sir Thomas Beecham scholar at the University of Durham, which enabled her to study with the then Principal Flute of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Juliette Bausor. In 2009, Sameeta started studying for a Bachelor of Music degree at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating with first class honours in 2013. Sameeta then embarked upon a two-year Master of Music course at the Köln Hochschule für Musik with Robert Winn. She was appointed Principal Piccolo of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra during the first year of that course. Since 2016, when she was appointed at RLPO, she has enjoyed playing as guest principal piccolo with many orchestras across the UK.

Sameeta has a keen interest in education and creating opportunities for those who are underrepresented in the classical music world. She has been teaching piccolo at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance since 2016. More recently she has had the chance to design a scheme, with RLPO, giving opportunities to musicians trying to gain experience playing with a professional orchestra. The RLPO Emerging Musicians Fellowship is a paid year-long scheme where four musicians, of any age, have been picked to play alongside the RLPO, have 1-1 lessons, a mentor, access to our health and wellbeing programme and much more.

Sameeta is also a PADI Scuba Dive Master and loves exploring the world both on land and underwater. During the pandemic she volunteered as a St John Vaccinator and did Cuppa Concerts on doorsteps organised by World Harmony Orchestra for vulnerable people.