Alfia NakipbekovaAlfia Nakipbekova is an internationally acclaimed cellist. She studied with Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniil Shafran and Jacqueline Du Pré and was the recipient of the Special Prize for Outstanding Mastery of the Cello at the Casals Competition in Budapst. Alfia also studied Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, where she received the Marjorie Gould Prize and the Dean's Award. Alfia teaches at Leeds Conservatoire, University of Leeds and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. For her PhD thesis, she is currently researching the development of the cello in the late twentieth century. As well as organising the 2017 Symposium 'Exploring Xenakis: Performance, Practice, Philosophy' supported by the RMA and the University of Leeds' School of Music, Alfia has given presentations and lecture-recitals, performing Nomos alpha by Iannis Xenakis, at Radboud University Nijmegen; Universities of Birmingham, Bangor, York, Leeds, Hong Kong and Rome; University Paris 8, Goldsmiths, University of London, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo. Read More Read Less