Meraki

Formed in 2013, the Meraki Duo enjoys exploring the diversity of repertoire available to the flute-guitar pairing while contributing arrangements of their own. Both studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, sharing a passion for chamber music that extends to jazz, Latin American and European folk, and works by contemporary composers. They love performing in a wide variety of venues, recently including St James’s, Piccadilly, Wigmore Hall, for Swaledale Festival and Bridgewater Hall for Craig Ogden’s Guitar Weekend. This year, they advanced to the final of the Royal Over-Seas League Competition in London. They are Live Music Now artists and Selected Artists for Making Music for 2020-21.

Meera Maharaj – flute

Meera Maharaj graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a Distinction in her Masters degree, studying with Michael Cox. She gained her BMus from the Royal Northern College of Music with first-class honours, having studied with Wissam Boustany and Laura Jellicoe, having previously spent six years at the Junior RNCM. She won first prize in the RAM Flute Competition and Dutch International Flute Competition as well as 3rd Prize in the British Flute Society Young Artist Competition. Meera is currently a Tunnell Trust, Countess of Munster and Park Lane Group artist with her other duo partner – pianist Dominic Degavino. She plays with the Pro Youth Philharmonia and previously was on the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra’s Professional Experience Scheme.

James Girling – guitar

James Girling graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a Master’s (Distinction) and Bachelor’s (first-class honours) degrees. He was tutored by Craig Ogden, and concurrently studied jazz with pianist Dan Whieldon. In 2016, he won the RNCM Gold Medal, and made his Wigmore Hall and professional concerto debuts in 2017. James was recently awarded the Biddy Baxter & John Hosier Music Trust’s Special Award, Principal’s Prize for Jazz Improvisation and Help Musicians UK Postgraduate Awards. Alongside his busy classical recital career, James also performs in a range of ensembles, including Afrobeat/Ethiojazz 11-piece Agbeko, swing-era septet Dani Sicari & The Easy Rollers, the RNCM Big Band and the jazz quintet Artephis.