Katherine Bucknell edited W.H. Auden's Juvenilia: Poems 1922-1928, four volumes of diaries by Christopher Isherwood, and The Animals, a volume of letters between Christopher Isherwood and his partner Don Bachardy. Her biography, Christopher Isherwood Inside Out, appears in June 2024.  She has published four novels, Canarino, Leninsky Prospekt, What You Will, and +1. For more information, visit www.KatherineBucknell.com

Simon Callow is an actor, author and director. For the stage, he created the role of Mozart in the original production of Amadeus as well as many one-man shows including Being Shakespeare, De Profundis, Inside Wagner’s Head and A Christmas Carol.

Among his many films are Amadeus, A Room with A View, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love, Phantom of the Opera, Viceroy’s House, and his one-man version of A Christmas Carol for the BBC.  Directing credits include Shirley Valentine (West End & Broadway), Single Spies (National Theatre), Carmen Jones (Old Vic) and Les Enfants du Paradis (RSC).

He has written biographies of Oscar Wilde, Charles Laughton, Charles Dickens, Orson Welles and Wagner, and three autobiographical books: Being An Actor, Love Is Where It Falls and My Life in Pieces. He has also made many appearances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players.

Annabel Mullion is known for her classic character and ensemble work in British television and film. She trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, winning that year's Carleton Hobbs Radio Award which gave her six months as part of the Radio 4 drama company. Her many TV appearances include roles, most recently, in the BAFTA-nominated BBC adaptation of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love, Gentleman Jack, Patrick Melrose, Sharon Horgan's Women on the Verge, and the latest season of The Crown as Prince Charles's divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton. She also had a major role in Channel 4's adaptation of A Dance to the Music of Time and has appeared in ITV's Victoria and Lucan, in the BBC's Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated Emma, and in some of the UK’s best-loved series, including Law & Order (UK), Poirot, Lewis, Midsomer Murders, Wallander and Jonathan Creek.  

A highlight of Annabel's film career is her portrayal of Mary Melrose in Mother's Milk (2011), for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the Monaco Film Festival. She has also appeared in the BIFA-nominated feature Final Portrait, alongside Geoffrey Rush, and in the first Mission Impossible film (1996).  

Stage credits include West End appearances in Trevor Nunn’s Love in Idleness at the Apollo and in Stephen Daldry’s An Inspector Calls at the Garrick. She also played a main role in Southwark Playhouse’s Bodies.

Edmund Jolliffe writes music for film and television and is also an award winning concert composer. Recent commissions include pieces for the London Chinese Children’s Ensemble, Odense Percussion and Oxford University Press Collections. His choral music has been performed by many prestigious choirs, including the ORA Singers, Magdalen College Choir Oxford, The Choir of Brick Church New York, The Nonsuch Singers, The Choir of the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace and the Amadeus Choir Toronto. He has won ten composition competitions to date and been placed in many others. 

He has been writing music to picture for twenty years, both in the UK and internationally. Recent scores include Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War and Quentin Blake: The Drawing of My Life. He wrote the score to the ITV series The Great War: The People’s Story (BAFTA nominated) and was nominated for an RTS Craft and Design Award for his score for the BBC film Elizabeth at 90. He often writes with composer Julian Hamlin. Major series they have composed music for include Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC1), Homestead Rescue (Discovery), Sort Your Life Out (BBC1), Grand Designs: The Street (C4), Crazy Delicious (C4/Netflix), Long Lost Family (ITV1) and Unreported World (C4). More information about him can be found at: www.edmundjolliffe.com

Maylee Velasco is a violinist with Nucleo.

Kevin He is a cellist with Nucleo.

João Barata, born in Portugal, made his orchestral debut at the age of 12 in Ettelbruck (Luxembourg). He was awarded several first prizes in national and international competitions, including at the Santa Cecília International Competition, Cidade de Almada International Music Competition and at the International Competition Cidade do Fundão. He has offered recitals and chamber music concerts in several prestigious halls such as Gulbenkian Auditorium, Casa da Música, Centro Cultural de Belém, Auditorio Nacional de Música, among many others.

As a chamber musician, João is a founder member of the Artium Trio, also comprised of the Portuguese musicians Francisco Lima Santos (violin) and Pedro Gomes Silva (cello). The year it was formed, 2016, Artium Trio won 1st prize in the “Prémio Jovens Músicos” Competition and, in 2019, 2nd Prize in the “Antón García Abril International Chamber Music Competition”. Their first CD—including works by Arensky, Shostakovich and Glinka—was recorded on KNS Classical (2019); their second CD—with works by Max Reger on Brilliant Classics (2021)—received a five-star review from the illustrious French magazine Diapason.

João took his Bachelor's degree at Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa and his Master's degree at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia, in Madrid, where he was distinguished in 2020 with the “Most Outstanding Piano Student” award, and, in the following year, with the award for the best chamber music group with piano. He is currently an Artist Diploma student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Trained at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, Shani Erez works as an actor, director and writer, internationally and across the UK.

Selected directing credits include Old Red Lion, Southwark Playhouse, the Yard, New Tower Theatre, CPT, RWR at Theatre 503, Brighton Fringe Festival and Fleet Street theatre in Hamburg. She is a member of the Lincoln Center’s Director’s Lab and regularly teaches acting and directing at leading drama schools across the UK. Shani is an Associate Artist for BOLD Theatre, where she has been commissioned both as a writer and director. Recently, she received the Arts Council England’s DYCP grant dedicated to further develop her writing.

As a performer, selected stage credits include the RSC, Southbank Centre, Southwark Playhouse, Minack Theatre and nationwide tours; screen credits include the BBC, Lionsgate and as series regular for Pandora on the CW. Notable audio work includes The Animals Podcast series, which she co-produced and edited, and playing Miriam in the BBC’s Miriam and Youssef. In Israel, Shani worked as a radio anchor and journalist on national press for nearly a decade.

The Flynn Guarneri is written by Katherine Bucknell.

It is read by Annabel Mullion with a special appearance by Simon Callow and produced by Katherine Bucknell and Shani Erez.

Music composed by Edmund Jolliffe. Violin is played by Maylee Velasco, cello by Kevin He. Piano accompaniment by João Barata.

Sound recorded and mixed by Daniel Stewart at Juke Box Studios.

Special thanks to Lucy Maguire, CEO and Founder of Nucleo, and to Giorgia Campbell-Calder for supporting the students. 

Profits from The Flynn Guarneri audible book are shared with Nucleo, which offers free, ensemble-based music-making opportunities to children and young people in North Kensington. https://www.thenucleoproject.org/

Website by Xenobe Purvis.