BMC BLACK VOICES PROGRAMME BOOK - Book - Page 32
He is professor of double bass at Trinity Laban
Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London
and gives masterclasses in the US, Europe,
South Africa and the Far East. He has also
served as double bass coach for youth
orchestras including the I, Culture Orchestra,
National Youth String Orchestra, Miagi
Orchestra and Buskaid. He has contributed to
programmes on BBC Radio 3 and 4 and written
for The Strad and Classical Music magazines.
Leon grew up in South Africa, the son of the
political activist Jonas Fred Bosch, and spent
time in a police cell for organising protests
while at school. He left the apartheid regime
behind to study at the Royal Northern College
of Music in Manchester.
He became a British citizen in 2000. In recent
years he has returned to his roots, musically,
forming the Ubuntu Ensemble with other UKbased South African musicians, and
commissioning music for the South African
Double Bass project, the ûirst CD of which was
released in 2020. He also acts as a mentor for
South African musicians worldwide.
Away from music, he runs marathons and ultramarathons and holds a Master’s degree in
Intelligence and International Relations from
Salford University.
Beatrice Nicholas is a British concert pianist
performing solo and chamber music
internationally. She has performed at the major
classical music venues, including the Wigmore
