Ensemble 1904 was founded by David Jackson to perform lesser known British and French chamber repertoire from the first half of the twentieth century. Taking its name from the date of the signing of the Entente Cordiale, Ensemble 1904 frequently unites musicians and repertoire from both sides of the English Channel.

Poldowski re/imagined is their debut recording and brings together an international cast of musicians. The American soprano Jazmin Black-Grollemund, is a graduate of Furman University and the Maryland Opera Studio. She recently won both the public and jury prizes at the Vivonne International Singing Competition.

Jazmin is joined by the French violinist, Angélique Charlopain, who started her studies with Robert Papavrami, and graduated from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Lyon with unanimous first class honours. She frequently performs with many prestigious French orchestras, and is a previous winner of the Royaume de la Musique Competition, Competition of Touraine, International String Competition of Epernay and P. Sarasate Competition. Angélique’s violin is made by Christian Bayon.

Jérémie Decottignies, a gold medal winner and alumnus of the Conservatoire de Versailles and the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris, performs on a 1726 Lejeune (Vieux-Paris) Double bass. A specialist in chamber music, he currently teaches at the Conservatoire de Metz and has regularly performed with orchestras such as the Orchestra de Chambre de Paris, the Orchestra National de France and the Opera de Paris.

The arrangements of Poldowski re/imagined were written by David Jackson, who directs the ensemble from the piano. A graduate of the University of Durham and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he holds fellowships from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the Italian Cultural Institute. Having held the post of repetiteur at Cologne Opera he now lives in Paris and is repetiteur at the Maîtrise de Notre Dame de Paris, and the Conservatoire de Versailles.