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Widely regarded as one of the finest musicians of his generation, cellist Julian Lloyd Webber will join us to talk about his life and career in classical music. At the age of sixteen Julian won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music and he completed his studies in Geneva with the renowned cellist, Pierre Fournier. Since then he has collaborated with an extraordinary array of musicians from Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Lorin Maazel and Sir Georg Solti to Elton John and Stephane Grappelli. Julian was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Music in 1994 and - in recognition of his lifelong devotion to the music of Elgar - he was elected President of the Elgar Society in 2009.He has premiered more than sixty works for cello and he has inspired new compositions from composers as diverse as Joaquin Rodrigo and Malcolm Arnold to Philip Glass. As founder of the British Government's In Harmony programme and the Chair of Sistema England, Julian promotes personal and community development in some of England's most deprived areas. In 2001 Julian had the additional honour of becoming the London Underground's first official busker! He was also the only classical musician chosen to perform at the Closing Ceremony of Olympics 2012. In April 2014 Julian received the Incorporated Society of Musician's annual Distinguished Musician Award. In May this year, he played his final concert as a cellist having been forced to retire because of a neck injury. On breaking the news of his retirement Julian said: "I would like to use the knowledge I have gained through my life as a musician and an educator to give back as much as I can to the music profession which has given me so much over the years." Julian will be interviewed by Ralph Bernard, former Chairman and Chief Executive of Classic FM. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and you can also meet Julian afterwards in the bar.