slightly nomadic violinist currently residing in London...
I'm a bit English and a bit Australian... which bits sort of depends on the weather, the sport and the time of day...
Born in Dorset into a family of Aussie musicians (Dad is a violinist, Mum is a pianist/harpsichordist) and started learning both violin & piano from the age of 3.
Moved to Sydney, finished up my high school at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music before busking for 3 weeks to earn my plane fare and moved back to London for music college. Spent 5 years at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama where I finished my B.Mus (Hons) and M.Mus perf on the Advanced Instrumental Studies course, studying with Pauline Scott both there and at the Margess Internationale Summer School in Switzerland.
In my more pensive moments (usually whilst on some form of public transport on my way to rehearsal!), I think that moving to London at 18 was definitely the scariest and best thing I've ever done... There were definitely too many nights reduced to eating No Frills Tinned Spaghetti on toast and missing family back in Australia during student days, but the GSMD was a fantastic place to study. Anything I make of my career now is more than partly due to the people who encouraged me there...
After graduating from GSMD, I won a scholarship to study in the Netherlands... supposedly for 1 year but somehow stayed for 4. My Dutch is still terrible... but I did learn how to ride with 2 violin cases on a rickety bike, how to make fabulous toasted cheese sandwiches, and attempted to achieve the 25 hour day by completing my postgrad on baroque violin at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, as well as constantly travelling to work with orchestras back in the U.K. AND at the same time finishing up my postgrad study on 'modern' violin up in Amsterdam with Alex Kerr (one of the best violinists I've ever heard).
Yeah, I looked pretty tired over those years... burning the candle at both ends and then some...
Had a lovely time in the U.S.A. studying and playing at the unbelievably fantastic Aspen Music Festival in Colorado and will always be thankful to America for the bottomless cup of coffee.
Now back in London, freelancing... working in Europe and Australia (love those frequent flyer miles)... generally doing my thing, trying to pay off those damn student loans. Since graduating so far I've worked with symphony orchestras, chamber music, opera orchestras, contemporary groups, Early music ensembles, session work, backing for bands and even dressed up as an Italian teenage nun on a BBC4 drama doco called 'Vivaldi's Women' (aired 25th March 2006)!
Despite the majority of my work being in the professional classical music world, I also really love any opportunity to get up on a stage in front of a moshing crowd and play everything from rock to hiphop to funk to electronica. Luckily I seem to be getting a pretty varied combination of that in my career so far, so I'm very happy!
Recent Highlights have included various tours throughout Europe (I try to make amends for my carbon footprint wherever possible!), Glyndebourne Opera Festival, televised performances for BBC Proms, Leader for Garden Opera Company's 2007 touring production of 'La Boheme' & 2008's production 'Don Pasquale', filming in Venice for BBC drama doco 'Vivaldi's Women', leading featured string quartet for Aussie hiphop group Hilltop Hoods, various recordings and broadcasts including recording chamber music CD in Australia for release in 2009, and much out of tune singing on English motorways in the early hours of the morning driving home from the latest gig!
RECENT NEWS:
2008 included a trip to Australia playing on main stage for the Big Day Out Festival 2008 tour with the Hilltop Hoods & Lowrider... leading/directing the Australian Classical Era Orchestra for their summer season in Western Australia, and leading Salut!Baroque for their February season.
Was recently featured in a special hour-long program for BBC2 on the life & works of Handel presented by Howard Goodall & broadcast in April 2009.
Am currently violinist for the oh so talented JULIAN HINTON, recently had fun multi-tracking myself 60 times (an ego trip if ever there was one!) for a tv ad, recorded solo violin for upcoming brit flick (will post more details soon!)... recorded violin for a few bands in between touring and recording with various orchestras... most exciting of all in my non-classical time though has been recently taking the plunge into the world of electronica and working on new material with a lot of electric violin (sounding not very much like violin most of the time) and some amazing multi-talented musicians. It's an exciting (and scary) process and hopefully we'll have an album at the end of it!!! Stay tuned... one of these days I may even actually create a Myspace music page!
Work with classical ensembles includes:
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Garden Opera Company (leader 2007 season, leader 2008 season)
New London Sinfonia
English Touring Opera
The Sixteen
The English Concert
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Gabrieli Consort
The Hanover Band
Early Opera Company
Collegium Musicum 90
New Dutch Academy
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
Salut!Baroque (guest leader & soloist)
Early Opera Company
Hot Strings
Baroque Encounter
Hampstead & Highgate Festival
Prestigne Festival
London Musical Arts
Nuove Musiche
... and various London freelance orchestras.
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