I’ve been playing the violin since the age of 8, starting in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire with Lee Ken Kok. In the 90s I did a postgraduate year of violin study with Richard Ireland. On the academic side, I studied Russian and French, then Applied Linguistics and am now doing doctoral study in Technology Enhanced Learning at Lancaster University. I’ve played in many different orchestras including the Ecuadorian National Symphony Orchestra, the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, the Nord Deutsche Orchesterakademie. Highlights in my playing life:

– Mahler 2 with bhco and Martyn Brabbins – unbelievably exciting

– Der Ring ohne Worte with NDO in the Berlin Philharmonie – all the Wagner earworms you could ever want

– Elgar 3 – as reconceived by Tony Payne with Brunel Ensemble

– Conductorless concert with Maria Włoszczowska on Feb 25 2023. The direct communication with the soloist, the intimacy of the music-making, the dance-like feeling of  playing all blew my mind.

My main job now is as a Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Leicester. I’ve stopped living in the Bristol area, but love this orchestra and rarely miss a concert.