Katie McConochie

I started the piano when I was 7,  the violin when I was 8 and the harp when I was 9.  I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to play harp or violin when I was in youth orchestra, so I kept on with both of them.  Each instrument brings different challenges.  As a harpist you are very much on your own – you have to count like made and concentrate like crazy.  Maybe that’s why I love playing my violin so much.  I like being part of a ‘team’ – whilst it’s fun to practice on your own, the music only comes alive when you are playing in a section and blending with your desk partner, the rest of the violins and the orchestra as a whole.

Musical highlights with Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra include performing the 4 main Mozart operas and, more recently, the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra with Catherine Larsen-Maguire and Shostakovich 10 with Andrew Shulman.

I am a freelance training consultant helping organisations who want to improve their culture and get better at coping with change.