Chris George - violin
Chris George studied with Malcom Layfield at Chetham's School of Music and with Erich Gruenberg at the Royal Academy of Music. He is a broad-minded musician who has enjoyed playing a wide variety of music in orchestras, chamber ensembles, and as a soloist.
A member of the Academy of St.Martin-in-the-Fields, Chris also plays with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and has often co-led the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
His solo work has included the Mendelssohn concerto, Prokofiev's 2nd concerto, Bernstein's Serenade, and many commissioned contemporary works with the Brunel Ensemble, the Bruch concerto in the Bath Festival, and the Sibelius at St.John's, Smith Square, London. Chris has performed many Bach and Vivaldi concertos with orchestras such as the New London Soloists and London Musici.
Perhaps Chris's greatest source of pleasure, however, has always been chamber music.
Groups such as Caractacus Quartet, Oxalys, and Trio Ligeti have taken him around Britain and on tours to Japan, China, the U.S.A., and Israel.
Claudia Ajmone-Marsan - violin
Claudia Ajmone-Marsan, born in London, started the violin at the age of five and later attended the Yehudi Menuhin School in England. She continued her studies at the Manhattan School of Music with Sylvia Rosenberg and subsequently with Roland and Almita Vamos at the Oberlin Conservatory, Ohio, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree. In July of 2001 she completed her postgraduate studies with Mihaela Martin at the Hochschule für Musik Köln.
Claudia has performed extensively as a chamber musician and soloist in the United States, Europe, Australia and Israel. She has performed in festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and at "Keshet Eilon" in Israel. She has also participated in numerous Masterclasses with Zachar Bron, Schlomo Mintz, Mauricio Fuks and Sylvie Gazeau.
As a soloist Claudia has appeared with the Copenhagen Chamber Soloists, Oberlin Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, Kammerphilharmonie Amadé and the Cologne Chamber Orchestra with whom she performed at the Kölner Philharmonie, the Prinzregententheater in Munich, and the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris. She is also a regular concertmaster of Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein, and principle second violin of Kammerphilharmonie Amade and European Union Chamber Orchestra.
Juliet Jopling - viola
Juliet Jopling studied at the Royal College of Music, where she was awarded Honours in her Performing Diploma in 1990, and with David Takeno while reading Economics at Cambridge University. With financial support from South East Arts, The Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Ian Fleming Memorial Awards, Juliet studied in Salzburg with Thomas Riebl from 1995-1997.
In 1992 Juliet was given the Trevor Snoad Award by the Martin Trust, leading to a performance of Walton's Viola Concerto with the Philharmonia. She was also a multiple prizewinner in the Lionel Tertis International
Viola Competition. Juliet has toured widely giving recitals, including as an artist for the Countess of Munster Recital Scheme, Live Music Now! and as a Young Concert Artist 2000 for Making Music. Juliet's performances as soloist and chamber musician have been recorded for Austrian, German and Finnish Radio, Classic FM and for BBC Radio 3.
Juliet plays with the Britten Sinfonia and Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt, and is frequently invited as Guest Principal Viola with orchestras throughout Europe. Juliet directs Fingringhoe Music Festival and Children's Workshops, teaches for Hackney Music Service and coaches Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestras. Juliet is a founding member of the Ensemble Sándor Végh and is Director of Chamber Music in Retreat Lodges, an annual international chamber music festival founded in 1997, in Kerry, Ireland.
Amy Norrington - cello
Amy Norrington comes from London and studied the cello with Alexander Baillie at the Royal Academy of Music, where she won several prizes for her solo and chamber music playing. She furthered her studies with Steven Doane at the Eastman School of Music in the USA.
Amy now lives in Brussels where she is established as a cellist in high demand. She is a dedicated chamber musician and is invited to play with chamber ensembles and at festivals all over Europe. She is the cellist of the Arioso Piano Quartet based in Cologne and a member of the Belgian chamber ensemble Oxalys with whom she recently played to critical acclaim in the Philarmonic Society's series in Brussels and in the festival of Flanders. Amy can also be heard on Oxalys's latest CD in Metamorphosen and Capriccio by Richard Strauss, which has also received international praise.
As a soloist, Amy has given performances of the cello concertos by Haydn, Brahms Double, Dvorak, Saint-Saens and Elgar. She is also regularly invited by orchestras as a guest principal cellist and as a guest continuo player.