Claire began playing the violin at the age of 8 and her love of music was very quickly firmly established. She continued expanding her musical knowledge by learning as many instruments as she could, including piano, viola, cello, guitar, bass guitar, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, trombone and tuba to name a few – the total is now in the region of 25 (she thinks)!
Although she loves all instruments, she has a particular fondness for strings, which began aged 7 when she heard her grandma say the violin was the most beautiful instrument in the world, and only increased as she learned to play it and spent her gap year working for Tim Toft Violins in Staffordshire.
She began teaching the violin privately at the age of 17 and continued to do so until 2024. She also began arranging music for unusual instrument groupings and varied abilities at the age of 14 and soon realised this was a musical skill about which she’s particularly passionate.
Claire firmly believes that orchestras and other ensembles are a vital part of any musical experience. She herself has played with several, including the Midland Youth Orchestra, Imperial College Symphony Orchestra (while studying for her degree in Physics), Haslemere Symphony Orchestra and several string quartets.
Her love of orchestras, belief that everyone should have the opportunity to be part of one, ability to arrange music at a suitable level for all players and knowledge of so many instruments, all resulted in her founding Chertsey Orchestra in 2017 to create opportunities for ensemble playing locally. In 2024, she was given the opportunity to share her love of music even further in the local community by being appointed Musical Director of Addlestone Singers Ladies Choir.
As much as she loves conducting and directing, she is happiest when playing music herself, so being part of the Musica Sempre Trio with her wonderful friends is a real highlight in her musical career. She is of course a lover of classical music but is also a huge fan of both country and rock, and therefore loves being a student of The Rock Project Encore Chertsey, where she either sings or plays drums or bass.
