My violin's, it's a very beautiful and unusual
violin by Francesco Stradivari. He was the,
eldest son of Antonio, the famous maker,
and he worked with him in his workshop on a lot of the late
Antonio Stradivari violins. I don't think there are many of them around, so it's a real privilege
to be able to play one of them. It can be quite temperamental. It's very old, and old violins usually
tend to react a lot to humidity and to changes in weather, which in
Newcastle is quite a regular occurrence.
So it's really got its own personality,
and it takes getting to know it every day, really, and working with its quirks
and working with its moods. But it's so worth it. It's just so alive,
and that's what I love about it. It feels like a living creature. I grew up with lots of music in the house. My parents aren't musicians. They don't play themselves,
but they're both music lovers, and especially my dad would play
all sorts of records, not just classical, but jazz and rock and roll
and all sor
ts of crazy stuff. I think my parents were a
bit terrified of the initial stages. They can be quite painful on the violin. But yes, it was quite
obvious to me in a way. I don't know why. It was never a question. There was a moment when I was thirteen when I wanted to switch to jazz school
and I wanted to be a jazz singer. But I found another violin teacher
and he convinced me to keep going. So here I am. I live about a 20-minute walk away from
work, and I actually really love the city. I think i
t's got a great atmosphere. It's very open, lots of cafés,
and people will really talk to you. I sometimes take the high-level bridge,
but I've had some nasty experiences with birds there sometimes,
so I try to avoid it now. But it's an amazing view,
and it's such a nice walk to work, seeing this unbelievable side
of the river and the bridges. I feel like every day it reminds
me what an amazing place this is. I've been thinking about what I actually do outside of music,
and it's made me realise
that I should do all this other
things I love way more often. I love looking at art, so wherever I am,
I always try to go to exhibitions and somehow be in touch
with other forms of art. I have a weak spot for shopping. I absolutely love vintage clothing. It is one of my greatest weaknesses. I could spend hours in charity shops and vintage shops,
looking for the special, unique thing. I love beautiful things. I think in another life, I'd probably
be a seamstress and make my own clothes. I wish I
had more time for that. Maybe I should make more time for that. I enjoy performing a lot. I enjoy being on stage a lot. I think that's where I actually feel maybe more comfortable than even
in the rehearsal room. I like something about the directness of everybody's
experience and the live experience. And I love having fun with outfits. I mean, of course,
as part of the orchestra, we usually have to wear black, but even
within that, I think there's room for fun. I think clothing can
make you feel
different. It can make you feel more how
you want to feel in a certain situation. It's a bit like a costume. So I really believe it's
quite a powerful thing. And yeah, I love playing around with it. I think a chamber orchestra is
a special thing because it It's definitely more intimate than
a symphony orchestra would be, and you communicate with
people in a more direct way. This moment when there's a pause in the
music and you can hear the silence. This is what I live for. And you can feel how
people are listening. It's not a dead silence. It's a really loaded, loaded silence. I can't imagine life without music. If I were to give up everything else,
I think music is what would be left. And it's really hard to describe how much it actually means,
but it can feel like a best friend. It can feel like comfort. It can feel like it understands all your
feelings that you're not able to express. And to actually be able to play and express those inexpressable feelings
that are so hard to put i
nto words. It can be like therapy in a way. And I feel so fortunate that I can... I mean, it doesn't feel right to call it my job. It's really a way of living. And I feel very privileged that I've been able to get to this point
where I can live with it every day. It means everything, and sometimes when life isn't always rosy and
music is the thing that is always there, and it always helps
and it always understands. And you can live vicariously through
the lives of so many unbelievable composers,
it's the ultimate
saviour, I think.
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