Olivier Bonnici studied at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Lyon, and is an Associate of the Royal College of Music. He has given many solo recitals and chamber music concerts, and regularly freelances in various orchestras, including the Stowe Opera Orchestra. He has taken part in a number of recordings, from Radiohead and new classical works, to accompaniment of spiritual and meditative songs. He teaches in Oxford where he is Head of Strings at Headington School, and has given master classes in the South of England.
Guy arranges music for Divertimento. He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, embarking on a career arranging and composing in the film and entertainment industry. After spending some time working in Hollywood on major feature films, he now has his own studio near Oxford where he produces music for many TV programmes. He is also a pianist in a number of bands which play Jazz, Dixieland, Latin Dance and Rock Covers.
Judith Dallosso read music at Cambridge, later taking the Advanced Solo Studies Course at the Guildhall School of Music, where she was taught by Stefan Popov and Anthony Pleeth. Judith has given a number of concerto performances in Oxfordshire, including Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations and the Dvorak concerto. She specializes in playing baroque cello, and is currently studying with David Watkin. She runs the annual Oxford Chamber Course for young string players.
David Golby has completed three degrees in music at St Hugh's College, Oxford, including a masters in performance and interpretation and a doctoral thesis on violin pedagogy in England during the 18th and 19th centuries. He now works as a freelance performer, teacher and writer. He has written a book on instrumental teaching in 19th century Britain. As a performer he has led or played with numerous orchestras and chamber groups. Solo work has included high-profile public appearances with Nigel Kennedy and Priya Mitchell, and numerous violin concertos with the Oxford University Chamber Orchestra and others. He is Director of Music at Henley College, Henley-on-Thames.
Judith Henderson was a member of the National Youth Orchestra for 3 years. She studied in Cambridge where she held a choral scholarship. She worked in the record industry for 8 years whilst continuing to play the violin in ensembles in Oxfordshire. She studied Music Therapy and qualified with distinction. She has a great interest in folk fiddle and has attended courses in British, Eastern European and Middle Eastern traditions. As well as continuing to perform as a classical violinist, she plays fiddle in a duo with guitarist and composer Nicholas Hooper.
Nicholas Parker studied at The University of York under Wilfrid Mellers. He spent several years touring in Europe and America with the Academy of Ancient Music, the English Baroque Soloists, London Early Music Group, and the Capella Coloniensis. He has played stage-music for several productions at the National Theatre and worked as a session player for TV and film. He works now as a recording producer collaborating with international artists on major classical music productions for CD.
Elisabeth Reed maintains an active freelance and teaching career both here and in the USA. She studied at Macalester College and received a Master of Fine Arts dgree from the University of Georgia. She has played with English Touring Opera, the New Hampshire Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the National Orchestra of Wales, Het Gelders Orkest, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has created her own series of concerts for young people, which has been performed many times in Oxfordshire schools as well as in the Newbury Spring Festival.
Pervin Shahin studied at the Royal College of Music under Marisa Robles, winning the harp prize and graduating with honours. She has worked widely as a soloist, orchestral and ensemble player throughout the world. She has played as a soloist at the Edinburgh Festival, the Stockholm Music Festival and the Dubai Arts Festival. She has had her own programme on Swedish National Radio and has given a special performance for Queen Sylvia of Sweden by request of the British Ambassador. She has recently moved to Oxfordshire where she continues to perform and teach.
Charlotte Storrs gained her conservatory diploma in The Hague, Holland after studying at Utrecht University. She then came to London to continue her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and with Perry Hart. The Dutch Ministry of Culture awarded her a scholarship to study at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. She founded the Southern Chamber Orchestra, which she ran for four years and was a member of the Orsino Ensemble which specialized in educational concerts. At her home near Oxford she has a busy private teaching practice.
Nick Storrs started his cello studies in West Sussex and was awarded a full music scholarship at the age of 8. He then moved to attend the European School in Oxfordshire, obtained his grade 8 at age 13, was principal cellist in a number of orchestras in the area and taught privately. He became a member of Divertimento in 2000. In the same year he joined NISA, played under Sir Neville Marriner and toured the United States with the Strings Academy the following year. Nick is also an enthusiastic saxophone player. He is currently studying the cello with Ioan Davies.
Alan Uren began learning the violin at 6 years old and passed Grade 8 with distinction at the age of 11. He won a music scholarship to the King's School, Worcester, and by the age of 14 gained a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He stayed with the orchestra for 5 years, eventually becoming Leader in 2003. In 2002 he reached the semi-final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, and in the Summer of 2003 passed the LRSM performing diploma with distinction. In 2006 he won the Cork Award for postgraduate study at the Royal Academy of Music.
Caroline Verney studied at York University and the Royal Northern College of Music with Donald McCall. She has worked with the Britten-Pears Orchestra, Opera '80, The Schoenberg Symphony Orchestra, and played in many stage music productions at the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. She has also worked as a session player for television and film, and toured Britain and America with the rock group 'Madness', appearing on Top of the Pops.