I am a violinist and play in a range of styles from classical to folk and gypsy funk. Music has been in my family for generations and is at the heart of my expressive life. I play my grandfather’s Viennese instrument made in 1743 – one of the only possessions he managed to take with him when he and his family fled Austria in 1938. My mother put a tiny violin under my chin when I was just two years old and playing has been a source of inspiration and nourishment for me ever since.

I trained classically with Faith Whiteley (Juniour Guildhall) and then Professor Donna Lee Croft (Royal College of Music) and entered Cambridge as a Choral and Instrumental Scholar. Whilst still at school I played regularly with a folk band and in 2011-2017 I formed and played with “Los Pelos Rozos” – a gypsy funk band with a Latin twist. With a line up of fiddle, trumpet, mandolin, guitar, base and cajon, we played across the UK for various festivals (including the Edinburgh Festival and Green Man) and held a 5-year residency as Friday night headline act at the Troubadour, London. Since then I have continued to play chamber music, am a founding member of Corelli Strings Collective and the Kallista Trio, performing classical and baroque programmes at venues across London and the UK.

My musical interests also enrich the rest of my life, including my art historical research. Whilst writing my book on Leonardo, for example, I became interested in Renaissance musical harmony, which in turn helped to set the scene for Leonardo’s cultural world.