Matthew Denton has performed for more than 20 years as the leader of the Carducci String Quartet, winning prizes at international competitions including the Concert Artists Guild (USA), Kuhmo (Finland), Charles Hennen (Holland), Osaka (Japan), Bordeaux (France) and London (UK). He has recorded over 25 CDs for labels including Signum, Naxos, BMG, Somm, Nimbus and has performed at major concert halls around the world. In 2015 the Quartet won a Royal Philharmonic Society award for ‘Shostakovich15’ – a project which included a performance of the complete Shostakovich quartets in one day, at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Matt studied with Felix Andrievsky at the RCM and then continued as a Junior Fellow, studying with members of the Amadeus, Alberni and Chilingirian Quartets. He is a violin professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Matt plays on a historic Brother’s Amati violin from 1603 – ‘The Hurwitz ex Cooper
Clara Biss
Principal Violin
A Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and a member o…
A Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of Endymion, and of the Britten Sinfonia, violinist and viola player Clara Biss is as happy playing chamber music on London’s most prestigious stages as she is touring the world with a symphony or chamber orchestra. This is reflected in her extremely varied career, which has ranged from giving workshops in the foothills of the Himalayas to performing Arvo Pärt’s hypnotic St John Passion in the middle of the night in the Royal Albert Hall. She was formerly the violinist of the Lawson Trio, which curated programmes ranging from the influences of Lili Boulanger to music inspired by World War One. Previously she was a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She studied with Itzhak Rashkovsky and Krysia Osostowicz, with whom she now regularly plays chamber music. At home, Clara has two young boys and two older step-children, and has aspirations to tame her garden, as well as to practice yoga as regularly as she finds herself batch cooking for her family or building extravagant models out of Lego.
Adrian Adlam
Assistant Concertmaster
A violinist, conductor and music educator, Adrian Adlam was appointed…
A violinist, conductor and music educator, Adrian Adlam was appointed Assistant Concertmaster of the Oxford Philharmonic in 2022. Educated at Westminster Abbey, Winchester College, Conservatoire Royale de Musique of Brussels and the Hochschule fur Musik, Hanover, Adrian has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, the USA and Japan. He has appeared as concertmaster with several European orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and has collaborated with such distinguished musicians as Bernstein, Boulez, Mehta, Solti, Ozawa, Haitink, Davis and Tilson Thomas. He is known as a soloist for his performances of the concerti by Tchaikovsky, Paganini, Mendelssohn, Bruch, Wieniawski, Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi. He is co-founder and artistic director of the International Freden Music Festival in Germany.
Nemanja Ljubinkovic
Sub-Principal Violin
Nemanja Ljubinković began his musical studies at the age of 6 in Belgr…
Nemanja Ljubinković began his musical studies at the age of 6 in Belgrade with Dejan Mihailović, giving his first recital aged 10. He was the prize-winner at the International Yamaha Competition, Città di Genova Violin Awards and the Jeunesse Musicale Competition. He studied in Munich at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater with Anna Chumachenko, and he regularly worked with Zakhar Bron, Ida Haendel, and Igor Ozim. As a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician he has performed with the Bayerishe Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Bayerische Staatsoper, München Kammerorchester and Bayreuth Festipielhaus among many others. He is also a member of the award-winning chamber ensemble Double Sens in Paris, with whom he has recorded four albums exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon.
Jamie Hutchinson
Sub-Principal Violin
Jamie Hutchinson is Sub-Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic. A…
Jamie Hutchinson is Sub-Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic. As a soloist Jamie has given concerts in Chile, The Falkland Islands, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain and her native Wales. She has appeared on all major UK television channels and has recorded and played with artists as diverse as Robbie Williams, Quincy Jones, Peter Gabriel, Procul Harum, Barbra Streisand and Bryn Terfel. Jamie has regularly performed at the BBC Proms, including at the Last Night of the Proms both at the Royal Albert Hall and in Hyde Park. She is frequently to be heard on the radio with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra, all of which she has toured with internationally. Jamie enjoys passing on her knowledge and her passion for music through her work with schools and families, for which she received the prestigious ABO/RPS Salomon Prize in 2021. She leads projects for the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and devised much of its work in schools and on its YouTube channel during the pandemic.
Anna Harpham
Sub-Principal Violin
Having gained a BMus degree with First Class Honours, Anna continued h…
Having gained a BMus degree with First Class Honours, Anna continued her studies at the Royal College of Music, gaining an MMus degree with Distinction in July 2008. Anna was the leader of the Cavaleri Quartet until the birth of her daughter in 2013 and their performance highlights include appearances at the Wigmore Hall, Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Cadogan Hall, Rachmaninov Hall, Moscow, and a live broadcast for BBC Radio 3 as part of the BBC Proms.
Anna Croad
Sub-Principal Violin
Anna Croad is Sub-Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic and enjo…
Anna Croad is Sub-Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic and enjoys a varied freelance career which encompasses playing in many major London orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, BBC Concert Orchestra and Guy Barker’s Big Band. In lockdown Classic FM chose to share Anna’s solo violin premiere of sister Libby Croad’s unaccompanied solo violin composition, ‘Essence’ which went on to receive over 25k views. Anna enjoys performing a wide range of musical styles and has been privileged to perform and be engaged to record and tour with artists including the late Luciano Pavarotti, Yo-Yo Ma, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Adele, Hugh Jackman, Simply Red, Emeli Sande, Gregory Porter and Lana del Rey. Anna co-founded her highly successful contemporary string ensemble, ‘Blue Topaz Strings’ which perform for private events and have entertained well-known figures including Her Majesty the Queen, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Jamie Oliver at venues including Wembley Stadium, Ronnie Scott’s, Kensington Palace and The National Theatre.
Emanuela Buta
Sub-Principal Violin
Emanuela Buta is Sub-Principal First Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic…
Emanuela Buta is Sub-Principal First Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic. Born in Romania, Emanuela studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music under Maurice Hasson and Philippe Graffin, and won the Doris Faulkener Solo Violin Award and the honorary Diploma of RAM. At 7, Emanuela performed solo with the Arad Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania, and won the National Romanian Solo competitions between 1999-2001. She has made television appearances with the Myrios Quartet, and has toured Europe, Middle East and Far East both as a soloist and chamber musician as part of Femusa ensemble and on several occasions has lead Sinfonia Cymru. In 2005, Emanuela won the National Youth String Quartet Competition as a member of the Azzura String Quartet. As part of the Myrios Quartet, she has performed at festivals including the Soviet Chamber, Slav, Windsor, Swaledale and Norfolk & Norwich. She was invited by the conductor Gianandrea Noseda to play in his Settimane Musicale orchestra in Stresa, Italy in 2006 and 2008. Emanuela coaches chamber music at Junior Guildhall and Pro Corda and enjoys a busy freelance career internationally and in London working with the Philharmonia, BBC Concert and Royal Philharmonic orchestras.
Tereza Privratska
Principal Violin
Tereza Privratska graduated from Prague Conservatory under the tutelag…
Tereza Privratska graduated from Prague Conservatory under the tutelage of Jindrich Pazdera, before moving to London to study with Maurice Hasson and Jack Liebeck at Royal Academy of Music, completing a BMus and a MMus. A sought-after solo, chamber and orchestral performer, Tereza is a prize winner of several international violin competitions, including the Kocian International Competition (Czech Republic), and The Talents for Europe (Slovakia). At 13, she performed Vivaldi’s Double violin concerto with legendary Josef Suk in Prague’s Rudolfinum. Other appearances include the Prague Spring International Festival, and solo recitals in Europe and North America. She is the founder and 1st violin of the award-winning Jubilee Quartet, who performs regularly in venues and festivals internationally; with London appearances at Wigmore Hall, Conway Hall and Purcell Room. Tereza is a devoted violin and chamber music teacher and is currently undertaking a PhD in string quartet pedagogy. She teaches string quartets at the Purcell School Chamber Academy and is an Assistant Violin Teacher at The Yehudi Menuhin School.
Jennifer Godson
Principal Violin
Jennifer Godson is Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic. For ma…
Jennifer Godson is Principal Violin of the Oxford Philharmonic. For many years she was a member of the Fairfield String Quartet with whom she toured extensively in Britain and abroad. She now leads a busy chamber and orchestral career and has a special interest in period performance. Since 1985, she has been a member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and currently hold the position of Associate Principal 2nd Violin. She has also been a member of the Academy Chamber Ensemble since 2006. In addition, Jennifer has held the position of Principal 2nd Violin of the London Mozart Players since 1992. In the period instrument field, she is a member of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with whom she has appeared as guest leader.