Emily Mowbray

Emily’s love for music began at an early age when she started learning the violin, aged four, through the Suzuki Method. With her first teacher, Elaine Bonner, Emily was privileged to perform concerts at St. John’s Smiths Square and the Royal Albert Hall, tour both Italy and Spain, and play to the Prime Minister at Chequers, as well as being accepted into the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain, where she remained a member for seven years, culminating in a tour to China. Emily developed her orchestral training further as a member of the National Youth Orchestra, where she particularly enjoyed working with conductors such as Semyon Bychkov and Vasily Petrenko and performing at the BBC Proms before commencing her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music. Emily played a principal role in many Manchester based orchestras and ensembles while undertaking her undergraduate degree under the tutelage of Alexander Sitkovetsky. These include the RNCM concert orchestras, the Opera Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Manchester Festival Orchestra. She recently helped to establish the Soundscape Chamber Orchestra, a bespoke arts organisation which combines innovative programming with creative collaborations, acting as leader and Orchestral Manager for the inaugural concert in February 2015. Professionally, Emily is a member of Welsh Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Cymru. Her passion for chamber music, largely stemming from the inspirational coaching of Simon Smith, Ruth Gapp and tutors at the Milton Keynes Music Service, led Emily to establish the Virr String Quartet with friends from the RNCM, in which she received regular coaching with renowned musicians such as Frans Helmerson and Petr Prause. Finalists in three college competitions, the quartet were winners of the RNCM Nossek Prize and perform recitals regularly around Manchester, Birmingham and London where they are now based. As soloist, Emily has played concertos with orchestras around the country; Recently, she performed the Elgar Violin Concerto with the Harlow Symphony Orchestra, premiered a concerto written for her by composer Aled Smith with the RNCM Brand New Orchestra, performed the Tchaikovsky concerto with the Sidcup Symphony Orchestra, performed the Bruch Concerto at three different occasions, including the 10th Anniversary concert of the Open University Orchestra; and organised a charity concert of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, raising money for Music in Hospitals.