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Violinist

Joanne Atherton

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About Joanne

Joanne is a freelance violinist, working all over the UK from her home in the North West of England.
Violinist
Chorley

I am a freelance violinist, loosely based in the North West of England though I actually work all over the place and love travelling. I was classically trained at the Royal Northern College of Music where I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in 2008. I have always loved music and although I started the violin at the relatively late age of 11 I have a very competitive edge and so progressed fairly quickly, joining as many local orchestras and groups as possible, eventually culminating in my joining the Halle Youth Orchestra and becoming the leader thereof in 2003. When I finished my A-levels I knew music was my future and so I entered the University of Manchester as an undergraduate in 2004 studying music under some truly inspirational professors. However, by the final year of my degree I knew absolutely that academia was not for me and applied to music colleges, gaining a place at the RNCM studying with Steve Wilkie. Working up to front desk positions in the college orchestras and playing new music as part of chamber ensembles I gained a lot of experience in different group situations. I discovered a love of playing within a group context so much more than playing as a soloist; the sense of fitting seamlessly into a sound whilst also being able to bring out specific lines has always fascinated me. The interest in more modern music fuelled initially by Kevin Malone at university was driven further by Clark Rundell who gave me opportunities in the New Music Ensemble to play more modern music within a small group context. This included playing works written to accompany silent films of 1900s Manchester at the Cornerhouse on Oxford Road in Manchester in the Mitchell & Kenyon film music project. I also organised a performance of Terry Riley’s In C for the RNCM spotlight concert series in 2008 and performed within small groups for both the Whitworth Art Gallery’s Art of Sound: Sound of Art and the Imperial War Museum’s Shattered Sounds projects. This of course was in addition to being in a quintet learning the Shubert quintet, a string trio who competed for the Beethoven prize, playing up to number two first and second violin in the college Concert Orchestra, playing number two second violin for the Ravel double-bill opera L’heure Espagnole and L’enfant et les sortileges, and playing under Pascal Rophe and Vassily Sinaisky for the end of year concerts in the Bridgewater Hall. Freshly returned from a summer of music making on the South coast, Joanne Atherton works as a freelance violinist throughout the country, playing a huge variety of repertory from classical orchestral playing through jazz and even as part of an acoustic folk/rock setup. Since studying at the RNCM she has looked for interesting projects to be a part of, such as an outdoor production of Cosi fan Tutte scaled down for string quartet, guitar and singers, touring with the arena production of Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds, touring with Michael Ball, and playing in Wagner’s opera Die Walkure with Susan Bullock and Sir John Tomlinson as part of the St Endellion Festival.

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Joanne's Reviews

From customers:

AK
Anne F
12 years ago

Jo is a first-rate violinist who makes a really great contribution to any group she plays with. Fantastic attitude, ultra-reliable, great fun. A real asset.

HB
Helen V
12 years ago

Jo is a fantastic violinist and great to work with. Always friendly, reliable and professional I would highly recommend Jo as a colleague!

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