Tamsin Symons - Violin

Having learnt both violin and piano from a young age, Tamsin studied music at Manchester University, completing her studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. There followed several years freelancing in Glasgow and London, including an eye-opening year treading the boards as a musician/actor with Citizen's Theatre, Glasgow and Nottingham Playhouse, before joining the first violin section of the Orchestra of Opera North in 1997. She enjoys a busy career, combining orchestral work with teaching violin and piano, and is thrilled to be performing once again with Chris, her Dad, after a hiatus of several years.

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Alison Loram - Violin

Born in Shrewsbury and attending the Wakeman Grammar School, (which Wilfred Owen also attended in the early part of the 20th Century, when it was known as Shrewsbury Technical School), Alison Loram began playing the violin through Shropshire’s County Music Service, going on to lead its Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Richard White. Four years of study at the Royal College of Music with Hugh Bean, John Ludlow and Rodney Friend were followed by a post-graduate year leading the orchestras of Imperial College and the National Centre for Orchestral Studies at London University.

Musculoskeletal problems introduced Alison to the Alexander Technique which she has taught at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire since 1993. After gaining a BSc, MSc and PhD, she also developed a career as an independent research scientist and is a practitioner with the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine.

Since returning to the violin in 2011, Alison has performed as soloist, recitalist (frequently with Chris Symons) and chamber musician at venues in Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Wales. Based in Crewe, Alison also works as a freelance orchestral player in the West Midlands and Northwest of England.

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Richard Hewitt - Viola

Richard started playing the violin at the age of seven, and there began a lifetime’s love and obsession. However, as a teeneager, a brief foray into the oboe world led him astray. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and after two years embarked on a successful freelance career in London before moving to Leeds. He has now enjoyed a 40-year oboe career, the last 35 years of which have been as Principal Oboe in the Orchestra of Opera North.

More recently, however, he has revisited his earlier love (violin), having discovered in his father-in-law Chris (this evening’s pianist) a more than willing collaborator. They play a great deal together, and recently gave a recital in Hexham Abbey. Moreover, after a little persuasion, he will make his Viola debut in this concert, lured by the historic signicance of the occasion and the chance of performing on such a special instrument.

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Sylvie Reverdy - Cello

Born in Paris, Sylvie studied at the Conservatoire de Boulogne Billancourt with Michael Strauss, and later on with Styefan Popov at the Guildhall in London. She played in the Ensemble Instrumental de Basse Normandie in Caen from 1982-1988.  After meeting Luis Claret, the famous Catalan cellist (godson of Pablo Casals), she moved to Spain to study with him for 3 years, whilst participating in many prestigious masterclasses. She has been the regular cellist of the contemporary music group Barcelon 216, and the principal cellist of the Chamber Orchestra of Andorra (with whom she has often featured as soloist.) More recently, with her guitarist cousin Isabelle Laudenbach and the singer Isabel Vinardell, she has fromed the ensemble Cuerdas a l’Aire.

Since 2005, for family reasons, Sylvie has lived in Oswestry, whilst still maintaining her close musical involvements in Spain, where she now focuses on her real passion, chamber music. In Shropshire, she teaches both privately and at three schools -  Oswestry School, Moreton Hall and Adcote. Together with other teachers, she is very involved teaching the cello in the wonderful Oswestry MusicMOB scheme, which affords young children the chance to learn a musical instrument which would otherwise be denied to them.

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Samantha Lewis - Mezzo-Soprano

Samantha’s singing career began as a chorister in St Oswald’s Church, Oswestry, where under the expert guidance of Veronica and Mike Donkin she sang and also mentored the younger singers. She then trained in Veterinary Science at Harper Adams University before moving on to study singing at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, graduating with a Masters distinction and APD. She was awarded the Postgraduate Course Prize and the St Clare Barfield Rosebowl for Operatic Distinction 2021.

Since then she has sung a broad range of roles in numerous operatic productions, including works by Mozart, Humperdink, Massenet, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Bach (a staged St John Passion), Puccini and Mark-Anthony Turnage. She has also gained a place at the Royal Opera House’s Jette Parker Artist programme mentorship scheme.

Sam’s passion for Art Song has been rewarded with several prizes, including reaching the semifinals of the Pendine International Voice of the Future competition. Having recently learnt the British sign language, she is now experimenting with linking it into song performances, together with her pianist partner Beth Haughan. Two more recent projects have involved performing with Beth to scattered communities along the route from Land’s End to John O’ Groats, and singing as soloist with the Merry Opera Company in Ireland in their ‘Staged Messiah’ tour.

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Christopher Symons - Piano

Although Chris has always regarded the piano as his first (musical) love, it was as a teacher of Classics in Canterbury Cathedral Choir School and then in Oswestry School that he earned his meagre crust. He is perhaps better known in Shropshire and the Welsh Marches as pianist, organist and conductor (Oswestry Choral Society, Cantiones, Oswestry School Choir and Wrexham Maelor Hospital Choir). His most notable contribution to the music of the region was as co-founder of the Oswestry School Recital Series, which he then directed for most of its 30-year duration. As a result, he was fortunate enough to perform with many of the great musicians who appeared, including Tasmin Little, Guy Johnston, Laurence Jackson, Martin Roscoe, John Lill, James Gilchrist, Stephen Varcoe, the Skampa, Gildas and Allegri String Quartets, EUCO and Manchester Camerata.

In recognition of these various contributions, he was honoured to have conferred upon him the Honorary Freedom of the Town of Oswestry in 2015, (though disappointed that this distinction does not also confer free parking or permission to drive sheep along Church Street.)

Chris is particularly delighted that despite performing regularly in duos with all the performers taking part this evening, this will be the first occasion when they have all managed to play together. They hope their combined efforts will contribute something (though ever so slight) towards the Peace and Reconciliation so badly needed by our world.