Lydia Caines

Lydia is delighted to return to the Ursuline to perform Mozart’s G Major Violin Concerto under the baton of her former violin teacher, Bradley Winand. Currently an MA student at The Royal Academy of Music, Lydia began her violin lessons at St Peter’s Primary School, South Weald, where another BPO violinist Pam Ambrose became her violin teacher. Lydia won a music scholarship to Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School in 2005, taking a full part in the rich musical life of the school as well as leading Brentwood’s Phoenix Youth Orchestra and the Essex Orchestra for Young Musicians, and gaining Associate Board Grade VIII in violin, singing and piano. During her VIth form Lydia supplemented her musical education at the Junior department of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where she studied under Owen Cox, winning the Dora Zafransky-Kastner award, leading the Trinity Symphony Orchestra at Cadogan Hall and performing the Bruch Violin Concerto Adagio with the orchestra at Greenwich Naval College Chapel.

Lydia read music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where she made the most of the exceptional musical opportunities. Highlights include leading her college orchestra, singing in the chapel choir and recording with them four acclaimed CDs including The Eternal Ecstasy, Classic FM record of the month during the choir’s USA-Canada tour, leading the Cambridge University String Ensemble and regularly playing in the prestigious Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra under conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington, Nicholas Collon and Peter Stark.

A love of chamber music begun with the Ursuline’s Clare Quartet and was developed at Junior Trinity with masterclasses with members of the Wihan Quartet and at King’s Place Chamber Studio. At Cambridge, Lydia performed extensively with the Counter Quartet, who regularly played in venues such as Kettle’s Yard and had coaching with the Endellion Quartet’s David Waterman on Dvorak’s American Quartet. Other chamber music highlights include working with Messiaen experts Matthew Schellhorn and Peter Hill on Quatuor pour la fin du Temps, performing this seminal work in Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge and JAM on the Marsh festival. Lydia continues to perform chamber music professionally in Duo Merici with former Ursuline cellist and Guildhall graduate Rachel Bull.

Now living in London, Lydia is thoroughly enjoying studying as an MA student at the Royal Academy of Music where she studies with Richard Ireland. Highlights in her first year have included playing Haydn and Mozart Symphonies under Trevor Pinnock and Shostakovich’s 5^th Symphony under Sir Mark Elder. Outside the academy she has played regularly with the London Young Sinfonia and most recently performed at the Royal Festival Hall with the Women of the World Orchestra as part of the Southbank’s annual Women of the World festival.