Jo Bradley (double bass)

Jo has played Double Bass as a member of both the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of Opera North.

She went on to further her training in specialist Kodaly pedagogy, which she now uses in her teaching both as a music class teacher and as a tutor for young bass players nationally.

It has been one of the highlights of Jo’s career to be part of the teams for the Benedetti Foundation, the National Children’s Orchestra’s of Great Britain, National Schools’ Symphony Orchestra and the RNCM Young Strings.

Jo has been a Guest Tutor for the Oasby Music Group since 2015 and joined us on our OMG tour to Amsterdam in 2020.

Phoebe Clarke (double bass)

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Phoebe Clarke is a classical double bassist and educator based in London. She has a passion for chamber and orchestral work and plays regularly with orchestras such as Britten Sinfonia, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Phoebe graduated from the Royal Academy of Music last July after an undergraduate degree at the Royal College of Music. She’s been teaching since she was 17 and continues to teach across multiple West London schools, as well as having worked with the Benedetti Foundation, Junior Royal Academy of Music, Music in Secondary Schools Trust and youth orchestras across London.

Rachel Cooper (violin)

Since earning a Master’s degree with Distinction from the Royal College of Music, Rachel has cultivated a dynamic and multifaceted career as an educator, mentor, and lecturer in the field of music education.

A trained Suzuki violin teacher, she served as a Violin, Viola, and Chamber Music Coach at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Junior Department until December 2024. She currently works with the UK-based charity Music Masters as a Violin Teacher and Mentor, and recently launched her own Saturday violin programme in West London.

Rachel has been involved with the Benedetti Foundation since its founding in 2019, initially as a Violin Tutor and more recently as Head of String Teacher Development. She is also the co-founder of VIVAStrings, a holistic summer string course for children aged 8-15, held annually in Wiltshire. Rachel’s impact in the field of music education has earned widespread recognition.

In 2023, she was honoured with the Emerging Artist Award by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra during their Women in Classical Music Symposium, following a nomination by Nicola Benedetti. She is currently authoring a book on violin pedagogy, aimed at supporting educators working with young string players.

Amanda Currie (violin and creative leader)

Amanda is an enthusiastic teacher, performer and session musician based in Scotland. She completed her undergraduate degree in classical music at Edinburgh Napier University as a clarinettist and is a second study violinist. Amanda regularly performs with the Tinderbox Orchestra, who are a collective of young people, musicians, artists and youth workers based in Edinburgh, and is lead tutor of their Tinderbox Sparks youth music project.

Amanda is involved with many different educational organisations, including Creative Scotland's Youth Music Initiative, Big Noise, the West of Scotland School's Orchestra Trust and The Benedetti Foundation.

Clifton Harrison (viola)

A true 21st-century musician, American viola and viola d’amore player Clifton Harrison has forged a performing and recording career spanning a huge range of genres and embracing the creative potential of in-depth research. He studied at the Juilliard School and Royal Academy of Music and is the former viola player in the acclaimed Kreutzer Quartet. He maintains an active freelance career working with many of the London orchestras, contemporary music groups, and early music ensembles. Clifton has appeared as guest principal viola with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy of Ancient Music, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, BBC Concert Orchestra, the Hanover Band, Manchester Camerata, Irish Baroque Orchestra, and London Handel Orchestra.

Alongside his extensive classical recording catalogue, he can be heard on hundreds of television, film and album soundtracks. He has toured worldwide with countless classical ensembles as well as performed with popular artists as wide-ranging as Eric Clapton, Björk, Laura Mvula, the James Taylor Quartet and Ellie Goulding. Clifton has been heard in festivals throughout the world, from the muddy fields of Glastonbury to the EFG London Jazz Festival, Ghent Festival, Lincoln Center Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, and London’s BBC Proms.

He has a strong passion for educating the next generation. He has recently given lectures and masterclasses at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Vanderbilt University (USA), Royal Academy of Music (UK), Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and at the European String Teachers Association (ESTA) International Conference 2023 in Cardiff Wales. He is also a viola tutor for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and Nicola Benedetti’s Benedetti Foundation.

Sarah Huson-Whyte (cello)

Sarah studied at the Royal College of Music and now enjoys a varied career of playing and teaching.

Her freelance work includes playing with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the London Concert Orchestra and she has also appeared in concert and on television many times alongside artists such as Rod Stewart, Michael Ball and Il Divo. Sarah runs a string quartet ‘Highly Strung’ which predominantly performs in the Midlands but they have also played in Belgium, France and in the Caribbean. She divides her time between her quartet performances, playing in concerts and shows, touring, recording with bands and teaching ‘cello.

Her education work includes projects with the Philharmonia and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. More locally she has worked with students from the Nottingham Youth Orchestra and Music for Everyone. Many of Sarah’s students are awarded scholarships, study at renowned conservatoires and go on to have highly successful careers, including ‘cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason who Sarah taught up to Grade 8, for which he was awarded the an ABRSM Exhibition Award.

Recent musical highlights include recording for Russell Watson, the band Ferocious Dog a solo performance for the Mountbatten family and playing for a flashmob of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the Excel in London.

Alex Laing (violin)

Alex Laing is a conductor, violinist, teacher and writer. He is Director of Music at Wells Cathedral School, one of the very few specialist music schools in the UK.

Alex is known for his work with youth orchestras and ensembles. He is a conductor for the Benedetti Foundation which has delivered workshops and concerts involving hundreds of musicians across the UK including in Glasgow, London, Birmingham Dundee, Cardiff and Belfast.

Alex has also been a conductor for the National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain which included being musical director and conductor for the NCO Easterlies orchestra from 2012-2016, and again in 2019-2020. He has been a course director and conductor for the National Youth String Orchestra of Great Britain, and is also regularly invited to conduct orchestras for county music hubs across England.

Alex has been a Guest Tutor for the Oasby Music Group since 2016.

Ian Pressland (cello)

Ian Pressland studied cello with Elizabeth Braddock, Joseph Koos, Florence Hooton, Colin Walker and Donald Mcall.

At Trinity College of Music London he won the Sonata, Louise Bande and Sir John Barbirolli prizes for cello. Following membership of the BBC Concert Orchestra he joined the Rasumovsky String Quartet, coached at and became Assistant Director of Pro Corda (The National Association for Young Chamber Music Players).

Ian continues to perform, teach, conduct and coach in many musical arenas including the East London Late Starters Orchestra (Saturday morning school), The Chamber Orchestra (Clerkenwell), Stoneleigh Youth Orchestras (Wimbledon) and The Royal College of Music Junior Department.

Hilary Sturt (violin and viola)

Hilary studied the violin with Sheila Nelson, David Takeno and Felix Andrievsky, graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal College of Music with solo, chamber and contemporary music prizes. As a violinist and violist she performed and recorded worldwide with Ensemble Modern for 20 years, including notable projects with Frank Zappa, Peter Eotvos and Pierre Boulez. Chamber music has played an important role in her life, previously as a member of the Rasumovsky Quartet and Apartment House, winners of the Philharmonic Society Award for the Most Outstanding Chamber Music in 2011. Most recently she is delighted to have joined the Bingham Quartet.

Hilary is much in demand as a teacher, adjudicator, and conductor, sitting on audition and interview panels throughout the UK and was Head of Strings at St Paul’s Girls’ School for twenty-four years. Hilary was awarded an MA in Education from the University College London in 2018. Currently, she is the Head of Chamber Music at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music and Instrumental Teaching Tutor and mentor to the MA Ed course at the Senior RCM. She has worked with the ABRSM as a Diploma examiner, recording the violin syllabus Grades 1-4 in 2015, and a member of the advisory panel for the 2020 ABRSM violin syllabus.

Meet the Guest Tutors