Helen took up the violin at 4.  She gained a BA in Music and English and then a teacher’s diploma.  After moving to London she worked as a secretary for Penguin Books and the Royal College of Music Students’ Union.  She also enjoyed running her own small catering business as well as playing in concerts and shows.  Helen moved to Wanborough, Wiltshire in 1987 and has taught at Stonar and Rendcomb College.  She plays for a variety of orchestras including the Phoenix String Ensemble, local choral societies, chamber groups and shows.  She is currently teaching at St Margaret’s, Calne and Pinewood. 

Kim Austen was brought up in the Basingstoke area and started playing the violin at the age of seven. During her time there she played in several orchestras including the Hampshire Youth Orchestra. She then went on to study Maths and Music at Keele University, concentrating on her violin; she led the university orchestra. Kim settled in a village near Marlborough a few years ago and currently works for a national charity. She plays an active part in the music scene for the local area including playing in the Phoenix String Ensemble.

With Rachel, Kim also plays in a number of local orchestras, and played the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, with the Deane Sinfonia orchestra in Basingstoke.
 

Rachel was brought up in Scotland where she was a junior student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.  She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is a graduate of the Open University with an Honours degree in Music and English. Rachel is a member of the Winchester Symphony Orchestra and the Phoenix String Ensemble. She also teaches privately. Rachel lives in a village near Newbury, Berkshire.   

Julia was born and bred in Lincolnshire and went on to read Music and Russian at Bristol University.  She qualified as a teacher at Birmingham University and taught in London before returning to Bristol as a college lecturer.  She moved to the Cotswolds in 1979 and is well known in the area as a conductor, ‘cellist and singer.  Julia teaches at Rendcomb College and the Querns School, Cirencester and studies singing with Alison Sutton.  She lives near Quenington, Gloucestershire with farmer husband and fellow musician Tim Morris and their two sons.