Leaders

 

Caroline Waters

 

Caroline Waters was born in Jersey and began violin lessons at the age of 7. With the help of a musical benefactor, Caroline continued her studies from the age of 14 in Manchester at Chetham’s School of Music. Continuing at the Royal Northern College of Music, she studied with Richard Deakin; throughout her time in Manchester she enjoyed opportunities to lead orchestras and perform chamber music.

Caroline has lived in Bedfordshire since 1989 when she began playing with the Bedford Orchestras under the baton of Michael Rose. She divides her time between performance work and teaching violin and viola. Caroline is happiest playing music with others and spent 27 years enjoying playing string quartets with the Kaznowski String Quartet. She performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician, now leading The Element String Quartet,Trio and Duo.

Caroline leads the Bedfordshire Symphony Orchestra and Bedford Sinfonia. She also enjoys working with a number of London-based orchestras including the King’s Chamber Orchestra, Adoramus, All Souls Langham Place and the Dove Orchestra with whom she recently performed in Jerusalem. She has played on tours in Italy, Germany, France and the Channel Islands.

As well as enjoying a wide range of musical styles, Caroline has a love of improvisation in Christian worship. The Spanish violin she now plays was recently made for her by a talented violinist and luthier, Marc Paquin.

Jan Kaznowski

 

Jan Kaznowski is so pleased to be playing again with Bedford Sinfonia having led the orchestra for twenty seven years, starting in 1984. He has played many concerti with the orchestra and nearly twenty years ago started organizing a series of baroque concerts with members of the orchestra which take place to this day in nearby country churches in July and which collaborate with local choirs and soloists.

Jan is the eldest child of a family of mixed Polish and English ancestry, his father being a Polish refugee who was a fine cellist. He lived in Norfolk where he started the violin with Alexander Kirk, a peripatetic violin teacher, and took part in Norfolk Youth orchestras before moving in his later teens to Middlesbrough. He led many youth orchestras in the North East of England and later at the Royal Academy of Music before working with the BBC SO and leading the resident quartet at the University of Sussex.

He later went to Cambridge University gaining a degree in Anthropology and leading the University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and becoming the conductor of the St Margaret’s Choral Society and assistant conductor of the university orchestra.

He co-led the Royal Ballet Orchestra, then was sub principal first violin in Welsh National Opera before being awarded a British Council Scholarship which enabled him to study at the Warsaw Conservatoire. Returning to England he worked as a member of English National Opera and then the BBC Symphony Orchestra before deciding to teach, with Michael Rose and the County Music Service from 1988. He succeeded John Shayler as Head of Strings and later was deputy Head of Service until 2016.

He led the Milton Keynes Sinfonia for ten years and the Cambridge Sinfonia for almost as many. In 2005 he founded our local youth orchestra, The North Beds Youth Chamber Orchestra which flourishes to this day, and in 1990 the County Chamber Music Course, both of which continue to provide opportunities to our young musicians.

Alex Collins

 

Alex Collins started learning the violin at the age of 8 and soon after, he won numerous local competitions and a music scholarship to Bedford School to study with Martin Hughes. This started to sculpt Alex’s musical identity and, after which, he gained a place at The Royal College of Music. During his time at the RCM, Alex played under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano, Vladimir Jurowski, and Thomas Zehetmair. He also formed part of the Vesta Quartet, who gave concerts in and around London and received regular coaching from the Chilingirian quartet. Alex was then given a scholarship to complete his Masters at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, learning with Stephanie Gonley.

Closer to home, Alex enjoys performing as a soloist with the Bedford Sinfonia. Other highlights have included performances at the Royal Albert Hall, and at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. He performs regularly with the Element String Quartet, the Facade Ensemble, & London Firebird Orchestra.

 

 

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