Players Stories

Hello, my name is Sharon and I ‘m a second violinist in St Neots Sinfonia.

As a founder member of St Neots Sinfonia, I thought I’d tell you a bit about me and my history of playing with the orchestra.

At the age of nine, I remember the school secretary telling my class about a music teacher that was offering violin lessons at the school and if we wanted to learn we needed to put our hand up. Somehow my name was called out – to this day I have no recollection of particularly wanting to play the violin and I’m not sure how my hand ended up being counted, but I along with several of my class were led down to the mobile classroom that turned out to be where the music lessons took place. After a listening test, I was told I had passed the test and would start violin lessons.

Receiving my violin in its case was exciting – for me at least. I can still remember my mum’s face when I told her that I was to learn to play the violin. As a parent of a daughter who has learnt to play the violin also, I now understand the look! Unbeknownst to me I have since learnt that Mum also had violin lessons as a child and she was confined to the understairs cupboard to practice. Thankfully we couldn’t get into ours, so I was spared!

Imagine my horror, however, when I opened the case for the first time and found the tail piece was broken and I couldn’t even take it out of the case for fear of breaking it further. I nervously had to take the violin into school at my next lesson and tell the teacher what had happened. A terrifying moment for a nine-year-old!

Years and Associated Board exams rolled by. I joined the school orchestra and enjoyed many musical events, from musical evenings to full productions. Huntingdon Chamber Orchestra which soon became Huntingdon Youth Orchestra was where I found myself on a Friday evening, under the baton of the late Roger Strong at Brookside Music and Drama Centre, a venue we shared with Huntingdon Concert Band. This started a real love for orchestral music, and I looked forward to the rehearsals and spending time with a whole new group of friends.

Fast forward to 1989. Out of the blue I was contacted by a school friend who told me about a new orchestra that was starting in St Neots and they were looking for musicians from the local area. New players were being found by personal recommendations and so it was that I attended the very first St Neots Sinfonia rehearsal, feeling somewhat like it was the first day at a new school. Right from the start, everyone was friendly and welcoming.

Little did I know that 36 years later, having raised my own children who are now older than I was when I joined Sinfonia – quite a sobering thought – and through several different work roles, from medicine to education and onwards, while studying for a degree over six years with the Open University, I would still be playing and thoroughly enjoying the choice of music and the camaraderie from my orchestra friends.

Thank you, Reg and Sinfonia friends, both past and present, for 36 years of music-making and here’s to many more.

We use cookies in order to give you the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies.
Accept
Reject