Born: London

Studied: I studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Yuko Inoue and Rivka Golani.

Career before the Royal Ballet Sinfonia: I freelanced for a while before moving to Dublin for seven years to play with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra.

Joined: 2014

Favourite piece of music: My favourite piece of music just happens to be a ballet – Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev. I’ve always loved listening to it but when I joined BRB and got to perform it, it just took my appreciation for it to another level. The way Prokofiev manages to evoke such feeling through his telling of the story is unlike any other composer in my opinion.

First ballet or concert you saw: As a child, my dad used to take myself and my sister to the Proms as a birthday treat, so I’ve been lucky enough to see some great musicians over the years. A vivid memory of mine is watching my sister bouncing up and down waving her arms around like a conductor, so it feels special every time I get to play at the Royal Albert Hall for our Nutcracker season or for a Prom with another orchestra.

Why the viola? Apparently I asked for a violin for my third birthday – our next door neighbour was a violinist and I used to hear her practise. I still have the tiny violin that I started on, which is now hanging up on the wall at home. I moved over to the viola as a teenager to fill spaces in a quartet and never went back to the violin as I loved it so much.

What is special about the viola: The viola is often described as the alto voice of the strings and felt that its rich, expressive tone suited me better. We might not often get the tune, but I actually find it very satisfying being the middle voice of the texture.

Hobbies: I love creating things so enjoy all sorts of crafts – I like to draw, and knit (great to do whilst travelling on tour) and make jewellery. I started a little necklace business during lockdown to keep myself busy which I really enjoyed at the time. Therefore, if I wasn’t a musician, I think I would be doing something creative like that.

Most challenging non-musical thing you have done: I climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge a couple of years ago when I was on tour in Australia – I’m not great with heights but really wanted to experience something different whilst I was there. Standing at the top, looking down across the harbour and at the Opera House is an image I’ll never forget.