Born: Perth, Scotland

Studied: The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and The University of Arizona.

Career before the Royal Ballet Sinfonia: Principal Clarinet with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon. Also played with all the London orchestras and recorded with the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and London Symphony orchestras, and chamber music recordings.

Joined: 2010

Favourite piece of music: Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.

First ballet or concert you saw: My father took me to a recital given by John Ogden the pianist.

Favourite ballet to play: Stanton Welch’s Powder.

Why the clarinet? I was inspired by a recording of Reginald Kell playing the Mozart Clarinet Quintet. It’s quite an easy instrument to play and is quite straightforward to maintain.

Alternative career: Truffle hunter.

Most challenging non-musical thing you have done: Giving the father of the bride speech at my daughter’s wedding.

Who inspires you outside of the music world: The late author Christopher Hitchins for his intellect.