Clare Thompson

For over a decade, she was Sub Leader at the Philharmonia Orchestra, A longstanding Professor at TrinityLaban Conservatoire, she has also recently been appointed to the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music. Passionate about training young people, she has been a regular tutor for the National Children's Orchestras of GB since 2004 and was recently made an Interim Trustee. She has given masterclasses in Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus under the auspices of the prestigious ICulture Orchestra, the premier orchestra for eastern European young musicians, with whom she has been a tutor since 2012. She was been invited to Bayreuth in 2015 to tutor the Bayreuth Young Artists Festival Orchestra.

Keen to pass on her wealth of knowledge and orchestral experience, Clare is regularly invited to tutor in all of the London Music Colleges and is generally sought as teacher and audition mentor by many young musicians embarking on their careers. She also has a burgeoning private studio in North London,teaching across the Syllabus's. Her students range from age 7–18 with notable recent examination and Royal Conservatoire entrance successes.

Clare was a prize winning student at the Royal Academy of Music where she studied with Carmel Kaine. Scholarships then enabled her to complete her Post Graduate studies in Germany with Wolfgang Marschner. On her return, she was soon appointed to the Principal 2nd chair of the English Chamber Orchestra, performing with such artists as Barenboim and Zukerman. She performed with the ECO as a soloist both in the concert hall and recording studio. In that time, some ten years, she also appeared as guest leader with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Thames Chamber Orchestra and principal positions with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra amongst others.

She has lead the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall, performed with many of the worlds' great conductors, Muti, Maazel, Salonen and Ashkenazy to name but a few, and is now regularly invited to lead and co lead British Orchestra's including most recently, working extensively as co leader of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Andris Nelsons.

Clare has also enjoyed an active chamber music career, performing, recording and broadcasting with such ensembles as Prometheus, Cirrus and Serenata. She has played chamber music with Rostropovich and is a featured soloist on a cd of Vivaldi violin concertos with Pinchas Zuckerman. She also continues to work in the studio recording film scores, including The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and The Hobbit.

Clare was recently made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in recognition of her services to music.

She plays on a fine Joseph Gagliano violin, circa 1770.