Rebecca Smith

Violin/viola


Rebecca is a violinist and violist from London, whose career encompasses many different styles and genres. During the summer months you can hear her play nine different concerts a week in Scarborough, as sole violinist with the Scarborough Spa Orchestra. For the rest of the year her particular passion for chamber music has led to performances at venues such as St Martin in the Fields, Aldeburgh, and Bridgewater Hall, as well as live on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’. She has performed alongside musicians including Tim Boulton, Philip Higham, and the late Peter Cropper, as well as guest appearances with both the Edinburgh and Benyounes Quartets, and appearances at festivals such as Marryat Players, South Downs Summer Music Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival.

Rebecca has appeared with many orchestras across the UK including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, RSNO, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, and Manchester Camerata. She is currently enjoying regular appearances with both Northern Ballet and Opera North — a particular highlight of which was the highly acclaimed Ring Cycle in 2016. As well as performing brand new music with Dark Inventions, Rebecca often performs as violist with the Meiningen Ensemble at Huddersfield University, performing music from the Eighteenth-Century onwards on gut strings and historic bows.

After obtaining an Honours degree in Music from Worcester College, Oxford, Rebecca gained a Distinction for her MMus at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying with Maciej Rakowski. It was here that she won prizes in chamber music, including a collaboration with Steve Reich for a performance of his quartet Different Trains. Rebecca has benefitted greatly from masterclasses with musicians such as Gabor Takács-Nagy, Susan Tomes, and members of the Endellion and London Haydn Quartets, as well as studies at the European Chamber Music Academy in Manchester and Vilnius, and the Britten Pears Academy of String Quartets in Snape Maltings. In addition to her own private teaching practice, Rebecca has taught the violin and chamber music at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh, and Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester.