I was born in Sydney in 1951; my mother, Jose, was New Zealand-born, my father Michael was an English naval officer on secondment to the Royal Australian Navy. We sailed on the "Ceramic" to England in 1953 and lived near Portsmouth until 1958, when we emigrated to New Zealand on the "Southern Cross", a great adventure for a 6 year-old, not such fun for my parents, having to endure six weeks in a poky cabin down on C-deck.

I attended Porirua School briefly, then Brentwood School near Upper Hutt, Wellesley College, Wellington College and Victoria and Auckland Universities, graduating B Mus in 1972. I started learning the violin at the age of 8, later gaining LTCL and LRSM. I have strong memories of musical activities in New Zealand. Wellington and National Youth Orchestras were a fantastic experience; discovering such composers as Arnold, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Debussy, and even a real live one, Douglas Lilburn, was simply awesome. In 1965 I had the honour, along with Christopher Beckett (piano) and Mark Jackson (cello), all pupils at Wellington College, of being awarded 1st place in the first ever NZ Schools Chamber Music Competition. As I matured, the first professional experiences arose - the Alex Lindsay String Orchestra, the NZBC Symphony Orchestra (as it was then called) and the odd free-lance gig, such as Giselle and Swan Lake for the Novosibirsk Ballet Company. I am deeply indebted to those numerous Wellington-based established professionals who so warmly and generously supported and inspired me, such as Vincent Aspey, Alex Lindsay, Valerie Rigg, Loretto Cunningham, May Hannan.

In 1973 I headed for London with a few dollars in my pocket for further violin study, and was lucky to encounter two wonderful teachers - Eli Goren, of the Allegri Quartet and co-leader of the BBCSO, and Sascha Lasserson, pupil of Leopold Auer. After a short time supporting myself by bowing parts for the LSO and working in a deli in Sloane Square I took a few successful auditions and embarked on a free-lance career which I have followed ever since.
During that time I have played in many London-based orchestras: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia (and its earlier incarnation, the Richard Hiccox Orchestra), Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Philomusica, the London Sinfonietta, Kent Opera, and the Orchestra of St John's Smith Square (where I was principal second violin for a number of years).

I played for a while in two established chamber music groups. Capricorn, run by the inspiring and indefatigable Timothy Mason, performed a wide range of repertoire ranging from Mozart, through Rimsky-Korsakov and Hans Gal to contemporary composers. The Meridian Ensemble performed music spanning a similar range of styles - 18th century Crusell and Krommer to 20th century classics such as Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time and Bartok's Contrasts, and young contemporary composers.

In the late 70s I became interested in period performance, and began performing and recording with many of the specialist ensembles that were then springing up - the Academy of Ancient Music, English Baroque Soloists, London Classical Players, English Bach Festival, and, as period performance proliferated, with newer groups such as the London Handel Orchestra, St James Baroque Players, the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Collegium Musicum 90, and the Orchestra of the Sixteen, playing with many of these as leader, guest-leader or principal second violin. In 1977 Trevor Pinnock invited me to join the English Concert, a fine ensemble with which I had the pleasure to be associated until my resignation in April 2010. I lead or guest lead several small baroque chamber ensembles - Badinage, Armonico Consort - as well as larger ensembles such as Lina Lalandi's English Bach Festival, and the 18th Century Concert Orchestra. Christian Curnyn of the Early Opera Company invited me to guest lead his production of Haendel's Flavio in the summer of 2005 at the QEH, Lichfield, Basingstoke and Iford. You might also find me leading other orchestras in different parts of England, on both modern and period violin.

Actually, this is all a bit of a deception because I'm really a rock star. Look me up in the Guinness Book of Rock Stars and you'll see me listed as a former member of Split Ends. I met Tim Finn and Phil Judd whilst completing my BMus in Auckland. They enjoyed my classical influence, and I enjoyed their different sort of creativity. Sadly, though, after a few gigs, our paths diverged and I headed for London. Happily, we keep in touch and in February 2007 Tim invited me to join him on stage again to perform one of the old Judd songs, Time For a Change, at the Empire, Shepherd's Bush and at The Stables, Milton Keynes. Tim and I had a bit of fun at Roundhead Studios a few months later in Auckland recording a new song, along with Eddie Rayner and Brett Adams. Then in April 2008 we got together there again to record a complete new album, The Conversation, released last November in Australia and N.Z., with Ethan Allen at the desk.

There is much musical activity in Harpenden, my home town. Strong local amateur choirs abound, and all the local schools support music. While our boys were pupils at Roundwood JMI I started a school orchestra; this soon became incorporated into the home-grown annual music/drama productions that two of the staff members presented with the Year 5/6 children; with the pupils and other parents we did the lot - music, script, songs, props, lighting and sets - and had enormous fun. In 2003, along with Peter Taylor of Harpenden in Bloom, my wife Catherine and others, I inaugurated the Harpenden Youth Orchestra to raise funds for a local skatepark and Harpenden in Bloom. The result was Skates and Borders, which filled the Public Hall and raised £3000. The orchestra continues to flourish, presenting concerts for the mayors' charities. The latest, in February 2008, was entitled Summoned by Bells. Every item on the programme, devised by Catherine and incorporating poetry, prose, and vocal and instrumental music, had reference to bells in one way or another, and featured the tower bells of St Nicholas' Parish Church (Grandsire Triples and Stedman Triples), twelve handbells, the HYO and a small choir of about twenty local professional friends and amateurs, as well as many frogs and various species of birds that found their way into Ketèlbey's Monastery Garden. We raised about £1800!

I work also with more advanced young musicians: as a member of The English Concert I have supported, directed and conducted projects in a collaboration with Trinity College of Music that is designed to acquaint students with 17th and 18th century performance style.

I wish I could find time to play more bridge at Karima Basse's Fleetville Bridge Club, sail more often in our Wayfarer at the Lymington Town Sailing Club, and wrestle more with the brilliant crosswords set by Paul and the incomparable Araucaria in the Guardian.

Married to mezzo-soprano Catherine Denley for 26 years, we have three sons, Olly, Oscar and George, all of whom are very good at facebook, as well as being fine musicians. Olly plays piano and percussion and seems destined to become a music teacher - here he is with Oscar, having a bit of fun on a marimba with a Hungarian folk song. Here's a link to a facebook video of Oscar (you'll have to join facebook to see it though) and an audio file - 2.7MB mp3 - of George playing his 2007 AS Music composition on his bass. Oscar plays in a great covers band called The Fandangos who can get any event or party really rocking! He is very fortunate to be enrolled in the three-year B.Mus. course at the excellent Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, a college that I can't recommend highly enough for any singer, guitarist, bassist or drummer who wishes to advance their musical and technical skills; the standards are high, and the staff are first-class. Oscar plays frequently with a very fine singer/songwriter Tom Dibb and an equally fine singer/songwriter Juan Zelada and his very funky soul/bluesy band. Both groups have albums soon to be launched by the energetic guys at Insomnia Music.

All three lads spent unforgettable weeks backpacking in New Zealand during gap years after leaving school. Here's a fantastic video compilation created by Charles Le, one of the many young people from different parts of the world with whom George made friends during his travels in NZ.