KATHERINE SHAVE

She studied chamber music with the Amadeus String Quartet and the Beaux Art Piano Trio. With fellow students she founded the Praga Piano Trio, and went on to win the piano chamber music prize. Whilst at the RAM she led the Britten–Pears Orchestra at Snape, and the Essex Youth Orchestra. In 1998 she was appointed an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Kathy went on to direct the Kreisler String Orchestra, which won the International Jeunesse Musicale competition. She toured extensively with the orchestra and released a number of recordings. For several years Kathy was leader of the English Touring Opera Orchestra and has been guest principal for a number of orchestras, including Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra de Cadequez, the Michael Nyman Band, and the London Chamber Orchestra, with whom she has played at royal events, including the royal wedding in 2012. She has also played and recorded with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, and Glyndebourne Touring Opera.

Kathy has played on recordings for major films, TV, and well-known pop artists like Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, and Madonna. She has also built up a busy teaching practice.

In 2011 Kathy performed the complete Beethoven String Quartets on the Isle of Harris with members of the Brindisi String Quartet. She has also performed concertos by Bach, Brahms, and Vivaldi, and recently formed the Kentish Piano Trio.