Eleanor Lighton Victoria Booth Liz Oughton Emma Geddes Sophie Robershaw

Flute Oboe Clarinet French Horn Bassoon

Eleanor Lighton: Flute
Eleanor Lighton began learning the flute at the age of 8 and in 2006 was awarded a scholarship to Birmingham Conservatoire, where she studied for her BMus(Hons) degree, studying with Jonathan Rimmer. During her time at the Conservatoire she was principal flautist with all of the main ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia, Opera Orchestra and Thallein, the contemporary music ensemble. She has also played in the Halle and CBSO youth orchestras, the National Youth Wind Ensemble, the Birmingham Opera Company Orchestra, and is a member of ‘Raga Jyoti’, an Indian and Western fusion group.

Victoria Booth: Oboe
Victoria Booth is a graduate of the Birmingham Conservatoire. She began learning the oboe at the age of nine with Rebecca Bentley. Her early musical successes were in Bedfordshire, playing principal oboist in the County Youth Orchestra and gaining first place in the Bedfordshire Music Festival Oboe Solo class. She studied at the Royal College of Music Junior Department with Sarah Francis for three years, prior to being awarded a scholarship to study at Birmingham Conservatoire.

Victoria studied oboe with Professor George Caird and Jenni Phillips, as well as cor anglais with Anna Cooper. She has performed as principal oboist in the Conservatoire’s Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble and in 2009 she won the Conservatoires Antony Miller Oboe Prize. Victoria has also played principal oboe in the CBSO Youth Orchestra and for the Central England Ensemble.

Liz Oughton: Clarinet
Liz Oughton graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire in 2009 with a BMus (Hons) degree in music performance. During her time there she studied with Sally Harrow, Michael Harris and Tim Lines as well as performing in master classes with Anthony Pay, Robert Plane and Paolo De Gaspari. Since graduating she has combined a busy teaching schedule, songwriting workshops and performing as a freelance musician. She has played with numerous orchestras and ensembles including Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra, Central England Ensemble, Eroica Camerata, The Trill Keys clarinet quartet, CBSO youth orchestra, CBSC, and alongside the CBSO with Birmingham Opera Company in their production of ‘La Traviata 92’. Liz also regularly plays flute, clarinet, saxophone and once even kazoo, in pit orchestras for productions throughout the midlands.

Emma Geddes: French Horn
Originally from Birmingham, Emma began learning the horn at the age of 9, and between the ages of 10 and 18 was a member of the Birmingham Music Service Central Ensembles. She has recently graduated from the Bachelor of Music (Honours) programme at Birmingham Conservatoire. Emma is a keen orchestral player and is a member of the CBSO Youth Orchestra as well as having recently taken part in the Amadeus Orchestra tour of China.

Sophie Robertshaw: Bassoon
Sophie is currently in her 3rd year at Birmingham Conservatoire, studying bassoon with Nick Hunka, Meyrick Alexander and Margaret Cookhorn. She regularly plays in the Conservatoire ensembles and orchestras and the City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Orchestra. In the past year, Sophie has also enjoyed touring around China with the Amadeus Orchestra and playing with the Four Counties Youth Orchestra of North Wales. Sophie has been awarded the Horatio Waywell memorial prize, and the Musicians Union ‘Bill Warman’ Award, and has spent the first term of this academic year studying at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.