Kathleen Garner, soprano

Kathleen Garner studied at Oxford University, then won a Bodyform Careers Award to study on the ENO ‘Knack’ after which she studied opera performance at Birkbeck College. She continued postgraduate studies with Wendy Eathorne and Robert Aldwinckle at Trinity College of Music. Kathleen has sung all over the UK with the Red Baroque chamber ensemble and with the Euphony trio, and as a soloist, in venues including the Holywell Rooms Oxford, Keble College Chapel, Oxford Playhouse, Edinburgh Playhouse, Corn Exchange Newbury, Grantham Guildhall, Waltham Abbey and Leighton House. She won the Opera, Oratorio and Song Recital Prizes in the 2008 Stratford & East London Festival. Kathleen represented Trinity in the Sir Anthony Lewis Memorial Prize and AESS Patricia Routledge English Song competitions. She recently sang on Blackheath Opera Project's recording of Orfeo ed Euridice.  

Verena Lauer, violin

Originally from Germany, Verena gained her BMus Degree with Honours at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2004 before undertaking postgraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music and Birmingham Conservatoire. During her time in London she was co-leading the London Orpheus Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Holloway Chamber Orchestra before starting to devote more and more time to chamber music since moving up North. Besides her classical training she also studied Baroque violin on a period intrument and piano. Verena has partaken in Festivals such as the North London Music Festival, played in public Masterclasses at Stamford International Summer school and was a finalist in the Herbert Lumby Prize at Birmingham Conservatoire. Besides performing, Verena also teaches at the Young Strings Project at Birmingham Conservatoire.  

Moa Ponten, cello

Moa Ponten, born 1987, started to play the cello when she was five years old. She is from Sweden and has been a student on Lilla Akademien (a Russian private music school) in Stockholm. Her tutors were Vladimir Power (who was a student of Rostropovitch) and Ulrika Edstom who is the alternating principal cellist in Swedish Radio Orchestra. She has had masterclasses with Ola Karlsson (principal cellist in the Swedish Radio orchestra) and Raphael Wallfisch. Both internationally (Luxembourg, Norway and United Kingdom ) and in Sweden she has been to summer courses and played in youth orchestras. In 2008 she got a scholarship as being one of the most promising talents in music in Uppsala.
At the Birmingham Conservatoire Moa got to the final in the Winifred Micklam prize, 2009 (a prize for all the first year students).

Laura Backhouse, violin

Laura studied music at Birmingham University, where she was a member of the Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and New Music Ensemble.  Whilst at University, she also took part in a production of Into the Woods at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was a member of Midland Youth Orchestra.  Since leaving University, Laura has devoted much of her time to teaching and work with young people.  Also a keen folk fiddler, Laura has been a member of Cumbrian ceilidh band Fagin's Pocket and Midlands Irish folk band Raparee. 

Diana Littlewood, violin

Diana is a winner of the solo string recital prize at the Bournemouth Music Festival, completed her Bachelor of Music Degree at Lancaster University in 2008, achieving First Class Honours. She then continued her studies under the tutelage of David Le Page at Birmingham Conservatoire from which she has recently graduated with a Postgraduate Certificate in Performance. Diana has been selected to co-lead the Birmingham Conservatoire Opera Orchestra, play First Violin in the Symphony Orchestra and Viola in Sinfonia. Whilst at university, Diana led the Lancaster University Symphony Orchestra and the Lancaster University Chamber Orchestra and performed as a soloist with both of them. She also performed solo with The Band of the King’s Division in Lancaster Town Hall and regularly performed with the Haffner Orchestra. Diana takes great pleasure in chamber music and also performed in the productions of several musical and operatic societies