Career change in France: Lawyer to musician

Like many musicians, I started learning early. I was about six when I began violin lessons but soon switched to viola, preferring the deeper sound. 

Aged 11, I started playing in a quartet with some amateur retirees.

Perhaps having a career as a musician was on the cards, but I have always had a problem settling on just one career. 

Aged 18, I took a degree in biology and music at Keele University, then followed it up with an Advanced Diploma in Performance at the Royal Northern College of Music, which I completed in 1992.

During this time I began playing with a string quartet in Birmingham, as well as teaching biology and science to fund my studies.

I changed my mind again in 1993 when I decided to retrain and become a lawyer, eventually securing a job specialising in personal injury. 

I tried to keep my hand in with the viola playing too, but life was very busy and it was hard to keep everything going.

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Juggling act

During the mid-1990s, I met my first husband and we married in 1999. In 2001, my first son Alistair was born, followed by daughter Johanna in 2003, and sons Martin in 2005 and Rory in 2007. I continued to work part-time after Alistair’s birth, but gave up work when Johanna was born.

With my husband working in communications for big companies, which often meant travelling overseas, we felt we were not spending enough time together as a family. That is when we decided to try a completely different life – in France. 

We bought a chateau in Deux-Sèvres in 2007, with the aim of running residential music holidays for amateur players. 

We ran a few and they were a great success, but sadly as my husband continued to work away from home, I was left to run the business – it was too much for one person and the situation became untenable.

Eventually, my husband and I separated and put the chateau up for sale. When it sold in 2015, I decided to send the children to school as I needed to go back to work to generate an income.

I found some music teaching work and tried to get some freelance playing work. By chance, I heard that Quatuor de Limoges was looking for a replacement viola player. 

The first violinist there also suggested I try out for the Limoges orchestra, which I did in 2014. To my delight, I was offered a place.

It made sense to move to Limoges so I could work and still take care of the children. By this time, I was in a relationship with Louis (the first violinist from the quartet), whom I married in December 2020.

Candlelight concerts

Over time, the quartet has become busier and we regularly perform concerts – sometimes more than one a day. 

We try to mix things up music-wise, blending modern music such as Queen or Coldplay with a selection of more classical numbers. 

It is a great way to sell out tickets as well as introduce people who may not be familiar with classical music to a range of different styles. 

We are also employed by Candlelight Concerts, who run concerts in countries around the world.

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As well as learning and playing the music for the concerts, running the quartet means we are always working on publicity and logistics, making this more than a full-time job. 

Out of all the jobs I have done, this is the hardest. All musicians are perfectionists: you can never stop, you are never switched off. It is constant.

Working as a lawyer in the UK was nine to five, but working with a busy string quartet – and occasionally with the orchestra – is more of a lifestyle. 

Bookings are increasing all the time and we are flat out – and when we are not rehearsing with the others, Louis and I are playing and working at home.

Before the concerts start, I always feel nervous, but as soon as we get going it is amazing. It might be hard work, but doing this as my job is an absolute dream. I cannot think of anything better.