Meet the team
Philip Aird
Phil studied violin at the RWCMD and Guildhall School of Music & Drama before joining the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. He has also enjoyed a varied freelance career playing with the RPO, Welsh National Opera, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, ENO, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, RSNO and recordings for TV and film – Including Harry Potter. Phil has taught throughout his career from beginners to conservatoire level and is Chief Executive of European String Teachers Association. He is also an Ambassador for RWCM, a senior partner at MPS international Consultancy and Co-Director of PartPlay.
Fiona Robertson
Fiona Robertson studied Violin at the Royal Northern College of Music with Richard Deakin going on to a freelance career in the North of England, playing with The Halle, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Manchester Camerata.
She moved down to Bedfordshire in 1999 and has been a full time member with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia since 2001. Fiona is also a member of the Laurel String Quartet who regularly gives recitals in the area.
Apart from private teaching, Fiona is a violin tutor at Haberdashers‘ Aske’s School for Girls in Watford.
Mandy Britton
Mandy Britton studied violin at the Royal Academy of Music before joining the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and then the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. After two years Mandy moved to Manchester to join the orchestra for Phantom of the Opera.
During her time in Manchester she joined the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and freelanced with Manchester Camerata, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Halle, Opera North, Northern Ballet and Welsh National Opera.
Mandy now lives in Hertfordshire where she enjoys teaching and coaching and plays regularly with the City of London Sinfonia, Royal Ballet Sinfonia and is a member of the Laurel String Quartet.
Hannah Roberts
Hannah studied viola at the Royal Academy of Music and is in her final year of postgraduate study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Hannah enjoys freelancing with Sinfonia Cymru and the London Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, Hannah has participated in side-by-side projects with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Hannah has plenty of experience with working with children and is very passionate about making music accessible for all.
Christopher Allan
Christopher studied cello with Stefan Popov, Louise Hopkins and Karine Georgian and chamber music with the Takacs and Borodin String Quartets.
After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama he joined the acclaimed contemporary music group "the gogmagogs", performing at the City of London Festival, in Toronto, at the Sidney Festival, in New York, Sao Paolo and across Europe.
He is a member of the Le Page Ensemble, with whom he has made a number of recordings, and has performed as principal cellist with Chroma, the Orchestra of the Swan, Music Theatre Wales (recording Philip Glass’s Chamber Opera "In A Penal Colony" last year) and the Clod Ensemble.
Christopher was solo cellist with the Mike Westbrooke company for a number of years and has collaborated with a diverse array of artists, from choreographer/composer Hofesh Shechter, to mime artist Oscar Valsecchi and composers Django Bates, Stephen Warbeck and Paul Clarke.
Recent projects include performing as solo cellist for the "Music in Beckett" project with the St Lazare players in Paris, playing solo cello for Goldfrapp and Mumford and Son‘s, and with the Clog’s for the Steve Reich Festival at the Barbican Centre.
Christopher was a founder member of the electro acoustic band the Subway Piranhas, with whom he appeared at the Rhythm Sticks Festival at the South Bank, and he recently co-founded the London Cellophonic.
He has given workshops at the Julliard School of Music, and has lead music/improvisation/theatre modules on Hugh Maguire’s Con Corda chamber music course in Ireland.
Charlotte Dodwell
Charlotte won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music, where she studied with Simon Fischer and Krzysztof Smietana. She won Guildhall’s Lutine solo competition and Ackroyd Concerto Challenge and reached the National semi-finals of BBC Young Musician of the Year. In 1995 she formed the Carrodus Piano Trio which regularly gives recitals in the south-east of England. As a freelance musician she plays with The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra, English Philharmonia and Cameratta of London. Charlotte has a great passion for musical education and helps run a project of violin tuition aiming to inspire young people from underprivileged backgrounds; as well as private lessons she coaches Youth Orchestras and Chamber groups.
Josephine Handy
Jo Handy started the cello at the comparatively late age of 15.After gaining the ABRSM Silver medal for Grade Eight she entered the Royal Academy of Music to study with Lilly Philips and Douglas Cummings. Jo studied Chamber music under Sidney Griller, Ruth Harte and Wilfred Parry. Jo went on to represent the Royal Academy in several chamber Ensembles across Europe.
After winning the Bach prize, Jo joined the Chamber group ‘Collage’, specializing in contemporary works, many written for them, and the Baroque repertoire. A well as having a thriving private practice, Jo teaches on the New Forest Cello Academy every summer, as well as at Junior Grittleton. Jo plays frequently in the Ruskin Ensemble and the group ‘Trio del Bosco’.
India Blackshaw-Britton
After attending Young Grittleton for five years, India studied viola at the Royal Academy of Music and is currently doing her masters at the Royal Northern College of Music. She has toured with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Hofesh Schechter Company and worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Manchester Concert Orchestra, as well as playing alongside the Halle and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. India has lots of experience caring for children, and enjoys teaching the violin and outreach work.