Caryn Cohen - Violin

Caryn studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Jean Harvey and Lydia Mordkovitch. There she formed the Regent Quartet. The group won the Academy’s coveted JB McEwan prize for best quartet. Caryn also won the JC Wyse prize for violin performance.The Regent quartet has gone on to have a busy concert schedule, recently including performances at the Brighton Festival, Cambridge Corn Exchange Theatre, Girdlers Hall, The National Portrait Gallery and Eton College Chapel. The quartet recently performed the London premier of Jeanne-Zaidel Rudolph’s piece Masada at Senate House.Caryn has performed Mendelssohn, Bruch and Bach concertos with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and Tchaikovsky’s Meditation with the London International Orchestra. She currently divides her time between freelance orchestral work, recording sessions, quartet engagements and teaching.

Simon Perkins - Violin/Viola

Simon has had a varied career in music, playing in orchestras, teaching, examining, adjudicating and working in music administration. He was Head Chorister of Canterbury Cathedral and continued his musical studies including the violin, viola, voice, piano and the church organ at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate. He went on to study academic music, the violin and voice at Cardiff University, Wales, winning the MorfyddOwen and David Evans prizes. He was awarded the Leverhulme scholarship to study the violin with Detlef Hahn as a postgraduate student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He spent a year at the National Centre for Orchestral Studies at Goldsmiths College, London. He then went on to work for EMI records as a marketing assistant, playing the violin as a freelance player with London orchestras and other music groups including a Mariachi band.  He was then appointed as a first violinist in the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Finland and subsequently the Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra, Finland. He then returned to London to continue freelancing with British Orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic and London Concert orchestras. He also played in a number of London West End Musicals including ‘City of Angels’, ‘The King and I’, ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Show Boat’. He was a founding member of the Defoe String Quartet who gave concerts and backed groups on CD’s and TV. He also gave solo recitals with the pianist Linda Ang.  

Celine Barry - Cello

Celine began her musical studies encouraged by her music-loving parents. Her mother was a pianist and piano teacher and her father a a busy jazz double bassist. Celine began her musical studies on piano and later cello at the Royal Academy of Music in Dublin. While there she was awarded the Senior Cello Exhibition prize and the Clyde Twelvetress Concerto Cup at the Feis Ceoil, Dublin. She went on to read music at Trinity College Dublin. During this time she began studying  part time with Professor Eileen Croxford of the  Royal College of Music, London. Celine received an Arts Council of Ireland Award towards Postgraduate studies in London and moved to London to continue her studies there. Celine is a freelance orchestral musician and keen chamber musician. She has played with Longborough and Birmingham opera companies, the Brighton Philharmonic, performs regularly as part of the Belmont Ensemble of London at St Martin in the Fields and other orchestras. She is the principal cello of the classical cross-over group Tonic Fold, founded by composer Shane Cullinan. She has worked on Carousel and The Last Five Years in London's west end and with various pop artists including Billy Ocean, The Divine Comedy, Hazel O Connor, My Life Story, The Wedding Present and Boy George.