Oliver Webber - baroque violin
Oliver Webber was born in 1969; his studies took him to Wells, Cambridge,
London and The Hague, and he was taught by Mark Knight, Micaela Comberti and
Ryo Terakado.
Since returning to the UK in 1995, he has established a reputation as one of the country's leading interpreters of "early" music, from Renaissance improvisation to Romantic string quartets. He is the director of the Monteverdi String Band, specialising in the performance of early 17th century Italian repertoire, and is the leader of Ludus Baroque (Edinburgh) and Charivari Agréable Simfonie (Oxford), with whom he has made several critically acclaimed recordings.
He also appears regularly as leader and principal with the Gabrieli Consort and Players, and as principal with the London Handel Orchestra and (on viola) with the Parley of Instruments. As a soloist he has performed on violin at major London venues including the Wigmore Hall, and on viola d'amore, renaissance violin and violino piccolo at festivals throughout Europe. Uniquely among performers, Oliver makes his own gut strings, and is currently collaborating with Paul McCreesh to recreate the first historically strung baroque orchestra. Oliver is a professor of baroque violin and classical performing practice at the Guildhall school of Music & Drama, and lectures throughout the UK on various aspects of historical performance. Oliver lives in London with his wife and son, and a cat which remains blissfully unaware of his string-making activities.