Gina McCormack
Orchestra Leader
Some of the finest musicians in London have been assembled to form the orchestra for this season of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake at Sadler's Wells.
Leader of the Orchestra, Gina McCormack is well established as one of Britain’s leading artists, with regular solo appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall, the South Bank Centre and at venues across the country. She has performed at many British Festivals, including the City of London, Henley, Edinburgh, Buxton, Aldeburgh and Salisbury Festivals, and has appeared as soloist in the UK with the Hallé and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras and the former Bournemouth Sinfonietta. Tours abroad have taken her to France, Norway, Denmark, the Czech Republic, South Africa and South America, and most recently to Holland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Gina studied with György Pauk at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, and attended masterclasses with Sandor Vegh (at the Salzburg Mozarteum and at Prussia Cove in Cornwall), Dorothy DeLay, Andras Mihaly and Siegmund Nissel (from the Amadeus Quartet). While still a student, she was a prizewinner at the Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London and at the International Young Concert Artists’ Competition in Tunbridge Wells, and she has since returned to serve on the jury of both competitions.
For 13 years Gina was the leader of the Sorrel Quartet, with whom she was frequently heard on BBC Radio Three. The quartet made twelve CD’s for Chandos Records, of works by Britten, Mendelssohn, Schubert and the complete cycle of Shostakovich quartets. Their Elgar CD was chosen as one of Classic Fm’s records of the year and was Editor’s Choice in Gramophone Magazine. The group also recorded John Pickard’s Quartets on the Dutton label.
She then led the Maggini Quartet for two years, recording two CD’s of Rubbra quartets for Naxos with the group. But since March 2010 Gina has been concentrating on her solo career, continuing her long-standing recital-partnership with pianist Nigel Clayton. In the past seasons they have performed together in Denmark, Germany and Switzerland and throughout the UK. Recent solo appearances have included performances of the Barber Violin Concerto in Sandefjord and Larvik, Norway, and in Cheltenham, the Glazunow Concerto in Loughborough and Haddington, Prokofiev’s 2nd Concerto at St John’s Smith Square, London, and the Tchaikovsky Concerto at Aberdeen Music Hall.
Gina also leads the orchestra for all Matthew Bourne’s Ballet Shows, both on CD and “live” in London, and has probably played the violin solos in his famous “Swan Lake” production over 200 times. For 11 years Gina was Professor of Violin at Trinity College of Music, London, and now she is teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. She gives regular masterclasses in the UK and abroad, most recently at “Danish Strings” in Jutland, where she returned this summer. She has also recently started organizing a Young Artists’ Series of charity concerts at her home, giving performance opportunities for emerging soloists and chamber groups in an intimate setting.
“…from all points of view a splendid performance.” (Daily Telegraph)
“…an excellent violinist, fluent, suave in tone, and technically at ease.” (The Scotsman)