Galliard Ensemble Members

Katherine Spencer - Clarinet

Katherine Spencer Katherine Spencer made her concerto debut at the age of fourteen at the Royal Festival Hall and has since performed there as concerto soloist a further three times, has appeared as soloist at the Birmingham Symphony Hall, made a live Radio 3 broadcast from the Free Trade Hall, Manchester and performed many times on Classic FM and Hessiche Rundfunk. She has recorded the Brahms Sonata and Beethoven Trio for the Oxford Classic label with Sam Haywood and Martin Storey. Her prizes include 1997 Yamaha European Foundation award winner, prize winner in Concertina Praga competition which lead to tours of Austria, the former Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic and more recently she was awarded the Munster "Star Award" and was invited to join their recital scheme. As a chamber musician Katherine has performed Mozart with the Amadeus Quartet in the presence of HRH the Emperor of Japan. She has performed internationally with her ensemble Ragnaroks".

Helen Simons - Bassoon

Helen Simons Helen studied at the Purcell School of Music with a government scholarship, then became a scholar at the Royal Academy of Music. She spent a year in Vienna on an Erasmus exchange, studying under Milan Turkovich, before returning to complete her degree. Having graduated with a 1st class honours degree in 1996, Helen began freelancing in London whilst teaching bassoon and chamber music at St. Paul's Girls School. She is now a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, whilst freelancing with groups such as the London Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestras, English National Ballet, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and London Sinfonietta. She has toured extensively within Europe including a two-month tour of France performing the Mozart Bassoon Concerto.

Richard Bayliss - Horn

Richard Bayliss Richard Bayliss studied the horn at the Royal Academy of Music with Derek Taylor and Andrew Clarke. During this time he appeared as soloist with the R.A.M. string orchestra in Haydn's Concerto for two horns and Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn and strings. He also appeared as soloist at the Birmingham International Festival. Richard has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Manchester Camerata, London Festival Orchestra, Brunel Ensemble and as a natural horn player he has performed with the London Classical Players.

Kathryn Thomas - Flute

Kathryn Thomas Kathryn graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1995, where she studied with Sebastian Bell, and was this year awarded an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for achieving distinction in the music profession. Kathryn has forthcoming solo CDs with Deux Elles records, the first of which features of the works of Philippe Gaubert. She has recorded for BBC Radio 3, television, and film soundtracks. Kathryn regularly appears as a recitalist and chamber musician, with recent solo performances at the Purcell Room, City Music Society and at many festivals including the Newbury Spring Festival, Southwark, Fishguard and Chichester festivals. Kathryn has toured internationally and freelances with a number of orchestras, including the Welsh National Opera, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, New Queen's Hall Orchestra. Kathryn teaches flute for the University of Southampton.
Kathryn has her own page Here

Owen Dennis - Oboe

Owen Dennis Owen Dennis read Mathematics at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge where he played principal oboe with the Cambridge University Orchestra for three years. He graduated with a 1st class honours degree in 1995 and went to the Royal Academy of Music to Study with Douglas Boyd and Ceilia Nicklin, assisted by grants from the Countess of Munster Trust and the Martin Musical Fund. Since graduating with the Ceila Bull Prize for oboe, he has been studying with the international soloist Emmanuel Abbuhl in Rotterdam and won the wind/brass section of the 1999 Royal Overseas League Competition. This has lead to debuts in St.Martins-in-the-Fields and the Queen Elizabeth Hall that have been recorded for CD and broadcast on Classic FM. Owen also freelances with the London Pro Arte Orchestra and the German orchestra Philharmonie der Nationen. He has played principal oboe with the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra for five years, recently leading to extra work with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Mozart Players.