Caroline Heard [Violin]
A Yorkshire born violinist, Caroline graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a Bachelor of Music in 2019 and a Masters of Arts in 2021 also receiving a DipRam award, under tutelage of Levon Chilingirian and Philippe Honoré. Caroline is currently a member of the first violins in the Welsh National Opera Orchestra, and is very excited about moving to Cardiff full time in the summer (2024). As a freelancer, she enjoyed working with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Glyndebourne Touring Orchestra, English Touring Opera, and the London Music Theatre Orchestra. Caroline was grateful to be a recipient of the Help Musician’s named Parikian Award, a Countess of Munster Trust Award, and was a Royal Academy of Music Scholarship student. She plays on a Carlo Bisiach (1948) kindly on loan from the Harrison-Frank Family Foundation.
Jessica Meakin [Violin]
Jessica Meakin is a dynamic and versatile violinist whose work spans orchestral, chamber, session, and musical theatre, whilst being equally committed to music education. She holds a Master of Performance from the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Sasha Rozhdestvensky, and previously earned her Bachelor of Music (Hons) degree from theGuildhall School of Music and Drama under Bartosz Woroch. Prior to her formal conservatoire training, Jessica spent two years studying privately in Madrid with renowned
pedagogue Sergey Fatkulin, ex-assistant to Zakhar Bron, and was invited to perform at the Llanes Music Festival in North-West Spain.
A passionate orchestral musician, Jessica has performed with a wide range of prestigious ensembles, including the London Concert Orchestra, Covent Garden Sinfonia, Sinfonia Smith
Square, London Firebird Orchestra, and the Guildhall Session Orchestra. As a soloist, she performed the Barber Violin Concerto with the Canterbury Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2024. Jessica has held leadership roles across
numerous projects, including leading the Ripieno Players and co-leading the Fidelio Orchestra. She is currently the leader of the Cumbria Opera Group Orchestra, with recent
productions including Don Giovanni (2023), The Marriage of Figaro, and The Turn of the Screw (2025). During her studies, she both led and co-led opera productions at the Royal
College of Music, including Orpheus in the Underworld and Hansel and Gretel under Michael Rosewell.
Jessica is also highly active in musical theatre and session work, performing in productions of Oliver!,Guys and Dolls, The Sound of Music, Sweeney Todd, and Fiddler on the Roof. She features on the original cast recording of the new musical Between as leader, and has recorded at Abbey Road Studios with Balimaya Project. She also frequently performs as a deputy on the Moulin Rouge! World Tour.
Jessica plays on a Bernadel violin dated 1844.
Ben Norris [Viola]
From the town of Barnstaple, Ben Norris is a Junior Fellow at the Royal Northern College of Music having studied there with Vicci Wardman as an ABRSM postgraduate scholar. He previously studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with Alex Thorndike. Ben has won multiple prizes for solo and chamber playing throughout his time as a student, including the RNCM viola prize in 2023. He has appeared on BBC Radio 3 as a chamber musician and on BBC Four multiple times as an orchestral musician. Ben has performed with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Concert Orchestra, Sinfonia Cymru and the Lindow Ensemble. Ben is a very active chamber musician and has recently performed at Cowbridge Music Festival, Delft Chamber Music Atelier in the summer of 2023 as well as a String Quartet tour around Wales with Sinfonia Cymru. He has played multiple times at Wigmore Hall and is part of the Hans Keller Chamber Forum for 2023/24. Ben currently plays on a 1788 viola by Benjamin Banks, and is grateful to the ABRSM, Benslow Trust and the Stephen Bell Trust for their support.
Tabitha Selley [Cello]
Tabitha Selley enjoys a busy freelance life as a cellist. As an orchestral musician she has worked with Welsh National Opera, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Sinfonia Cymru, and is a regular extra player with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She also was a ‘Foyle Future First’ with the London Philharmonic Orchestra 2022-2023, with whom she still works in an education and outreach capacity.
Tabitha has performed solo twice for HM King Charles, has enjoyed multiple TV appearances with BBC and S4C, and has played for several film and television soundtracks. She is a founding member of Quartet Draig, a Welsh string quartet with whom she has performed at the Wigmore Hall. As a quartet they are committed to commissioning and performing works by Welsh composers.
Equally dedicated to inspiring the next generation of young musicians, Tabitha has a busy private teaching practice, and is a teacher, orchestral tutor and conductor at ‘Cardiff and Vale Music Education’. She holds a Bachelor’s degree, two Master’s degrees and an international PGCE specialising in whole class teaching.
Outside of music Tabitha has a keen interest in literature and is passionate about veganism.
Quartet Draig 