Amanda Lake - violin
After pleading with her parents for 18 months, Amanda Lake started learning the violin at the age of four and a half. Following studies as a scholar with Dona Lee Croft at the Royal College of Music and the Maggini Quartet at Christ Church Canterbury University, Amanda was accepted onto the London Philharmonic Orchestra's Foyle Future Firsts apprenticeship scheme. Amanda was a member of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for five years, before moving to Cardiff in 2018 to take up the position of Principal 1st violin No 3 with the orchestra of Welsh National Opera. She has led both orchestras in concert, with highlights including Britten’s Our Hunting Fathers with tenor Mark Padmore, and Puccini’s Madame Butterfly under maestro Carlo Rizzi.
As a chamber musician, Amanda was a member of the Alea Quartet for seven years, performing in the Purcell Room for the Park Lane Group as part of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' 70th birthday celebrations and at festivals across the UK and abroad. Whilst in Birmingham, she regularly performed with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, with notable appearances at the Wigmore Hall and the Aldeburgh Festival. She has appeared as a concerto soloist in works from Bach to Berg, including performances of Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending on tour in China with the Amadeus Orchestra. She is artistic director of Clapham Chamber Concerts, a series that she set up with her duo partner Jessie Maryon Davies in 2008.
Outside of music, Amanda enjoys climbing, white water kayaking and spending time with her partner Dan and daughter Jasmine.
As a chamber musician, Amanda was a member of the Alea Quartet for seven years, performing in the Purcell Room for the Park Lane Group as part of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' 70th birthday celebrations and at festivals across the UK and abroad. Whilst in Birmingham, she regularly performed with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, with notable appearances at the Wigmore Hall and the Aldeburgh Festival. She has appeared as a concerto soloist in works from Bach to Berg, including performances of Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending on tour in China with the Amadeus Orchestra. She is artistic director of Clapham Chamber Concerts, a series that she set up with her duo partner Jessie Maryon Davies in 2008.
Outside of music, Amanda enjoys climbing, white water kayaking and spending time with her partner Dan and daughter Jasmine.