20/01/2026
(Picture with my no 1 fan)
Welcome to another of our getting to know our Gifford Ensemble members.
1. What instrument do you play in the Gifford Ensemble?
My name is Janine and I play the violin in Gifford Ensemble. I am also the leader and look after the social media page.
2. How old were you when you started playing it?
I started playing the violin when I was 10 years old and was very fortunate that I received free instrumental lessons at school through Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.
3. Can you share one of your best musical memories
The main one on the violin has to be being part of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales during their 60th Anniversary in 2006. We played at the Welsh proms at St David’s Hall in Cardiff with Julian Lloyd Weber as the soloist, it was really special.
The best musical memory for me personally was getting to conduct 300 primary school children at the Colston Hall (now Bristol Beacon) in 2016. It is probably the most nervous I have ever been, mostly because if messed it up I would have never lived in down in school! I could feel my legs shaking just walking to the front but then when I started to bring the band in and then the children successfully with ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony’ it was a truly magical moment.
4. Do you have a particularly funny musical memory?
In my final year of Uni, I was the leader of the orchestra so you got to do the whole walk on without anyone else, receive applause, bow and sit down etc. Well unlucky for me I got injured in a football match a couple of months before (don’t ask!) so was on crutches awaiting ACL knee reconstruction. My knee would give way from under me at any given moment hence the need for crutches, but I was determined I wasn’t going to do the walk with crutches so decided to do it alone. I started my walk but then realised it was a lot longer to the chair then I thought and could feel my knee wanting to give way so I basically did a ridiculous half walk/half run very awkwardly until I finally made it to my chair. Even though there were some raised eyebrows, I did not fall flat on my face, so was worth it!
