Sophie Renshaw

Sophie enjoys a diverse range of musical activities as a violist, teacher and creative arts practitioner.

As a member of the London Mozart Players she performs repertoire for various types of small ensemble from the baroque to contemporary periods. She is a keen teacher and has been on the faculties of the University of Toronto, Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She particularly enjoys acting as a facilitator for amateur music making; in 2023 she returns as a coach on the “Strings in Spring” Chamber Music Course run by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet and will also return to facilitate a “Classical-meets-Folk” Course at Halsway Manor Centre for Folk Arts with her collaborator, folk accordionist Paul Hutchinson.

Sophie enjoys arranging music for cross-genre collaborations. In 2019 she created arrangements for her string trio with Lucy Russell and Ruth Phillips to join on original songs by Northumbrian “Brothers Gillespie” and French polyphonic vocal trio “Tant Que Li Siam”. This collaboration was recorded for CD under the name “Hirondelle”.

Sophie has been violist in the Canadian Orford String Quartet (1987-1991) and Principal Viola in the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (1999-2007). She has been co-founder of the Canadian Music-Theatre Ensemble “Blue Rider” and in response to the covid pandemic she founded “ InsideOut Musician”, a community of creatives and musicians offering online coaching, tuition and performing opportunities to students, professionals and amateurs.

Sophie is currently training to be an expressive arts counsellor for young people. She lives in Hampshire with her husband and their two children.