Leader: Brenda Willoughby

Brenda won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music when she was sixteen. She studied with David Martin and Frederick Grinke and won several prizes. When living in Hertfordshire she combined playing and teaching with bringing up three children. For many years she was leader of the St Albans’ Chamber Orchestra and the Cambridge Symphonia. She moved to Devon in 1987 and combined teaching and an active playing career, playing with the Ten Tors Orchestra, Divertimento, The Pressenda Ensemble and Truro Three Spires.

Chair: Dr Sarah Chilvers

Sarah works in the NHS, has a large family and several dogs and in her spare time enjoys playing the cello and running. She brings a wealth of experience from her work in the corporate medical sector and has been instrumental (pun intended) in guiding our orchestra through its development plan and making sure we are financially stable. Her philosophy of care has ensured that during the lockdown of 2020 we are striving to meet the social and emotional needs of all our players by finding new ways to stay in touch online.