Chrissie is from Aberystwyth and studied music in London for seven years; first with a Government scholarship to the Purcell School to study with Detlef Hahn, and then the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she continued her studies with Detlef Hahn and Erika Klemperer. Whilst studying
in London she led various ensembles, including the Purcell Chamber Orchestra for the London Haydn Festival and the Buckingham Palace Investiture Orchestra. After graduating in 2002 with a BMus, distinction in performance, from the Guildhall, she won a scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating with a MMus in 2003, with distinction in performance. In 2018, Chrissie became Honorary Associate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the College’s first award of its kind.
Other awards include the Cavatina Chamber Music Prize and the Philippa Yardley Award from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where, in 2004, she was appointed to a Junior Fellowship in Chamber Music. In 2010 she was awarded the Sir Charles Mackerras Junior Fellowship in Orchestral Leadership from the RWCMD.
Chrissie is a regular 1st Violin extra player for the Welsh National Opera Orchestra and has played in many WNO productions across the UK, including performances at the Royal Opera House. WNO performances outside of the UK have taken her as far afield as Dubai and Hong Kong. She regularly
plays for the Cardiff Singer of the World Competitions for the BBC and with Scottish Ballet, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the English Symphony Orchestra.
As a freelance violinist, Chrissie is in demand as a chamber musician and guest leader. In 2019, Chrissie led performances of the film ‘The Goonies’ with live orchestra around the UK and performed in Saudi Arabia with NSO for performances of the film ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ with live orchestra. In 2018 and 2017 she was invited to lead sell-out tours of performances of the film ‘Love Actually’, with live orchestra, around the major concert halls in the UK and Ireland. In 2016 she performed ‘The Lark Ascending’ with the Lower Machen Chamber Orchestra. In 2015, she took
part in the pilot performance, which included solo violin, of ‘Partishow’ by Peter Reynolds as part of his Creative Wales grant award from the Arts Council of Wales.
She enjoys the variety of freelancing and has worked and recorded with many major artists. In 2017 and 2016, she toured with Alfie Boe and Michael Ball for their two sell-out tours, ‘Together’ and ‘Together Again’ across the UK, which included performances at Hampton Court Palace and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, as well as shows at the London Palladium. In 2015, she performed
with the National Symphony Orchestra for the Queen Mary 2’s ‘QM2’ Classical Music Cruise to New York. Other artists include: Kanye West for his ‘Late Registration’ and ‘Graduation’ UK Tours; Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson and Pink Martini. She played at the 2006 Brit Awards at Earls Court; also, at shows at the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre, which involved recordings at 3 Mills and Abbey Road Studios
Chrissie is a violin tutor at Cardiff University and deputy chamber music and violin tutor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Junior Conservatoire. She is also a regular adjudicator for the Rotary Club Young Musician of the Year and local competitions.