Where do you find inspiration outside of music, and how does this influence your artistry?
I live on the coast and love how insignificant (in a good way) the sea makes me feel. I think all nature can have a real effect on how you interpret music, from vast expanses of sky and the rhythm of waves through to birdsong and even just spending hours watching my cat. My Dad was an artist and my Mum a primary school teacher, so art and books have always been a central part of my life too, and definitely affect how I play. But I also love having wide ranges of influences within music, from the early days of recording through to all the different worlds of music outside classical.

Do you have any favourite moments in Stephen McNeff’s Violin Concerto?
I love the quirky characters in the concerto, and the range of colours Stephen’s filled the music with. The instrumentation creates some amazing sounds, and the rhythmic energy is great. New works for me tend to take on a life of their own with the first performance. However much you prepare something, it always becomes something different and new the first time you perform it in front of real people. The things that become favourite moments often sneak up and surprise me in that first performance.