LCO Artistic Director & Concertmaster

"Her technique is formidable and is directed by remarkable musicianship and style."
The Daily Telegraph

As one of the most respected violinists of her generation, Rosemary Furniss combines a career as soloist with that of Concertmaster, chamber musician and teacher.

A founder pupil of the Yehudi Menuhin School, Rosemary was a protégé of the late Lord Menuhin, with whom she had the privilege of performing as soloist. She went on to study with other eminent teachers including Fredrick Grinke in London and Ivan Galamian at The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia; Rosemary also participated in masterclasses with Sandor Vegh and Pinchas Zuckerman.

Since then Rosemary’s career has taken her all over the world and she has been consistently acclaimed for her solo performances. These include collaborations with such renowned conductors as Simon Rattle, Yuri Simonov, David Atherton and Richard Hickox, and orchestras including the Philharmonia, Hallé, Singapore Symphony, Scottish Chamber and Royal Philharmonic.

With a repertoire ranging from Bach to the great romantic composers, Rosemary is also a noted exponent of contemporary music and was a member of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ ensemble ‘The Fires of London’ for many years. This interest in contemporary music has resulted in numerous compositions being written for her, including Maxwell Davies ‘Sonatina’ and Barry Guy ‘The Eye of Silence’, which was recorded by Rosemary and the City of London Sinfonia, conducted by Richard Hickox.

Until recently, Rosemary was Associate Leader of the Philharmonia Orchestra and in 2000 she was appointed Concertmaster and Artistic Director of the London Chamber Orchestra. Rosemary also heads LCO’s education initiative ‘A Chance to Play’, a project initiated by Lord Menuhin, which resulted in the BBC TV documentary ‘Menuhin’s Children’. In the documentary Lord Menuhin, assisted by Rosemary, taught groups of young violinists, with the ultimate goal of performing, in concert, a specially commissioned work for violins and orchestra.

Rosemary is a Professor at the Royal College of Music and the Yehudi Menuhin School and was a visiting Professor at the Menuhin Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland and the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. She is a Churchill Fellow and was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music.

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