Gabrielle Lester (also known as Gaby Lester) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

classical violinist and orchestra leader. She maintains an extensive discography of classical, popular and soundtrack recordings.

Career

Gaby Lester was born in London, and is recognized for chamber music and as a leader of orchestras in the UK. Lester played principal second violin with the

Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and ...

and The Chamber Orchestra of Europe. She played principal second violin for five years with

Sir Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...

and the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

with whom she also played solo at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Ha ...

. Lester was the Associate Leader of the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

for five years. She led the

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and ...

in ''

Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the Nationa ...

'' at the Proms and has guest-led orchestras including the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Sym ...

and the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

. Lester is a member of the Barbican Piano trio and coaches at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. She has directed the Ambache Chamber Ensemble with whom she has recorded chamber music for

Chandos Records Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.Michael Nyman Band The Michael Nyman Band, formerly known as the Campiello Band, is a group formed as a street band for a 1976 production of Carlo Goldoni's 1756 play, ''Il Campiello'' directed by Bill Bryden at the Old Vic. The band did not wish to break up afte ...

. She plays regularly at the International Musicians Seminar at

Prussia Cove Prussia Cove ( kw, Porth Legh), formerly called King's Cove, is a small private estate on the coast of Mount's Bay and to the east of Cudden Point, west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Part of the area is designated as a Site of Special Scien ...

. Her violin is a

Francesco Ruggieri Francesco Rugeri (Cremona, 1628; 28 October 1698), also known as Ruger, Rugier, Rugeri, Ruggeri, Ruggieri, Ruggerius, was the first of an important family of luthiers, the Casa Rugeri in Cremona, Italy. His instruments are masterfully constructe ...

dating from 1670.

Discography

A partial listing of Lester's recordings includes: *La Sept, Suite 1989 *'' Pete Townshend Live: Sadler's Wells 2000'' *''The Draughtsman's Contract'' 2005 *''To Love Again'' 2005 *'' Doctor Who – Original Television Soundtrack'' 2006 *''Overloaded – The Singles Collection'' 2006 *''Dark Passion Play'' 2007 *''Doctor Who – Original Television Soundtrack'' 2007 *Music From The Motion Picture – ''

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' is a 2007 American epic revisionist Western film written and directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Brad Pitt as Jesse James. Adapted from Ron Hansen's 1983 novel of the same tit ...

'' 2007 *''8 Lust Songs: I Sonetti Lussuriosi'' 2008 *''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of '' Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'' (Original Television Soundtrack) 2008 *''La Pasión'' 2009

References

External links

Lester photo from AmbacheLester plays with Pete Townshend at Sadler's Wells
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Gabrielle Living people Musicians from London English classical violinists Year of birth missing (living people) English classical musicians British classical violinists 21st-century classical violinists Women classical violinists