Fiona Winning
Fiona studied at the Juilliard School in New York, going on to become Principal Violist of the Royal Philharmonic and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras. As a chamber musician Fiona has appeared at halls and festivals all over the world, such as Carnegie Hall, Bargemusic, Lincoln Centre, New York, Festival da Camera, Lima, the Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh International Festival, Singapore Esplanade Hall and the Banff Centre.
Fiona Winning studied at the Juilliard School in New York, going on to become Principal Violist of the Royal Philharmonic and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras. She is a regular guest principal of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (including four seasons at Glyndebourne Opera), Scottish Chamber Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and has also appeared as principal with the Aurora Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Philharmonia and the Royal Northern Sinfonia. She has worked closely with eminent conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Vladimir Jurowksi, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Gianandrea Noseda & Vasily Petrenko.
As a chamber musician Fiona has appeared at halls and festivals all over the world, such as Carnegie Hall, Bargemusic, Lincoln Centre, New York, Festival da Camera, Lima, the Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh International Festival, Singapore Esplanade Hall and the Banff Centre. She has been inspired by chamber music partners including Pinchas Zuckerman, Lawrence Power, Maxim Emelyanachev, Assaff Weisman, the Fidelio Trio and Ensemble 360, and regularly performs with her husband, clarinettist Timothy Orpen, and pianist John Reid. She is currently co-curating a three year project with poet Jacob Sam-La Rose for the Deal Festival. Her collaborations with jazz guitarist Graeme Stephen have most recently included appearances at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival.
A renowned exponent of contemporary music, she is a regular guest principal with the London Sinfonietta, with whom she has performed at the BBC Proms, South Bank Centre, Huddersfield Festival and around the world. Other highlights include George Benjamin’s Into the Little Hill at the Wigmore Hall, one of Pierre Boulez’s last conducting engagements (Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks) and premiering works by Saxophonist Marius Neset at the BBC Proms. She has a close association with composer Luke Styles, whose work Three Phase Stanzas she commissioned and performed nationwide.
As a session musician Fiona records regularly at Abbey Road and Air Studios in London and she can be heard on numerous soundtracks for film and TV.
Fiona plays on a viola by Antonio Gragnani, generously supported by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Loan Fund for Musical Instruments. She lives near Loch Lomond with her husband and two sons and can often be found climbing in her local hills.