Winter Concert 15 February 2025
Cath Cormie - Violin
Born in Yorkshire, Cath’s musical debut was playing Hickory Dickory Dock on the bass recorder for a BBC TV Schools Programme at age 8! She enjoyed both piano and violin, becoming leader of the City of Hull Youth Symphony Orchestra. She was awarded a course of lessons at Hull University with international pianist Ian Brown, to prepare for her London College of Music performers diploma achieved at age 15.
Arriving at a crossroads, Cath took the path towards Medicine, graduating from Newcastle University and met her husband Paul whilst working in Raigmore Hospital. Moving to the Scottish Borders they had four lovely daughters. Cath worked in community paediatrics and general practice developing special interests in Child Development, Adolescent Mental Health, Women’s Health and End of Life Care. She also enjoyed working as a Medical Adviser for Fostering.
Cath is proud to be a founder member and leader of the Borders Chamber Orchestra. She also currently plays with Scottish Sinfonia, Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Canongait, Newtown Ensemble and leads the Abbey Consort and Berwick Arts Choir orchestras. Previously she led the Langholm Orchestra, Yetholm Sinfonia and Waverley Consort Orchestra. Solo performances include Bach Oboe and Violin Concerto, Bach Double Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending. She enjoys playing in small chamber groups, accompanying the local choral societies, and can be found in the pits of several Borders Musical Theatre Companies and High Schools shows.
Since retiring from Medicine, Cath has become involved in schools music education programmes in the Berwick area and also helped to set up a music and activity group for people with dementia and their carers – this is a project close to her heart as her dad, who had encouraged and provided her with musical learning opportunities that were not available to him as a child developed dementia, but loved to attend rehearsals and concerts with Cath and Paul in his last 3 years. Music is indeed the universal language of humankind, when memory and words fail, music speaks.
Chris Crosby - Oboe
Chris Crosby was born in London but moved to Edinburgh when he was 10 years old. Already playing the piano, he was keen to start lessons on an orchestral instrument and chose the oboe. He was very fortunate to have Margaret Rennie Moncrieff, then Principal Oboe of the newly formed Scottish Chamber Orchestra, as his first oboe teacher.
As a teenager he played in many groups outside of the school orchestra, including the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra and the early days of the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra. Initially he was destined for a career in Science, studying Physics at Edinburgh University, but opted, after graduating, to take up the offer of a post grad year studying Oboe with Anthony Camden (Principal Oboe of the LSO) at the Guildhall School of Music.
He remained in London obtaining work with a number of professional Orchestras including the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Ballet. During this time he also taught in many schools in and around London, including the King’s College Choir School, Cambridge.
Upon retiring from teaching he needed no encouragement to permanently move back to Scotland and marry bassoonist Barbara, living initially in the Scottish Borders in Kelso, but now happily enjoying all the delights that East Lothian has to offer. Since returning, he has been asked to play in a number of Orchestras in Edinburgh and elsewhere and with Barbara formed the Aquillos wind quintet, which has given many performances in the Edinburgh Fringe. When invited to play Principal Oboe with the Borders Chamber Orchestra, he had no hesitation in accepting, and was delighted to be asked to play the Bach Oboe and Violin concerto with Cath Cormie.
