Rita French

Rita needs very little introduction in Worthing as she has been part of the local music scene for many years, leading the Worthing Philharmonic and co-leading the Worthing Symphony Orchestra.

She started playing the violin at the age of 7 years (and also the piano), making her concert debut when she was 10, playing a Bach Concerto. She has won many prizes for both instruments, and was fortunate to play in the National Youth Orchestra with many of this country's finest young musicians. From here she went on to study at the Guidhall School of Music with Peggy Radmall and in Austria with Max Rostal.

Rita enjoys all aspects of music-making, combining a very busy orchestral schedule with solo, recital work and chamber music, and also toured France and Spain with a London based chamber ensemble. She leads the Sussex Camerata, described as one of the finest chamber groups in the South of England, regularly performing with them in London and the South East. She has featured as soloist in many of the great concertos, including Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy and the famous G minor; Beethoven; Dvorak; Glazunov and Prokofiev plus the Brahms Double and Beethoven Triple Concertos.

She is in demand as a specialist in advanced teaching and is currently on the staff at University College, Chichester.