Oliver Webber

Oliver Webber (Leader) was born in 1969; his studies took him to Wells, Cambridge, London and The Hague, and he was taught by Mark Knight, Micaela Comberti and Ryo Terakado. In the Hague he was fortunate to meet many of the finest early music pioneers on many instruments, including the Kuijken family and members of Concerto Palatino, who had a great influence on his style and approach.

Since returning to the UK in 1995, he has established a reputation as one of his own country’s leading interpreters of “early” music, from Renaissance improvisation to Romantic string quartets. He is the director of the Monteverdi String Band, specialising in the performance of early 17th century Italian repertoire, and is the leader of the Greenwich Baroque Orchestra, Ludus Baroque (Edinburgh) and Charivari Agréable Simfonie (Oxford). He is also a principal and guest leader with the Gabrieli Players, the London Handel Orchestra and the Hanover Band.

As a soloist he has performed on violin, viola d’amore, and violino piccolo at major London venues including the Wigmore Hall, as well as festivals throughout Europe. Much in demand as a chamber musician, Oliver is a member of the Parley of Instruments and the London Handel Players – whose recent recordings for Somme have been described as “performances that are perfection itself, with a dazzling beauty of tone and of phrasing”.

Almost uniquely among performers, Oliver makes his own gut strings, and has recently collaborated with Paul McCreesh to recreate the first historically strung baroque orchestra. He is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and lectures throughout the UK on various aspects of historical performance. He is currently engaged in a project to re-create the Italian violin band of the 17th century in all its original glory. Oliver lives in London with his wife and 2 sons, although spends as much time as possible in the mountains of Liguria.