Leaders
Brian Howells
Brian was born in 1944 and began to play the violin at the age of 12. When he was 16 he played in the National Youth Orchestra and went on to study the violin at the Royal College of Music in London with Leonard Hiroch. He began his professional career with the New BBC Orchestra in Bristol, leading the orchestra on many occasions for concerts and studio recordings. While in Bristol he continued to study, having violin lessons with Sydney Griller and string quartet coaching with the Amadeus String Quartet.
Brian joined The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1969, moving to The Bournemouth Sinfonietta about two years later and becoming its Principal second violin in 1975. He appeared as soloist with The Sinfonietta on many occasions but retired from the permanent staff shortly before it was disbanded in 1999. Brian has played with many orchestras during his career including The London Philharmonic, The BBC Welsh Orchestra, The New London Soloists Ensemble and The London Chamber Players, and he still plays with The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as an extra when required.
Most of Brian's work now involves teaching the violin at Bournemouth University and leading local orchestras including The Havant Chamber Orchestra and The Fareham Philharmonic Society, as well as being Guest Leader of our own City of Southampton Orchestra.
Christa Porter
Christa started to learn to play the violin at her primary school when she was 8 years old. After studying at the Guildhall School of Music with Joan Spencer and being awarded the Dove Memorial Music Prize, she went on to have lessons with Frederick Grinke and then joined the Bournemouth Sinfonietta where she found herself sitting next to her very first violin teacher, Shirley Houlton.
After six years, Christa left to start a family and moved away to Oxfordshire and then to Suffolk. A primary PGCE followed, and Christa began to build up experience as both a general class teacher and as a music specialist. At the same time, she was invited to lead the Wolsey Orchestra in Ipswich, an orchestra very similar to the City of Southampton Orchestra. In 2002, Christa moved with her family to Southampton and was prodded by her cellist daughter Kate to look for a symphony orchestra they could join. The CSO accepted them both, and in 2005 invited Christa to become co-leader of the orchestra.
Christa works for Southampton Music Services as a peripatetic violin and viola teacher; she directs Elgar Strings, one of the Southampton Youth Orchestras pyramid; and teaches Award pupils for both Southampton and Hampshire. She enjoys a wide variety of playing including chamber music both with her quartet and with her family trio, Bassett Green Strings; string orchestra playing with Arcordia; and the occasional solo, most recently the Bach Double violin concerto with Brian Howells for the Fareham Philharmonic Society.
