Mark Kelly
Mark Kelly was fascinated by music from a very young age and began piano lessons with the pianist Olga Wright. A little later he was introduced to the violin and began lessons with Wendy Griffiths at Newham Academy of Music. In learning to play this instrument he really felt at home, and as such made very rapid progress, completing all the grade exams in just a few years with a distinction result at the final grade VIII exam.
After a further few years studying with KEITH GURRY of the BBC Symphony Orchestra he went up to the Royal College of Music, London where he studied as a performer with the eminent violinist TESSA ROBBINS-KHAMBATTA and for a brief time with the well known British violinist HUGH BEAN.
Upon leaving the RCM Mark spent eight or nine years freelancing in his newly formed Prince Consort Trio and in various orchestras, mostly in London but also travelling and touring where he found success directing ensembles from the first violin chair and occasionally giving solo performances. At this time he also started to achieve wide recognition as a premier teacher of violin, most notably at Bancroft's School in Woodford, where for some time he also directed the highly skilled orchestra and his performances at the helm of this orchestra achieved an amount of notoriety in the educational world, encouraging Mark to expand further to become Associate Conductor of Harlow Youth Orchestra, (since renamed Vivace youth orchestra) and touring with the orchestra to California where the group joined with the Santa Clarita Youth Orchestra at the College of the Canyons (near Valencia, California).
Mark Kelly is undoubtedly a violin teacher of distinction and for some years has nurtured a reputation as being one of the finest teachers of young people and adults in the United Kingdom. In 1995 he became Head of String teaching at Wellington College in Berkshire, a position he held for nine years before deciding to leave the college to give violin lessons at his home in Camberley and pursue his passion for violin related interest. He teaches now at Sir William Perkins’s School in Chertsey, Highfield School in Maidenhead, Luckley Oakfield School in Wokingham and Holme Grange School (also in Wokingham).
In 2003, Mark Kelly formed VIOLINOLOGY, a small company which offers first class violin tuition to people of all ages, along with repairs, accessories, strings, sheet music and custom made arrangements for your string group or quartet. A list of finished arrangements is available but we can discuss an arrangement of your favourite tune for that special occasion. Mark Kelly is able to take a limited number of pupils himself and is able to draw on a wealth of knowledge of the violin from both inside and outside the playing profession.