Lesley Hatfield
Leader of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales,
Lesley Hatfield has established a distinguished career as soloist,
chamber musician, orchestral leader and teacher.
After graduating with First Class Honours from
Clare College, Cambridge, she studied at the Royal Academy of
Music, gaining the Recital Diploma.
Her early career was spent as a member of the
Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and as a chamber musician with a
number of groups including Capricorn. She was co-leader of
Northern Sinfonia and leader of the Ulster Orchestra before taking
up her current position.
Lesley appears regularly as soloist and
director with the BBC NOW, and has appeared with other major
orchestras including the Philharmonia, the Ulster Orchestra and the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Her solo recordings under the
Chandos and Naxos labels have received critical acclaim and she
broadcasts frequently on BBC Radio 3.
An active exponent of contemporary music,
Lesley has had works written for her by Philip Cashian and John
Casken, whose 'Après un Silence' she performed with the
Philharmonia Orchestra.
She has an extensive duo recital repertoire
and has collaborated with a number of pianists. She is a member
of the Gaudier Ensemble, with whom she has made a number of
highly acclaimed recordings, and is regularly invited to appear
with other groups, including the Nash and Hebrides ensembles.
Her directing activities have covered a wide
range of works, and have included performances on BBC Television
and Radio 3.
Lesley lives near Cardiff with her husband and two children. She
has recently been elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.