Louise Williams (viola) studied violin at the Royal Academy of Music with Manoug Parikian and at the Juilliard School in New York with Ivan Galamian. She then became a founder member of the Endellion Quartet as its second violinist. However, after five years she left both the quartet and the music world in search of a different lifestyle, spending a year studying organic gardening and time in India practising meditation. Shortly after returning to the fray, she was invited to join the Chilingirian Quartet as their violist. This was a very happy and busy time, with many concerts and recordings.

Having three children in quick succession put paid to a touring career, however, and since that time Louise has not gone back to full-time musical work as she was fortunately able to make the choice to be at home some of the time. Despite working only part-time since then, she was a member of the Raphael Ensemble and is currently in the Frith piano quartet. She has played frequently as a guest with the Nash Ensemble and the Takacs Quartet, and was the regular quintet partner of the Lindsays for 10 years until their retirement in 2005.

Louise also enjoys playing in Andras Schiff’s orchestra “Cappella Andrea Barca” which meets in Europe for a few projects each year, attending the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove every year, and occasionally joining the Bournemouth Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestras as guest principal. She has recorded the complete Bartok and Dvorak Quartets with the Chilingirian Quartet, Mozart and Beethoven quintets with the Lindsays, Mendelssohn Quintets with the Raphael Ensemble and three CDs of British music for viola and piano with David Owen Norris. Recent projects included a cycle of the Beethoven violin sonatas with Kathron Sturrock and a recording with the Frith piano quartet. She plays on a viola made by the brothers Amati in 1616. www.louiseviola.co.uk