Jane Rogers viola
Jane Rogers studied viola at the Royal Academy of Music with John White, Stephen Shingles and Jan Schlapp, during which time she became a member of the European Union Baroque Orchestra.This led to her embarking on a busy career in the field of early music.
She is currently principal viola with Brecon Baroque, The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, The English Baroque Soloists and the Academy of Ancient Music, and performs regularly with The King's Consort, The Sixteen, The Kolner Akademie and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Jane teaches baroque viola and viola d'amore at The Royal Academy of Music and is visiting professor at Birmingham Conservatoire and The Royal Welsh College. She has given numerous masterclasses, coaches chamber music and is a viola tutor for the European Union Baroque Orchestra.
Jane's recording career has been prolific and she has appeared on over 200 CD recordings, several of which have won awards. As a chamber musician Jane performs with Trio Van Hengel and with Rachel Podger, with whom she recently recorded the Kegelstatt trio and a disc of Mozart duo sonatas.
In profile
"I first became aware of the viola whilst listening to a string quartet recital on the radio, and immediately fell in love with its warm and generous sound. I was five years old and had no idea of the name of this mysterious instrument in the middle, but knew that it wasn’t a violin or ‘cello. My parents did some research and I was offered violin lessons, being then too small to play the viola. I’m proud to say that I refused point blank!
"Eventually, aged 12, my dream came true and I started viola lessons, quickly becoming the only violist in our youth orchestra. It was me against twenty eight violins and the conductor was continually nagging me to play louder to make up for the lack of section behind me — to those who know my playing well, all I can say is that this explains it all.
"I think that, as with other instruments whose role is mainly to accompany, our job as violists is to focus on beauty of tone in order to encourage those around us to shine more brightly. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be in the middle of the texture. Being a violist himself, Bach really understood this — I feel a special connection with his Sinfonia in next week’s programme. As with all his cantatas I find it incredibly spiritually uplifting."
Jane speaking ahead of performances of early symphonies and sinfonias in September 2012