Adjudicators for String Classes 2026
Read about the adjudicators for our string classes.
Paul Barritt
Jo Cole
Jo Cole won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music aged 16, to study with Florence Hooton and David Strange. After further private study with Ralph Kirshbaum, classes with Pierre Fournier and William Pleeth and a period as Principal Cello of the EUYO she embarked on a freelance career, playing as a member of the Academy of St Martins for over twenty years and as Co Principal Cello of the City of London Sinfonia and the Orchestra of St Johns. Jo has also played regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra since 1984 and has appeared as Guest Principal at the Royal Opera House, Opera North and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She has also regularly been invited to take prominent chairs in many other major prestigious orchestras and ensembles including over twenty world premieres as cellist in both the Goldberg Ensemble, and also in Gemini, many of which have been recorded. Chamber music figures substantially in her performing experience and she has recorded English Cello Sonatas and Piano Trios for the BMS label and the Roberto Gerhard Cello Sonata and Piano Trio for Métier, as well as featuring as a soloist on several award-winning discs with the City of London Sinfonia.
After over two decades of high level professional playing she took the position of Deputy Head of Strings at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2006, with special responsibility for orchestral training. She joined the staff at the Royal Academy of Music as Head of Strings in September 2010, where she nurtured both undergraduate and postgraduate cohorts through their studies, stepping down in 2022 to pursue other music and education related projects. Jo receives invitations to teach in a number of international conservatoires and on advanced level summer courses, and has spoken at UCAS conferences and HE training events on conservatoire auditioning. She has been Visiting Professor in Cello at Shanghai University for ten years and was appointed Professor of Music by the University of London and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2016.
She has served on the Jury of the annual New Talent Festival competition every year since its inception in 2018 and was Jury Chair for the 2025 Cecil Aronowitz Viola Competition, and will take this role again in the 2028 competition. She currently serves as a Trustee on both the Tillett Trust and the Loan Fund for Musical Instruments, and is on the Board of the Pierre Fournier Award for cellists.
In December 2025 she was given an award in recognition of her services to string teaching by the European String Teachers’ Association.
Alison Moncrieff Kelly (‘Cello)
Alison Moncrieff Kelly is a highly experienced cellist, teacher, ABRSM examiner and performer who also has extensive experience leading large groups of tutors in early years, junior, secondary and higher education settings. She is a versatile leader in music education, training and performance, who has performed in national and international projects at a high level.
As a member of the ensemble Triangulus, Alison recorded the complete works of Hummel for piano trio, and has also recorded the complete works of Stanford for cello and piano, as well as a series of solo cello recordings.
Alison has been particularly involved with the training of talented young musicians. She has led programmes for inclusivity with children outside the mainstream musical profile, in particular in her work at Blackheath Conservatoire and Rye Arts Festival, where she set up successful outreach programmes.
Alison is an ABRSM grade and Diploma examiner. She has travelled widely as an examiner and has also given workshops and presentations as an ABRSM Teacher Consultant.
Alison was the ABRSM Cello Consultant on the current syllabus.
Together with renowned composer Thomas Hewitt-Jones, Alison recently published Cello Songs, the first book in a three book series of fun pieces for learner cellists published by Stainer and Bell.
Helen Neilson (Double Bass)
Helen Neilson leads an eclectic life, teaching and performing on both double bass and cello! She is Head of Strings at Latymer Upper School, and teaches at St Paul’s Girls’ School and the Aldgate School, and privately in South West London. She has taught on courses including South London Youth Orchestra, CelloFest, LSG International Summer School and regularly runs large scale events for students. She was a principal syllabus consultant for Trinity Strings exams, and has published articles in The Strad, Music Teacher Magazine and the European String Teacher’s Association magazine.
Her performing life includes performances on both double bass and cello, which is fairly unusual! After originally training as a cellist including studies at the Royal College of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, she came to the double bass later. She studied double bass with Cathy Elliott, one of the most highly respected bass teachers in London, and with Jurek Dybal, Co-principal bass of the Vienna Philharmonic.
She plays regularly as principal double bass of St Paul’s Sinfonia, freelances with various orchestras and has toured internationally on bass, including to China and India. Opera performances include New Sussex Opera and Pegasus Opera. She underpinned over a thousand student players as the sole double bass player in the British Suzuki Gala Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in 2023 and 2016. A particular highlight performance was playing double bass with Jerome Pernoo’s cello orchestra in 2018 at the Casals Festival in Prades in the Abbaye St Michel de Cuxa, where Casals originally performed the Bach Cello Suites.
She likes packing up the car to travel with her instruments, and both have names! Her bass is called “Raband”, because he used to be in the Royal Artillery Band, and her cello is called “Phoenix”, as he survived after a terrible fire in his maker’s workshop in 1784. When not with her instruments, she can often be found swimming outdoors in the lido, or sometimes in the sea!
Hilary Sturt (Violin)
Hilary Sturt is much in demand as a chamber musician, teacher and adjudicator. She studied the violin with Sheila Nelson, David Takeno and Felix Andrievsky, graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal College of Music with solo, chamber and contemporary music prizes.
As a violinist and violist she performed and recorded worldwide with Ensemble Modern for 20 years, including notable projects with Frank Zappa, Peter Eotvos and Pierre Boulez. As a chamber musician she has performed with the Rasumovsky Quartet, Apartment House, and more recently as a member of the Bingham Quartet.
Hilary was Head of Strings at St Paul’s Girls’ School for 24 years, and is Head of Chamber Music at the RCMJD and pedagogy tutor at the RCM. Her interest in teaching led to an MA in Education from UCL in 2018. Hilary has worked with the ABRSM as a Diploma examiner, as member of its advisory panels, recording Graded repertoire and also examines for the Music Teachers Board.
Hilary’s dedication to education and chamber music is fuelled by her husband’s homemade sourdough bread, their rescue dog and her passion for weaving.
Alex Thorndike (viola)
Alex is a very well respected viola player and teacher.
He has been a Principal Viola at the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for the past 25 years, where he has toured the world.
He has appeared playing solos on many different CD’s and soundtracks and has been asked to lead many other orchestras.
Alex is also, a very dedicated teacher – he teaches at JRAM, Wells Cathedral School and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Stephanie Waite