Susanna Poole

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The Orchestra

Susanna Poole

First Violin
Adopted by Claire Deegan, Paul Holt and Alan Poole

Born in Buckinghamshire, Susanna is the child of an oboist and a bassoonist. She learnt at a young age that making reeds is both time-consuming and ear-splitting so decided to go off the family piste and take up the violin. After studying at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, Susanna spent fifteen years freelancing in the North West before securing a position in the first violin section in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Despite years of effort, Susanna has not managed to flatten any of her vowels or develop an interest in either red or blue football, but otherwise feels very at home on Merseyside. She loves the friendliness of her adopted city and enjoys the easy access to beautiful countryside and reasonably priced real ale.

Highlights of her time in the orchestra so far include Parsifal in Santiago de Compostela in 2010 and Britten's War Requiem in Hanover and Liverpool in 2018, as well as wonderful tours to Japan and other fascinating countries. She looks forward to many more exciting adventures home and away with the Orchestra in years to come.

What is your earliest musical memory?
I remember as a little girl playing a 'violin' fashioned from two rolled up copies of the Radio Times. Cheaper and certainly quieter than the one I was eventually bought.Who is your biggest musical inspiration and why?
Both my parents were in the Orchestra of English National Opera and they have had a huge influence on me, from my love of Wagner to my slightly controversial lack of enthusiasm for Beethoven.What is your most memorable moment with the Orchestra so far?
I love touring and have many wonderful memories from trips I've been lucky enough to go on with the Orchestra. Playing Parsifal in Santiago di Compostela was very special as was performing with a Chinese Youth Orchestra in Expo in Shanghai. In a more extra-curricular way, I wouldn't have missed a travel day picnic of Cabrales blue goat's cheese and Tio Pepe in the Picos de Europa or climbing a remote part of the Great Wall of China with no map...What is the best thing about being a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra?
A standing ovation at the end of a big Mahler symphony still sends a shiver down my spine.