Rebecca Bell: My Musical Journey

I had a difficult decision to make. I really wanted to play the violin but also really wanted to go and study languages.

A musical path is seldom a straight line, as Rebecca Bell can attest. Cutting her musical teeth with Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Service, Rebecca excelled on violin and spent happy teenage years playing with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. At 18 she faced a difficult decision; whether to follow her passion for music or modern languages. Not being “100% sure” that a career as a violinist was for her, she ultimately chose to study French and Spanish at Durham University over taking up a place at music college.

After completing her studies Rebecca was offered a graduate project manager position with a London construction consultancy and has since enjoyed five years in the industry. From leading her university orchestra to juggling freelance performance work around her day job, music has never stopped being a key part of Rebecca’s life and in 2017 she came to the conclusion that being a violinist is her ultimate calling. “I started having lessons again and worked really hard to get to a point where I could get through a postgraduate audition.” The hard work paid off as Rebecca has just begun a master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music.

Part of our 20th anniversary project: My Musical Journey