Who's in the orchestra?

Too fast for the camera shutter - Julia Bishop, the orchestra's leader and principal string coach, gets stuck into Tartini's Devil's Trill Sonata.

While the size of the ensemble obviously varies according to repertoire, a common string  line up for a Bath Baroque concert consists of four first violins, four seconds, two violas, two cellos and one bass. Other players are then added as required, including horns, oboes, trumpets and timpani. Most section leaders are professional musicians with the balance of the membership being students. The orchestra is led on a regular basis (and receives specialist string coaching from) Julia Bishop, one of the most prominent (and busiest) Baroque violinists of the younger generation.

Whose music gets played?

Anybody  - from the sublime Bach...

The repertoire is as diverse as the membership, with a very broad range of musical material. Apart from mainstream Bach, Handel and Vivaldi, recent performances have included such items as Telemann's Alster Overture, Jean Fery Rebel's "Les Elemens", Beckford's Phaeton Overture and Linley's "Nymphs of Albion".

...to the simply extraordinary Rebel, whose suite "Les Elemens" broke compositional rules that hadn't yet been written.