Carl Rochford

  Carl Rochford

Violinist/Teacher

MA(Perf)(MTU), BMus(Hons)(MTU), LTCL, Cert.E.S.A

Carl Rochford has been teaching violin for the past 30 years. As an Honours graduate of the CIT Cork School Master of Arts in Violin Performance, Licentiate in Performance from Trinity College London and an Honours BMus Degree in Music, Carl has firmly established himself as a key figure in violin education in Ireland. As a violinist, he has played with the CSM Symphony Orchestra, Frenchwoods Symphony Orchestra, CSM Baroque Ensemble, Opera South Orchestra, Bernini Ensemble, Hibernian Orchestra, Academos (in collaboration with the ICO), Waterford Concert Orchestra, Cork Concert Orchestra, Cork Symphony Orchestra and the 

RTÉ Concert Orchestra. 

Recent performances featured recitals of Sonatas by Brahms, Beethoven, Franck, Prokofiev and Szymanowsky with pianist Nicholas O'Halloran 

In June of  2015, Carl performed in an epic concert featuring Jóse Carreras and Katherine Jenkins OBE with the City of Cork Symphony Orchestra.

Carl is also a deputy violinist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and has performed the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Star Trek live and the 3 Arena and the Bord Gais Energy Theatre.

As a conductor Carl has worked with Kilkenny Choir, (with professional orchestras and soloists, led by Clodagh Vedres), Kilkenny Youth Orchestra,  Bernini Ensemble, Cork School of Music String Orchestra, Wexford Sinfonia, Fleischmann Choir, Cork School of Music Youth Choir, Cantuirí Mhuscrai, Harmonia Singers and Frenchwoods Festival Symphony Orchestra N.Y., U.S.A and has conducted many performances in Cork, Kilkenny, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Florence and New York. 

Carl specialised in violin teaching methods and violin performance to graduate level at the Cork School of Music. He graduated with a BMus (Hons) at the C.I.T. Cork School of Music, attained the LTCL/LGSMD in Violin Performance from Trinity College London and is a Certified Violin Teacher (Level 3) with ESA. Carl also adjudicates for string and choral competitions in Ireland and regularly adjudicates in the Cork area. Carl taught violin at the CIT Cork School of Music for 3 years and the Kilkenny School of Music for 12 years. In 2015, Carl graduated from the CIT Cork School of Music with an Honours Masters Degree in Violin Performance.

Carl studied violin with Gregory Ellis (Vanbrugh Quartet), Ruxandra Petcu Colan (Academica String Quartet), Marianna Sirbu (Stradivari String Quartet) and Adrian Petcu (Cork School of Music)

Carl studied conducting with Dr. Geoffrey Spratt (CNC Summer Course), Alan Cutts (CIT Cork School of Music Taught Masters Course), George Hurst, Denise Ham, Bobby Houlihan and Rodolfo Sanglimbeini at the Sherbourne Summer School for orchestral conductors.

Recently Carl studied violin under Professor Sirbu in association with the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the ACADEMOS Irish World Music Academy and has recently completed a Masters Degree in Violin Performance at the CIT Cork School of music under Adrian Petcu.