Kenneth Sillito, violin and leader

Harvey de Sousa, Martin Burgess, Jan Schmolck: violins

Robert Smissen, viola

Stephen Orton, John Heley: cellos

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields was formed in 1959 by a group of eleven enthusiastic musicians with the aim of performing in public without a conductor. Their first three recordings led to a succession of long term contracts, and the Academy quickly took their place among the most recorded ensembles in history. As the repertoire expanded from Baroque to Mozart, Bartok and Beethoven, so it became necessary for the principal violin, Neville Marriner, to conduct the larger orchestra.

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble was created in 1976 to perform the larger chamber works -- from quintets to octets -- with players who regularly work together, instead of the more usual string quartet with additional guests. Drawn from the principal players of the orchestra, the Chamber Ensemble tours as a string octet, string sextet, and in other configurations including winds. Its touring commitments are extensive, with annual visits to France, Germany and Spain, and frequent tours to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.