Francis Harte, Viola - String Sub-Principal

When did you join the National Symphony Orchestra?

June 2003.

Where did you study?

In London at the Royal College of Music and at Trinity College of Music. I was also awarded a full scholarship to study for a year in Vienna with Thomas Kakuska, who was the violist of the Alban Berg Quartet.

Who is your favourite composer, and what is your favourite work?

Vaughan Williams has been my favourite composer since I was about 15 or 16 and I have been a member of the RVW Society since 1997. Geeky, eh? My favourite work of all is probably his Fifth Symphony although there are a huge number of
contenders for the place.

What was the last book/podcast/TV series you really loved?

I’m watching Star Trek: Picard at the moment, which is absolutely amazing! I’ve been wanting to watch it for a while but I had to re-watch some key Star Trek: Next Generation episodes and the films to get myself back up to speed – it’s a serious business, you know!

You’re stranded on a desert island. You’re allowed 3 CDs.What would they be, and why?

Unsurprisingly, I would choose a couple of Vaughan Williams’s symphonies or Sancta Civitas. I love George Butterworth’s orchestral miniatures and his song cycle, Love Blows as the Wind Blows, especially the last movement. Lastly, I would choose Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings too. Hopefully, then, I would be transported mentally – if not physically – from the desert island.

If you weren’t a musician, what would you most like to be?

A garden designer.

If you could have dinner with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be, and why?

Monty Don – my wife and I watch him on Gardeners’ World every week! I have several of his books as well and it would be nice to meet him in real life.