Jiva Housden was born in England and grew up in Somerset. Starting private music lessons at 4. He now holds a Scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama studying with Robert Brightmore.

American viola and viola d’amore player Clifton Harrison has performed as a chamber musician, recitalist, and in orchestras throughout Europe, the United States, Central America, and Asia. He is the viola player in the acclaimed Kreutzer Quartet with whom he has recorded extensively. As a member of the quartet Clifton has been artist-in-residence at Goldsmiths, Southampton, and Bath Spa University with close ties to the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Oxford.

Parallel to his quartet duties, Clifton regularly gives masterclasses, workshops, and lectures worldwide.  An avid freelance viola player, Clifton has worked with many UK ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Contemporary Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rambert Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and most of London’s period performance ensembles. Clifton also records regularly for film and television. He has toured worldwide with countless classical ensembles as well as performed with popular artists as wide ranging as Björk, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, David Rodigan & the Outlook Orchestra, and Mumford & Sons.  Clifton has been heard in festivals throughout the world, from the muddy fields of Glastonbury to the EFG London Jazz Festival, Ghent Festival, Lincoln Center Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, and London’s BBC Proms.

As a researcher, Clifton focuses on two distinct areas:  Seventeenth and eighteenth century viola d’amore music from the Germanic region, and Black and Minority Ethnic classical and contemporary composers/sound artists.

Clifton is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, America'‘s top boarding school for the arts. This was followed by studies at the Juilliard School with Dorothy Delay (violin) and Karen Tuttle (viola) and at the Royal Academy of Music with Yuko Inoue (modern viola) and Jane Rogers (baroque viola).

Recent releases are on the Hyperion, Universal Music, Sony, NAXOS, Warner Music, Navona Records, NMC Records, Métier, and Signum Classics labels. 

(Kindly use the form on the contact page at www.cliftonharrison.co to request an updated biography for concerts and promotions.)

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