Lydia Shelley, a native of London, began playing the cello at the age of seven in Eileen Croxford's class. From 2002 to 2007, she studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester in Hannah Roberts' class, where she obtained the 1st prize "Bachelor of Music" and a diploma in "Postgraduate Studies". Passionate about chamber music, she decided to study at the Royal College of Music in London under the direction of Richard Lester (Trio Florestan) where she was awarded a "Masters of Music in Performance" with the highest distinction in 2009.

 

Lydia is a founding member of the Quatuor Finzi (2008-2013), with whom she regularly performs in prestigious concert halls, such as the Wigmore Hall or Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, or the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The Finzi Quartet has won several international competition prizes (Trondheim, London, Melbourne, Lugano, Royal Over Seas League). 

 

An eclectic musician, she also performs in the United Kingdom with renowned chamber orchestras such as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the St John's Orchestra, as well as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, with whom she takes particular pleasure in giving performances on period instruments.

 

In France, she is regularly invited as solo cello or co-soloist to the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie and the Opera de Lyon, and will perform in 2013 on France Musique.

 

Lydia currently lives in Lyon and joined the Voce Quartet in 2013.