Maxine Kwok

First Violin, Vice-Chair of the Board

Member since 2001

‘My family are huge Star Wars fans, so I was aware of the famous soundtrack from an early age. I like to think it was my destiny to aim high and play in the same orchestra as the recordings I loved as a child. Being part of the Abbey Road recordings for the prequels, conducted by John Williams, brought this home. An unforgettable experience!’

Maxine Kwok began her professional orchestral career touring America with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields whilst an undergraduate at the Royal Academy of Music. She successfully auditioned for the LSO String Experience scheme and became a permanent member of the First Violin section after graduating with an ARAM and first class honours degree.

Maxine can be seen on YouTube in duo concerts and masterclasses filmed at LSO St Luke’s, and also on the LSO Play app. Maxine is keen on sharing her musical experiences with the younger generation and has enjoyed coaching the National Children’s Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of GB, and the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra in Aix-en-Provence. She has written articles for and been interviewed by Classic FM, the Violin Channel, the Strad, Musical Orbit and Bachtrack among others. Maxine has also recently enjoyed hosting and presenting shows for Scala Radio and BBC Radio 3. In 2010 she was invited to contribute a chapter to Tom Hoover’s book Soundtrack Nation, which explores all aspects of the film recording industry.