Chrissie is from Aberystwyth and studied music in London for seven years; first with a Government scholarship to the Purcell School to study with Detlef Hahn, and then the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she continued her studies with Detlef Hahn and Erika Klemperer. Whilst studying in London she led various ensembles, including the Purcell Chamber Orchestra for the London Haydn Festival and the Buckingham Palace Investiture Orchestra. After graduating in 2002 with a BMus, distinction in performance, from the Guildhall, she won a scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating with a MMus in 2003, with distinction in performance. In 2018, Chrissie became Honorary Associate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the College’s first award of its kind.
Other awards include the Cavatina Chamber Music Prize and the Philippa Yardley Award from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where, in 2004, she was appointed to a Junior Fellowship in Chamber Music. In 2010 she was awarded the Sir Charles Mackerras Junior Fellowship in Orchestral Leadership from the RWCMD
Chrissie is a regular 1st Violin extra player for the Welsh National Opera Orchestra and has played in many WNO productions across the UK, including performances at the Royal Opera House. WNO performances outside of the UK have taken her as far afield as Dubai and Hong Kong. She regularly plays for the Cardiff Singer of the World Competitions for the BBC and has played for Scottish Ballet, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 Chrissie began performing as an extra player for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, performing in concerts as well as television and radio recordings.
As a freelance violinist, Chrissie is in demand as a chamber musician and guest leader. In 2024, Chrissie was invited to led the orchestra for Marti Pellow’s ‘Popped In Souled Out’ UK tour. Chrissie has led performances of the films ‘The Muppets’, ‘The Goonies’ with live orchestra and ‘Assassins Creed ‘concerts around the UK and performed in Saudi Arabia with NSO for performances of the film ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ with live orchestra. In 2018 she was invited to lead sell-out multiple tours of performances of the film ‘Love Actually’, with live orchestra, around the major concert halls in the UK and Ireland.
She enjoys the variety of freelancing and has worked and recorded with many major artists. In 2024 Chrissie began performing with the Electric Light Orchestra tribute band ELOE as solo violinist. In 2020, 2017 and 2016, she toured with Alfie Boe and Michael Ball for their three sell-out tours, ‘Together’, ‘Together Again’ and ‘Back Together’ across UK arenas, which included performances at Hampton Court Palace and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, as well as shows at the London Palladium and the O2 Arena. In 2015, she performed with the National Symphony Orchestra for the Queen Mary 2’s ‘QM2’ Classical Music Cruise to New York. Other artists include: Kanye West for his ‘Late Registration’ and ‘Graduation’ UK Tours; Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson and Pink Martini. She played at the 2006 Brit Awards at Earls Court; also, at shows at the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre, which involved recordings at 3 Mills and Abbey Road Studios
Chrissie is a violin tutor at Cardiff University and a regular adjudicator for the Rotary Club Young Musician of the Year and local competitions. Recently, in 2020 she became Artistic Director of the charity Cosmic Music, a charity aimed at promoting the art and science of chamber music and in 2023 she was invited to become a trustee of Aberystwyth MusicFest.