Our Professional Experience Scheme (PES), in collaboration with The Royal Northern College of Music, has been a successful project for many years and aims to provide the best possible preparation for students to pursue a career as an orchestral musician or within the Arts.

Our scheme is open to third and fourth-year undergraduates and all postgraduate string students enrolled at the Royal Northern College of Music. Through an audition process, we recruit up to two violins, one viola, one cello and one double bass to take part in various activity throughout our season of work.

Our vision is to create a pathway for students at the Royal Northern College of Music that will see them experiencing our organisation as a whole, from performing diverse repertoire on the platform, experiencing some of the many projects our community work provides and understanding the challenges we face within the sector.

Approximately 80% of the current membership of Manchester Camerata studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and our Profession Experience Scheme has helped launch the careers of more than 60 young musicians studying at the same institution.

Scroll down to meet our current PES students plus hear from some of the alumni from the project.

Macie Wallis – Violin

Originally from Bridgend in South Wales, Macie Wallis is currently studying her Master’s Degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. After completing her undergraduate degree at the Royal College of Music in London, Macie is extremely excited to be back in Manchester, having studied at Chetham’s School of Music for six years and therefore being well acquainted with the vibrant city. Macie is a keen chamber and orchestral musician, and throughout her studies has had the opportunity to perform some of the most epic symphonies, operas, string quartets, and more, alongside studying solo repertoire under the guidance of accomplished teachers such as Kristoffer Dolatko, Maciej Rakowski, Peter Manning, and Benjamin Holland. Macie looks forward to a career in performance, and hopes to curate a portfolio career, with chamber, orchestral and solo playing at the heart. When not listening to classical music, Macie is a big fan of pop, singer-songwriter style and R&B and would love to be able to incorporate this into her career through session work. Macie is most looking forward to being a part of some of the rehearsal processes of the Camerata, hearing the different ideas and interpretations of music throughout the group and gaining vital hands-on experience of professional life from the scheme. As well as this, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to make music with some incredible performers and hear valuable feedback from members of the ensemble, which she can take into the next chapter of her professional life.

Xueer Wu – Viola

Xueer Wu was born in 2002 in China, where she started playing viola with Donglei Hou in Xinghai Conservatory of Music at the age of 14. In 2020, she received a full scholarship from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) and started studying with Professor Louise Lansdown. She was also awarded the RBC String Prize in 2023. In 2024, Xueer received a generous entrance scholarship from RNCM and started her new life at RNCM studying viola with Louise Lansdown. This year, Xueer reached the quarter finals at the 2025 Lionel Tetris International Viola Competition.  Xueer played Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Bamburgh Orchestra in aid of St. Aidan’s Church. She also performed in the RNCM Coffee Concert Series at Emmanuel Church. Recently, she performed in Mendelssohn at the Mull festival.

She has given performances and recitals in the UK, Germany, Italy, Austria and South Africa, including the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival, St Endellion Easter Festival, Internationale Sommerakademie Bad Leonfelden and Wolfgang-Sawallisch-Musikakademie Grassau, etc.

Xueer has participated in masterclasses led by Thomas Ribel, Nobuko Imani, Robin Ireland, Jordan Bak, Timothy Ridout, Mathis Rochat, Francoise Gneri, Wenhong Luo, Lucy Nolan, Pregrag Katanic, Mario Gheorghiu, Li Sheng and Andrew Filmer. 

Xueer plays on a viola made by Antoine Gourdon in 2023, generously funded by the Wolfson Foundation.

Lola García Márquez – Cello

Lola García Márquez is a current second-year cello student at the RNCM studying with Hannah Roberts.

As an ABRSM Scholar, Lola became a finalist in the Barbirolli Cello Prize last November. She is also part of the Emerz Collective, an ensemble focused on contemporary music, which was recently selected to perform as part of the Hallé Chamber Music Series this October. 

Lola began her studies at age 7 at the Alcalá de Henares Conservatoire and received private lessons with Eduardo Palao until she was 18. During that time she developed her chamber music skills, playing as a part of various chamber music groups and winning the second prize at the Juventudes Musicales Competition in May 2023; orchestra playing, being the section leader for 2 years in a row at the Strings Camerata of the JORCAM and later on for another two years at the JORCAM itself; and lastly solo playing, being able to perform the Haydn in C Concerto as a soloist with her conservatoire orchestra. 

Looking ahead, Lola is excited to continue developing her skills as both a soloist and chamber music musician. She is passionate about learning new music and is committed to sharing her love for music with others through both performing and teaching!

Marcelo Rodrigues – double bass

Born in Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil, he began studying double bass in 2013, at the age of 13, at the Instituto GPA, in Osasco, under the guidance of Renata Jaffé. In December 2015, he won the Young Soloist Competition of the IGPA Orchestra. He studied with Rafael Rodrigues, Sergio de Oliveira and Pedro Gadelha. In November 2017 he joined the São Paulo State Youth Orchestra, where he worked regularly with conductor Cláudio Cruz. In June 2018, he won the orchestra’s Young Soloists contest. In September 2018, he became section leader. During the summers of 2019 and 2022, he was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra.
He has worked with several successful musicians around the world, including the conductors Christoph Eschenbach, Manfred Honeck, Ton Koopman and Sir Mark Elder and the soloists Pacho Flores, Kien Soltani, Veronika Eberle, Steven Isserlis, Jennifer Stumm, Julian Rachlin and Alina Ibragimova. He is currently in his fourth year as an undergrad at the Royal Northern College of Music,
where he studies with Jiří Hudec. He had the opportunity to play as an extra player with professional orchestras in the UK, including the RLPO, RPO, RNSO, The Hallé and BBC Philharmonic. In Summer 2025, after a successful audition, he was offered a trial for a tutti position with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Caroline Pether – Manchester Camerata Leader

When studying at music college we are analysing our playing in lots of detail and taking time to learn new techniques to ensure their full integration. These are positive and essential aspects of learning that help us to improve, but it can be quite a shock when we realise we do not have that kind of time once we are out of college and gigging professionally.

The PES scheme provides that crucial stepping stone from studying at music college to life in the profession. There is no substitute for being in amongst professionals and having to keep up. One of the things that is hard to replicate in the music college environment is the extremely fast pace of rehearsals and regularity of concerts. It is the kind of lesson that can only be learnt by doing.

The thing that I appreciated particularly about the Camerata PES was that it really felt like a safe space to experience this faster pace. As long as I came well prepared to the first rehearsal, I never felt disapproved of for the odd small mistake. Gábor Takács-Nagy created an environment of musical freedom, prioritising extremes of expression over perfection. And this philosophy didn’t stop with Gábor, the musicians embodied it also. Violinist Rebecca Thompson was my scheme mentor and she encouraged me to use more bow which helped me to contribute more to the section sound rather than hide behind it.

The PES is special to me because it introduced me to this wonderful orchestra’s musicians and management team, whose musical priorities are so closely aligned to my own. That first opportunity allowed me to recognise that I was amongst like-minded people and sparked a passion in me for this orchestra, setting me on a path to where I am today. I did the Camerata PES from 2011-2012, in 2013 I became a violin member, in 2016 I became one of three Co-Leaders, and in 2020 I became the Leader of the orchestra.

The last thing I’ll say about the PES is that I think it reminds students that ultimately the end goal of all our study/rehearsal is to perform for audiences and to make them feel something. After one or two days of rehearsals, the audience are there, ready to listen, eager to hear. When we are in the thick of studying, we can become so focused on the minutiae, that we forget to think about the bigger picture. Practising all of the technical aspects of playing is so important, but only with the goal to express more freely. Experiencing the excitement of concerts from within the orchestra for the first time, and hearing the appreciative applause from the audience, certainly reminded me of that 10 years ago.

Gemma Bass – Manchester Camerata Violin Member

The Camerata PES was the first time I had the opportunity to play with a professional chamber orchestra and, as rich and full as my college education was, nothing had really prepared me for that! It was incredibly valuable to have this experience whilst still studying and I learned a lot very very quickly!

I remember having a meeting with Rebecca Thompson, who was my mentor on the scheme. She had some advice and feedback which was really helpful. Her big tip that day was to prepare the music with the kind of energy and gusto you are going to need in a performance – great advice!

I was already very fond of the Camerata before the scheme, having seen concerts at the Bridgewater Hall, but I was blown away when I got the chance to sit in and be part of that sound. I fell completely in love with the orchestra and with the Chamber Orchestra generally as a genre – amazing repertoire and a wonderful balance of ensemble and soloistic playing. I was chuffed to bits when the job came up the following year and I managed to get a trial. It was a lengthy and nervy process (2 1/2 years!), but I am so proud to be part of the Camerata and still find every project a real thrill, 10 years on.

I would recommend the professional experience schemes to anyone. They are so incredibly valuable as a way of gaining real life experience in a real-life orchestra. Sitting and playing alongside established professionals, learning from them on and off the platform, there is really nothing else that can prepare you in the same way.

Alex Mitchell – Manchester Camerata Principal Viola

The Camerata PES was a very important part of my student years, as it gave me a taste of what it was like working with an orchestra and let me meet people who had been working for a long time. I also got to work with amazing directors like Gábor Takács-Nagy and Giovanni Guzzo, who were incredibly inspiring to be able to play with. These are some of many reasons why schemes like this are really important for students, and I would whole heartedly recommend applying!