Charlotte grew up in Auckland where she learnt the violin from childhood, progressing (upgrading, perhaps?) to the viola at age fourteen. Charlotte completed a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in performance at the New Zealand School of Music, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the Conservatorium. Charlotte likes performing in orchestral and chamber music ensembles and writing about music. She enjoys practising (yes, that is the correct spelling: it’s a verb) and drinking coffee, and hopes to have some good topics for this year’s Conversation.