Our Team

Chris grew up in London and studied cello from the age of five. He never did enough practice to get really good at it, but caught a passion for Classical music which would stick with him forever. He has wide-ranging musical tastes, still plays the cello (although less so in the past year) and enjoys everything from intimate chamber music to Mahler symphonies. Married, with three talented children, when not working you'll probably find him playing cricket or cycling⁠.

After studying music at University, Graham worked for EMI Classics, Decca and Deutsche Grammophon, in London, for 25 years, before joining Presto Music in 2016. He works closely with the Finance, Warehouse, IT, Sales and Customer Service teams, as well as having responsibility for HR. When not working you will find him focused on his family here in Leamington Spa, Liverpool FC, Formula 1 and digging the allotment. Graham has a life-long passion for classical music, having studied the piano from the age of four.

Rob was born in Leamington and tinkered in computers from a young age. After a year as a kayak instructor in the Lake District, he studied Computer Science at The University of York. He remained in York for a further seven years, before returning to Leamington.⁠⁠⁠⁠

When not in front of his screens, Rob is a Scout Leader, enjoys photography and camping with his family.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kirsty was born in Leamington Spa, when the town had its own maternity hospital, and grew up in Kenilworth. She is delighted to be back on home turf combining two things she loves - music and accountancy! She learned the flute at school and still plays in a worship band at Renewal Church in Stratford as well as the occasional folk gig. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC in 2000 and has extensive experience in senior finance roles in PLCs, SMEs and advisory practices.

At weekends, Kirsty is often found on the sidelines watching her two energetic boys play rugby and football, or driving to drama rehearsals and music lessons. When she gets the chance, she likes to travel, especially where skiing is involved. She enjoys live music (mostly folk and country), doing cross stitch embroidery, baking cakes, drinking wine and supporting the mighty Sky Blues.

Jonny grew up in Cambridge amongst a musical family, ranging from folk, classical, rock and jazz players. He plays a number of instruments including trumpet, guitar, mandolin with drums being his first instrument. His working career has focussed on printed music publishing and retail, joining Presto Music in 2020. When not working you’ll find him spending time with his young family and perfecting his DIY skills.

Matt grew up in Leicestershire, developing an early fascination with music playing his mum's Beatles and Buddy Holly singles. The other-worldly sounds emitting from his Radio Ham dad's man-cave encouraged his taste for experimental music (especially Stockhausen), and attending classical concerts at Leicester's De Montfort Hall helped make him a teenage Mahler fanatic. In the nineties, Matt was a cameraman and editor for cable television production companies. His love of Jazz came about after working for a period in the Jazz department of Tower Records, and he was later part of an experimental electro-improv trio.

Matt has worked in classical music PR, making promotional videos for artists like Rachel Podger, and one of his musical heroes, Harrison Birtwistle. Outside of work, Matt enjoys walking and cycling, baking with his daughter, making odd noises on his synthesisers and folding origami models.

James has worked for Presto Music since 2011; initially looking after the sheet music and books departments on the Presto Music website, he moved to his current role in March 2023. Outside of Presto Music, he is a conductor, répétiteur, arranger, and tuba player. His musical interests include opera, late-Romantic orchestral works (especially Mahler and Richard Strauss), and twentieth-century American composers such as Copland and John Adams. He is also a big fan of film music, particularly John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and Bernard Herrmann; he wrote his postgraduate dissertation on the music of Star Wars.⁠⁠

Katherine grew up in Middlesbrough and joined Presto Music in 2009, after managing the recordings department at Blackwell's Music in Oxford whilst completing postgraduate studies in English Literature. Having begun her musical life as a violinist and viola-player, she eventually retrained as a mezzo specialising in coloratura repertoire, with favourite roles including Rossini's three great comic heroines and Adalgisa in Bellini's Norma.

She is also passionate about adult education and has spent over a decade as an Associate Lecturer for The Open University, where she currently teaches on the Discovering the Arts and Humanities module.

David grew up in Kenilworth and remembers shopping in Presto Music as a young boy with his father, who was the organist at Kenilworth Methodist Church for some years.⁠

David has worked for a range of companies, from VW to JCB; he even had a stint as a registered firearms dealer! When not working David would like to be walking in the Lake District, watching F1 or on very rare occasions fishing, he has a passion for craft beer and strives to make the perfect espresso!⁠⁠

Originally from the town of Lewes, East Sussex, Tom graduated from the University of Warwick in 2023 with a Bachelor's in Maths, with a particular interest in Topology, and was hired to work at Presto Music soon after. He has been passionate about coding for a while, which he started by learning Python when he was 13, as a hobby. His other hobbies included learning to play the piano and saxophone. Whilst he gave up the piano at age 16, he kept enjoying the saxophone, playing and performing in a band with his local music service, preparing for grade exams, and later spent a brief period in the Warwick Big Band. He also liked studying music theory, which strongly related to his mathematical inclinations.

Tom plays social deduction games regularly, such as Mafia, Werewolf, Among Us, and Blood on the Clocktower, in which players attempt to find out traitors in their midst using logical inference and observing how people act under pressure. This began with online games during lockdown, and later moved to in-person, as a member and then exec of the Warwick Mafia Society. Needless to say, he preferred in-person games by a long stretch. Now, he regularly attends meet-ups and conventions to play these games.

Alex plays clarinet, bassoon, sax, flute and oboe in theatre pits, orchestras and bands, and is also an experienced woodwind teacher. He spent three years at Newark College training as a woodwind instrument repairer from 2004 to 2007. He worked as an independent repairer from then until 2018 when he moved his workshop into Presto Music. He now does all the woodwind repairs and servicing in the shop. Alex also works in the IT team writing software to support editing website content and shipping products to customers.

⁠Outside of work he enjoys the great outdoors, and has cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats, trekked to Everest Base Camp and jumped out of a plane for fun. He is also an expert at sleeping through films.⁠⁠⁠

Sue is originally from Walsall and, thanks to having great music teachers at school and college, has played all six recorders, violin, classical, acoustic and electric guitars, electric and acoustic bass, piano, keyboard, French horn and alto and tenor sax in various orchestras, ensembles and bands. She also has been singing with Birmingham Opera Company since 2001 including the first live performance on BBC4 in 2002 and the World Premiere in 2012 of Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht.

She trained to teach music in Berkshire before being lured away to work in the music industry working at Virgin Megastores in London and Birmingham, Virgin Classics, Gramophone magazine and working at Tring International on the Royal Philharmonic Collection. She has also, from time to time, been found selling merch on tour for a variety of artists and her wide variety of musical interests means that she is equally happy jumping around at the front of Squeeze gigs or excitedly walking through the doors of the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth.

Having completed a degree in Maths with the Open University, Sue is very happy to be in a role that combines her love of music and numbers. Outside of work, she can be found most weekends watching rugby and cricket, digging the allotment, watching MasterChef, dancing Lindy Hop and hopes one day to turn her kickboxing brown belt into a black one.

David grew up in southwest England and dabbled in several instruments, being variously a choir accompanist and church organist and occasionally playing brass in pit-bands. After moving up to the West Midlands in 2012 to join the Presto Music team he eventually settled into a niche as a singer, and began cultivating a particular interest in early music. In the rare moments not devoted to musical pursuits he enjoys growing houseplants, reading (especially history), and languages; currently he is slowly but surely learning Mandarin Chinese. He aspires to have a cat but has not yet managed to.

Paul was a keen Presto Music customer before he joined the company in 2017 and remains an inveterate concert-goer and CD collector. Although not a musician himself, Paul has a broad range of classical interests: from John Adams to Alexander Von Zemlinsky, from Renaissance to Steve Reich. When not hosting podcasts and writing the occasional retrospective article his professional background in IT (and hard work) helps to make the information on the site as accurate as possible.⁠⁠

Hailing from Warwickshire, Barney is a twenty-something musician with a burning passion for sounds that entice as well as grooves that swing. He undertook a BA English Language & Linguistics at King's College London, graduating in 2022. Having promoted jazz and folk artists and performers throughout the West Midlands and the Greater Manchester area, he now sings on Sundays in a church choir, plays double bass to anyone that'll listen, and occasionally might bring out an Irish reel on the mandolin - but not without warning. He can also speak some French, if you ask nicely.

Performing has dragged him from his humble beginnings in cosy local pubs to the prodigious stage of the Royal Albert Hall, and all the way back again. This is his first editorial role and he looks forward, with the help of everyone at Presto Music, to discovering the perfect beat.

Borjenna, who is half-English and half-Polish, grew up mostly in Reading. She has loved art and music from an early age, collecting cassette tapes and then CDs, building up a pretty large collection of music back in the days.⁠ ⁠Borjenna has an eclectic taste, liking many different types of music and is always keen to discover new music.⁠ ⁠Borjenna has also experimented with and played with many musical instruments, including piano, clarinet, saxophone, drums, bass guitar and guitar. When not at work other interests include running, mountain biking very badly, and watching a good documentary.⁠

Ellena grew up in a small village in Cambridgeshire and discovered her love of music at the early age of four when she began learning recorder at her primary school. She went on to learn the flute, and studied flute performance at Birmingham Conservatoire. She enjoys a wide variety of music including pop, rock, jazz, classical and film music. When she isn't working you'll probably find her deep in a good book, practising some yoga poses, or doing something creative. ⁠⁠⁠

Dylan graduated from the University of the West of England in 2020 reading Media and Cultural Production, where he became involved as guitarist/singer in a successful local indie group. For the last few years he's worked around the country in a variety of roles, moving from Hospitality to Sales and now (finally!) Marketing.

He loves the creative process - both at work and within his music - and hopes one day to play Glastonbury... he played in Pilton once which is close enough!

Clare has been working for Presto Music since 2013, firstly as a CD despatcher before working her way up to Despatch & Customer Service Manager. Clare has a large retail and customer service background but has been known to hold her own on the stage singing, playing bass or the drums. Clare grew up with her family in Rugby, where the sport was invented. When not at work Clare has a large crafty side and can be found wielding a glue gun (check out her Etsy shop). Clare is currently recycling VHS into nightlights to save them from landfill and making Lego mosaic art of faces or bands. When not crafting Clare enjoys spending time with her family and planning a trip to Japan or working on her cosplay of Leia Boushh from Star Wars.⁠

⁠Tracy grew up in the village of Bulkington, Warwickshire. She started learning the violin at the age of 10 and the organ when she was 12. Tracy joined an American style marching band at the age of 17, playing the baritone, mellophone (forward-facing French horn) and the trumpet.⁠ After 17 years of this activity, Tracy decided to hang up those energetic marching shoes and in 2016 joined a sit-down brass band, playing solo cornet in her home village brass band.

Having had extensive experience in customer service, operations and administration, Tracy joined the Presto Music team in March 2021 in the Customer Service department and is thoroughly enjoying using her skills and experience in this new setting. Aside from banding, outside work, Tracy enjoys spending time with her family and friends, getting away with the family in the camper van, eating good food and watching crime dramas and comedies.⁠

Charlotte grew up locally in Kenilworth and bought her first acoustic guitar from Presto Music when she was 14. She studied classical music composition at Leeds College of Music where she discovered her enjoyment of music production. This has led to a love of listening to a variety of music including film, rock and electronic music. Charlotte plays the clarinet and also a variety of other instruments including Piano, alto saxophone and guitar.

Outside of work, Charlotte enjoys spending time with her horse, playing hockey, photography and attending action stunt courses.

George is an enthusiastic musician, having studied the subject for 7 years and performed professionally as a vocalist since 2013. He also has a passion for tabletop games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering and Warhammer 40k, obsessively painting models for the latter in his spare time.

Mirka was born and grew up in Slovakia until she moved away when she was 18.⁠ Since then, she has visited and lived in several countries, including Rwanda, where she volunteered for a nursery, and Holland, working on a boat.⁠⁠

But Leamington was her second home for a long time. She came to Presto Music in 2016: first for three days a week, then taking a full-time position as a picker, moving to become one of the Senior Despatchers.⁠ Although she is not a musician, she enjoys music. When not working, she enjoys walking in the parks, flowers and making homemade food.⁠⁠⁠

Andrew was born in Leamington Spa in 1963. He began his working life in cafe/bar work before moving to the 9-to-5 world at a book warehouse, a picture framer's and a medical company before joining Presto Music. He loves music, which began with listening to Elvis Presley. He then discovered classic/blues rock, but has a varied musical taste with CD racks going from Mozart to Motörhead, and Rachmaninoff to Rainbow.

His other love is live music photography: andrewlocksoundsandvisions.co.uk. From 2008 Andrew has had the opportunity to use his camera skills at over 100 gigs including several by his two favourite bands: Marillion and Mostly Autumn.

Andrew love holidays, movies and reading music biographies. He has been married to Julie for over 30 years, they have two beautiful dogs, Poppy and Bailey, and live in rural Hatton.

Rich was born and bred in Sheffield, but he has been living in Leamington for over 20 years now and joined Presto Music in 2019.⁠ Rich has been working in the music industry, one way or another, for the last 28 years, including working a 15-year spell at two of the biggest independent music shops of the 90s/noughties (Andys Records and Fopp Records) and also doing DJ residencies at Leamington bars. He has also been privileged to be the support DJ to an eclectic mix of famous(ish) artists including Craig Charles, Norman Jay, Gilles Peterson, Howard Marx, Josh Stone, Jamie Cullum and many others.⁠

Rich is also an avid vinyl collector and gig-goer!⁠

JP has been a member of our shop team since 2013 and specialises in Brass and Bowed String repairs. Since the age of seven, he had a keen interest in brass playing which eventually led him to Birmingham Conservatoire, where he graduated with a BMus (Hons) with first study Cornet.⁠

Outside work, JP enjoys spending time with his wife and son, swimming, playing football, rugby and tennis, and also cooking.⁠⁠

Dave started his musical life as a double bass player after listening to the unfinished symphony by Schubert. He turned to bass guitar and then moved to guitar so that he could write songs.

After becoming addicted to listening to music, Dave then became absorbed in learning and writing. He got a keyboard and a drumkit and experimented obsessively. Dave has played in a lot of bands and groups playing all kind of genres, from jazz to heavy rock to Gilbert and Sullivan. Dave is also an equally devoted photographer and short filmmaker.

For as long as he can remember, Gareth has always had a passion for music. With his father being a performing musician, there were always piano and keyboard instruments in his family home. Starting with playing saucepan lid drums on the living room floor, this soon progressed to learning piano and after some years, electronic keyboards and synths. Throughout his career he has specialised in retail and business-to-business sales with a focus on Digital Pianos and Keyboard instruments. Gareth has played keyboards for various musicians and bands and continues to perform all over the UK.

Outside of work, he has a wide variety of interests and is always up for trying something new! From sailing, martial arts, DIY, golf, flying, to more recently learning guitar during lockdown and riding motorcycles. That said, he loves nothing more than watching F1 or going for a walk with his wife, two boys and dog.

Since graduating from the Academy of Contemporary Music, James has played and recorded with numerous musicians across the UK and Europe as a bass player. During the Covid-19 lockdowns he began working as an Activities Co-ordinator for the NHS mental health services and has now joined us here at Presto Music in 2023. He hopes to one day become a qualified Music Therapist.

Harry was born in Oxford but at the age of two he emigrated with his family and grew up in Canada.

Graduating from Falmouth University with a BA in Photography, Harry has been creative from a young age. He played guitar for a short time as a kid, and reconvened with the instrument in his late teens. Outside of music, his interests span a multitude of mixed media.

His career aspirations are to pursue design and illustration as a freelancer.