George Clifford graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a BMus (First Class Honours) in Performance (violin) in 2009 and went on to study for an MA in baroque violin, achieving a distinction and the prestigious DipRAM for an outstanding final recital in 2011.

 

At the RAM George studied modern violin with Igor Petrushevski, and baroque violin with Simon Standage and Matthew Truscott. He also worked alongside leading performers in the field of early music including Rachel Podger, Laurence Cummings and Margaret Faultless and notable conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Trevor Pinnock and the Late Sir Charles Mackerras. George took part in the RAM/Kohn Foundation Bach Cantata series from its inception in 2009, playing 2-3 cantatas once a month under the direction of Iain Ledingham. In his final term at the RAM George was part of the winning ensemble in the Nancy Nuttall Early Music Prize, playing the trio sonata from Bach’s Musical Offering.

 

George now works extensively with many ensembles including the Academy of Ancient Music, the Mozartists, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, English Baroque Soloists & Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, La Nuova Musica, Solomon's Knot and Spiritato. George's career has taken him on tours in Europe, the USA, the Far East and South East Asia, as well as all over the United Kingdom.

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George regularly performs as leader or principal 2nd of baroque collective Solomon's Knot, most recently leading two programmes: Bach's Ode to Grief (Trauerode BWV 198 and a new reconstruction by Chad Kelly of the Köthener Trauermusik BWV 1143 / 244a) in Wigmore Hall, Regensburg and Leipzig, and Bach's Angels (cantatas for St Michael & All Angels) in Leipzig and Stour Music, Kent. Past highlights have included Bach's St Matthew Passion in Weimar, Leipzig and the UK (2023), Monteverdi's Vespers in Wigmore Hall and Cambridge (2024), 'Not the Christmas Oratorio' (secular contatas featuring music which Bach repurposed for his Christmas Oratorio) in Eisenach, Regensburg and the UK (2021), and 'Bach's Horns' (Mass in F major BWV 233, Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd! BWV 208 and Brandenburg Concerto No.1 BWV 1046) in Ansbach (2023).

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In 2013 George released the album ‘Ravishing Sweetenesse’ with record label Veterum Musica, featuring solo violin music by Baltzar, Biber, Westhoff, Telemann and Pisendel. George's playing (and singing) can also be heard on several Veterum Musica albums with the chamber ensemble Poeticall Musicke, and he has also recorded 'When in Rome', an album of little known Roman baroque sonatas with Alex McCartney on theorbo.

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The Amadè Players' album 'Forgotten Vienna' features George as a soloist, playing Waṅhal's violin concerto in Bb major and Ditters' Concerto in C for two violins.

​George also features on Solomon's Knot's latest album 'Bach's Horns' (released 1st August 2025), with obligato solos in J.S. Bach's Mass in F major and Cantata 208, and as violino piccolo soloist in Brandenburg 1.

 

A versatile musician, George actively supports and promotes local music. He is Musical Director of vocal ensemble Cantu Amici, and as an accomplished choral singer he sings with several chamber choirs around the country. He is also leader and fixer of Meridian Ensemble, a period instrument ensemble which accompanies choirs in the Kent and Sussex area.

 

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, the music industry was put on hold and there were many cancellations. George kept busy by recording videos on Acapella App, and also putting together some virtual choir performances with Cantu Amici and other local choirs. You can find a link to George's YouTube channel on the videos page.​

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George is extremely grateful to Ms. Hilary Weston for her generous financial support during his Masters course, and for the purchase of his baroque violin and bows.