Before joining the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in September 1993 as Concertmaster, Barry Wilde led a very busy and varied career in the UK which embraced most aspects of the musical profession - solo work, chamber music, teaching and leading orchestras.



He was born in Leeds where, at the age of six, he began to learn the violin. He was awarded the Associated Board Scholarship to study with Alan Loveday at the Royal College of Music in London where he won all the major prizes.



On leaving college he was immediately invited to join several London orchestras and so was able to work with the legendary figures of the conducting world, which at that time included Monteux, Klemperer, Beecham, Barbirolli, Szell, Kertesz and Karajan as well as working with composers Stravinsky, Britten and Copland and players such as Oistrakh, Casals and Szeryng.



After four years as subprincipal with the London Symphony Orchestra he left to concentrate on solo work and chamber music, and joined the staff of the University of Southampton Music Department as the Performing Musician in Residence.



From there he went on to lead the BBC Wales Symphony Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia of England, and Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, as well as appearing as guest leader with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Covent Garden Orchestra. During this time he recorded many major concertos for broadcast including those of Bartok, Elgar, Goldmark, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian, Sibelius, Prokofiev and Mendelssohn.

He also performed the Bach Double with Henryk Szeryng.



In his capacity as director/soloist he has made many European tours with small orchestras including the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and his own group The Serenata of London.



He records with The Serenata of London on the Carlton and ASV labels and his recordings, 7 CDs to date, have received the highest critical acclaim.



He plays a Josef Rocca 1842 violin.