Jim O'Toole grew up in Lowestoft and now lives in Pakefield. He teaches violin and viola at Saint Felix School. He directs Norwich Baroque, and works as Orchestral Manager for The Old Street Band, the period instrument orchestra of English Touring Opera, for whom he also plays baroque violin and viola. Jim has played baroque violin and viola regularly for Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima since 2002, including on the Gramophone award-winning CD 'Vivaldi: The French Connection'. He also plays folk fiddle and calls dances for Licence to Ceilidh, a band he co-founded in 2001. LTC have been featured on Gok's Fashion Fix, BBC2's Great British Menu, and most recently on the E4 series Made in Chelsea.
Jim's other musical interests include singing madrigals and dancing to Ibiza club anthems, and he enjoys composing new music for historical instruments. Jim enjoys growing vegetables, sea-swimming, unicycling, qigong, and occasionally he likes to visit monasteries and sit in silence for hours on end. He works on behalf of Suffolk User Forum representing users of mental health services, and is a trained member of the Peer Support Network co-ordinated by Suffolk Mind. Jim was recently costume-fitted for a part playing medieval fiddle in Disney's "Maleficent" starring Angelina Jolie, however the dates were changed at the last minute and he was gutted to have to miss the filming.
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