Kenneth Essex

British violin initially but eventually viola player. Born 20 July 1920 in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, UK. In 1937, he entered the Royal Academy of Music. During World War 2 he joined Band of HM Royal Marines. After the war, he was accepted by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Shortly afterwards the Amadeus Quartet was formed and Kenneth played in their quintet dates. He was for a number of years Principal Viola of the Goldsbrough Orchestra, The Boyd Neel Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra (1955). He left the LSO to go freelance and worked extensively as a session musician from the late 1940s onwards. He did TV, film and popular music recordings including playing in the string quartet backing The Beatles on "Yesterday". He also played in Royal Variety Performances, and Eurovision Song Contests (he was in the orchestra in Brighton when ABBA won).