LEO F BYRNE Leader of Hope Metropolitan Orchestra
Stephen Pratt and Leo Byrne at rehearsal
Leo was born in Birkenhead, in a council house overlooking the Mersey, in 1951. He started
the piano at seven, the cornet at nine and violin at eleven. At fourteen, after teaching himself,
he had his first private violin lesson from Eugene Genin MBE and within two years was a
member of the National Youth Orchestra. While in the orchestra Leo was taught by Hugh
Maguire of the Allegri String Quartet and later privately by Clifford Knowles of the Royal
Northern College of Music.
Leo won an open scholarship (in French and Latin) to King’s College, Cambridge. A college
bursary enabled him to study Italian for three months at the British Institute, Florence, and he
then went up to read French and Italian. At Cambridge he won the Tilley Prize for French,
the Walter Headlam Prize for Classics and a Keasbey Bursary and co-led the Chamber
Orchestra. He and Catherine married in 1970, after his first year at King’s, and Matthew was
born the following year. All seven of their children play two instruments and Nick is a
professional cellist.
When Eugene Genin died in 1983, Leo took over the direction of the Oxton and Claughton
Orchestral society and the South Liverpool Symphony Orchestra for ten years. He still
directs the Genin Orchestra at Rydal Hall in the Lake District, and Catherine took over the
administration in 1986 when Bertha Genin died. The orchestra goes from strength to
strength, with 17 Byrnes playing at the last course.
For 15 years he was Head of Modern Languages at St Anselm’s College, but after gaining an
LRAM (Violin Performer) at the Royal Academy of Music he left to work full-time as a
violin maker. He was taught the craft in his early days by Frank Fallowfield, who was with
Rushworth & Dreaper for sixty years in the great days of that firm, dealing with instruments
by the great Cremonese makers.
After two years making and repairing full-time, Leo went back to teaching as
(consecutively!) French teacher, Head of French, Maths teacher and latterly Head of Classics
at Calday Grange Grammar School, which he loves. He is now playing a bow and violin of
his own making.
Catherine died in 2008. He is now married to Amanda Keeley, former Head of Strings for
Wirral and an International Examiner in Classical and Jazz for Trinity College, London.
They have Harry, who is a talented trumpeter and pianist.
Leo is still working at Calday Grange, encouraging pupils to consider applying for Oxbridge,
arranging visits to the colleges, guiding them in their studies and arranging mock interviews
for those who are called for interview. He has reintroduced Latin after a lapse of several
years, and currently there are 10 GCSE pupils and 15 Adult Beginners learning with him. He
knows other languages - Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Welsh, German, a little bit of
Russian - and is learning Spanish.
He has performed the concertos of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Bruch with
the Liverpool Metropolitan Orchestra, as well as The Lark Ascending and other popular
classics.
He has also taken up bow making again after the pandemic, making mainly bows for cello
but also violin and viola bows. He much admires the work of W C Retford for W E Hill &
Son and has one of Retford’s personal bows as an inspiration, along with a Lamy and a
Joseph Henry.
Look him up on YouTube - Leo Byrne Violin.
the piano at seven, the cornet at nine and violin at eleven. At fourteen, after teaching himself,
he had his first private violin lesson from Eugene Genin MBE and within two years was a
member of the National Youth Orchestra. While in the orchestra Leo was taught by Hugh
Maguire of the Allegri String Quartet and later privately by Clifford Knowles of the Royal
Northern College of Music.
Leo won an open scholarship (in French and Latin) to King’s College, Cambridge. A college
bursary enabled him to study Italian for three months at the British Institute, Florence, and he
then went up to read French and Italian. At Cambridge he won the Tilley Prize for French,
the Walter Headlam Prize for Classics and a Keasbey Bursary and co-led the Chamber
Orchestra. He and Catherine married in 1970, after his first year at King’s, and Matthew was
born the following year. All seven of their children play two instruments and Nick is a
professional cellist.
When Eugene Genin died in 1983, Leo took over the direction of the Oxton and Claughton
Orchestral society and the South Liverpool Symphony Orchestra for ten years. He still
directs the Genin Orchestra at Rydal Hall in the Lake District, and Catherine took over the
administration in 1986 when Bertha Genin died. The orchestra goes from strength to
strength, with 17 Byrnes playing at the last course.
For 15 years he was Head of Modern Languages at St Anselm’s College, but after gaining an
LRAM (Violin Performer) at the Royal Academy of Music he left to work full-time as a
violin maker. He was taught the craft in his early days by Frank Fallowfield, who was with
Rushworth & Dreaper for sixty years in the great days of that firm, dealing with instruments
by the great Cremonese makers.
After two years making and repairing full-time, Leo went back to teaching as
(consecutively!) French teacher, Head of French, Maths teacher and latterly Head of Classics
at Calday Grange Grammar School, which he loves. He is now playing a bow and violin of
his own making.
Catherine died in 2008. He is now married to Amanda Keeley, former Head of Strings for
Wirral and an International Examiner in Classical and Jazz for Trinity College, London.
They have Harry, who is a talented trumpeter and pianist.
Leo is still working at Calday Grange, encouraging pupils to consider applying for Oxbridge,
arranging visits to the colleges, guiding them in their studies and arranging mock interviews
for those who are called for interview. He has reintroduced Latin after a lapse of several
years, and currently there are 10 GCSE pupils and 15 Adult Beginners learning with him. He
knows other languages - Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Welsh, German, a little bit of
Russian - and is learning Spanish.
He has performed the concertos of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Bruch with
the Liverpool Metropolitan Orchestra, as well as The Lark Ascending and other popular
classics.
He has also taken up bow making again after the pandemic, making mainly bows for cello
but also violin and viola bows. He much admires the work of W C Retford for W E Hill &
Son and has one of Retford’s personal bows as an inspiration, along with a Lamy and a
Joseph Henry.
Look him up on YouTube - Leo Byrne Violin.
Forthcoming appearances with
Hope Metropolitan Orchestra
As Leader, Leo is usually involved in any concert with the Cathedral Orchestra
