RACHAEL Clegg lives in Stretford with her husband, Roberto, who plays guitar and double bass, and their sons, Josef, 19, and Ruben, eight.

She has played the oboe professionally for 30 years, and for the last 20 years she has performed as principal oboe with Manchester Camerata.

Rachael, who studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, has taught her instrument at Chethams School of music for over 30 years.

She joined in a live recording of four orchestral pieces held at the Stoller Hall, Manchester, in January, to be streamed on Friday, February 26.

Her orchestra had teamed up with new streaming platform Virtual Circle launched by Harrison Parrott, a world-wide arts management company, to present the concert, All Time is Eternally Present.

It was conducted by the renowned Pekka Kuusisto and featured saxophonist and broadcaster Jess Gillam. She performed Michael Nyman’s Where the Bee Dances and a newly-commissioned work by Daniel Kinane, Be Still.

Rachael said:  “This was the first time I have worked with Pekka. I knew he was highly respected in the musical  world but he was also  tremendous fun.

“I was involved in Where the Bee Dances, with Jess Gillard playing solo saxophone. It was rhythmically a tricky piece.

“After months of not performing, we snapped back into shape quickly. The final concert sounded exciting and polished.”

Rachael loves the oboe because of its clear, expressive sound and its use in many amazing melodies.

“It does have its drawbacks. The reeds, which I hand-make, can be very temperamental.

"It’s always an issue finding one that works perfectly for each performance.”

“The biggest joy, for me, was seeing and playing with my Camerata friends after our long parting."

All Time is Eternally Present streams at 8 pm.For tickets at £10 per household, see emusiclive.com/Manchester_Camerata.