Clare was born in Ely in 1975.  As her father was in the Royal Air Force, she was fortunate enough to attend Wells Cathedral School in Somerset, one of the country’s specialist music schools from the age of 7 to 18 where she learned the piano, clarinet and bari sax.

At 18, Clare moved to Kent to study music at Canterbury Christ Church University where she graduated with an Honours Degree in Music in 1996. 

It was at college Clare started to meet people who played in local groups and joined the Canterbury Orchestra playing the clarinet.  After moving to Folkestone she joined the Hythe Town Concert band playing bari sax and through this group she was introduced to the Railway Swing Band and has been playing with them since 1998.  She also plays the clarinet with the St Edmunds Community Wind Band.

Clare now lives in Faversham with her husband Paul who is a great supporter of her music and encourages her to continue playing especially when her job in Maidstone as a training officer and NVQ assessor for local government means she cannot give as much commitment as often as she would like.