Serene Studios is a small focused team founded in 2006, with over 15 years of experience in web design and coding. We’ve come a long way since we began, working for over 40 fantastic clients, entered new areas of work and had a ton of great feedback. We started out in Cambridge but quickly began work in London and further afield (recently in Leeds, Keswick and Bristol).

Dan Hill – chief designer and coder:

Dan Hill

Hi, I’m Dan. I began Serene Studios in 2005 to take my experience and work as a web designer professional, in part to fund my passion for classical music. Since then I’ve loved every minute of the work, the challenges and knowledge that each client brings. I’m a Mac user at heart, but couldn’t live without my Ubuntu laptop. I came to web design from a slightly unusual angle – as a classically trained violinist and conductor (I studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama JD and Cambridge University reading music), and decided the way to get audiences to concerts and raise money for my projects was to harness the potential of the internet. I still play and conduct…

Whilst at Cambridge I played violin in the University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, as well as giving many recitals as both a soloist and as a chamber musician with my Instrumental Award Scholorship quartets. Highlights included performances in West Road Concert Hall, King’s College Chapel, Trinity Chapel, and performing Schumann’s Op. 41 No. 2 in the Instrumental Award Showcase Concert. I lead the Opera Societies’ orchestra in its production of Les Mamelles de Tiresiaes, and guest lead many other orchestras in Cambridge. I was also President of the Emmanuel College Music Society, and the Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra, as well as being on the committee for the Opera Society.

I’ve won the CUMS Conducting Competition two years running, working with both CUMS I and II. Highlights include conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Violin Concerto, rehearsals of Messiaen’s Turangallila Symphony with Baldur Bronimman, and Borodin’s Polovotsian Dances with the CUMS Chorus. I also conducted the Emmanuel College Orchestra, the Cambridge Beethoven Players and various smaller ensembles. I’ve had masterclasses with Baldur Bronimman, Benjamin Zander and George Hirst. I’m continuing his study on the violin with Nicholas Miller.

Last year I founded the Beethoven Ensemble – a young and exciting orchestra in Cambridge and London. The orchestra brings together the finest players of the University with recent graduates studying at music conservatories and working as professional musicians. The aim of the orchestra is to build links between young talented players and the professional music world; by giving intimate concerts at exceptionally high levels we provide exposure and opportunities for musicians, not to mention world-class performances to our audiences.

Jen Clark – Information, usability, copy-writing

Hi, I’m Jen. My specialism is the infomation and communication side of things – which is everything from writing content to editing existing copy so that it works well for the web. I’m also interested in website taxonomy – the real nitty gritty of how information can be split into pages and grouped into sections to make it easy to navigate.

My job is to make content appealing, appropriate for web, and to streamline the user journey to make sites easy to navigate.