Clare Hayes studied the violin at the Royal Academy of Music with Winifred Roberts and Erich Gruenberg, and received chamber music coaching from the Amadeus Quartet on a Leverhulme Scholarship.

She has been a member of the Grammy nominated Emperor String Quartet since 1992 and, following their success as the first British quartet to win the Evian/ Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, they have performed at major festivals and prestigious concert venues throughout the world. The quartet have made numerous recordings, including the complete works for string quartet by Benjamin Britten and James MacMillan, as well as a recording of the Walton string quartets for which they received their Grammy nomination.

Clare also has a busy and varied freelance career and is a member of the City of London Sinfonia as well as performing regularly with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. She lives in rural Hertfordshire.