There are no words to express the deep sadness for the unexpected death of the Storytelling Academy’s dear friend, Giles Broadbent. The international digital storytelling community have still strong memory of Giles’ fantastic performance with his group Stringfever at the International DST Conference hosted at Loughborough in June 2022. The Storytelling Academy’s and our community’s deepest sympathy goes out to Giles’ wife, Diane Louise Jordan, and his family. Giles’s music and his kind and generous heart will stay forever with us!

This is the brief statement shared this morning by the Broadbent Family and Stringfever Joint Statement:

“The acclaimed international violinist, Giles Broadbent, has died following a short illness. He was 51.

Giles studied at the Royal Academy of Music and went on to lead orchestras for several West End shows such as Sunset Boulevard, Phantom of the Opera and My Fair Lady, amongst others.

In 2003 he formed the electric violin quartet Stringfever alongside his brothers Ralph and Neal and cousin Graham. Described as ‘the Rock Stars of classical music’ they play live shows all over the globe from the Opera House in Mumbai to the Beijing Music Festival in China. The band has completed almost 20 US tours and appeared on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night alongside multiple other performances on television and radio. Stringfever’s version of Ravel’s Bolero, where all four players uniquely play on one cello simultaneously, has had more than a million hits on YouTube.

In 2015 Giles and his brother Ralph were awarded the prestigious title of A.R.A.M. (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music) which is an accolade presented to alumni who have significantly contributed to and impacted the music profession.

“Although Giles had not been well recently, we as a family are still in shock at his passing. The band will be taking a break whilst we make funeral arrangements.”

Giles is survived by his wife, the television presenter, broadcaster and former Blue Peter star Diane Louise Jordan and their daughter and grandchildren.

The family asks for privacy at this time.”