The Academy of St Martin in the Fields orchestra bears the name of a well-known church in London, where it has its roots and gave its first concert; today, however, it is an ensemble operating internationally with no permanent base. The Academy of St Martin was founded in 1958 by its artistic director of many years, conductor Neville Marriner, who thus significantly contributed to the revival of interest in early music in England. Succeeding the pianist Murray Perahia, the famous American violinist Joshua Bell has served as the ensemble's third artistic director for the last several years. This chamber orchestra of variable size bases its profile mainly on musicality – on brilliant, well-informed interpretation of music from the Classical era, of works that are among the most popular worldwide. However, it does not eschew premieres of contemporary compositions. It has long been one of the most recorded orchestras. It performs in London and elsewhere in Britain as well as in cultural capitals around the world, but also plays frequently for school children and the handicapped.   

In the early 1980s the German clarinetist Sabine Meyer became one of the first women to join the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; the chief conductor Herbert von Karajan had to wage a battle with the other players over her privileged position, even though she was clearly a superb musician. However, she soon began to pursue a career as a soloist, and it was mainly thanks to her that the clarinet definitively became a respected solo concert instrument. As a sought-after soloist renowned for her exceptionally beautiful tone and wide-ranging artistic scope, she collaborates with the foremost orchestras of the world, but also plays with her brother and her husband, who are also clarinetists, in the Trio di Clarone. She teaches at the Hochschule für Musik in Lübeck.