A NERVOUS Oxford university graduate was the star at an advanced viewing of the Ashmolean’s new exhibition, Stradivarius, yesterday.

Cecilia Stinton, 22, from Oxford, had the privilege of playing a Stradivarius known as the Beechback at a preview before the exhibition’s official opening today.

The exhibition, which will see security at the venue significantly increased, is the first of its kind in the UK. It features 21 of around 700 surviving Antonio Stradivari instruments – some of which are worth millions. One of the 18th century Italian instrument maker’s violins, Lady Blunt, last sold at auction in 2011 for £9.8m Miss Stinton said: “I was absolutely thrilled to be playing the violin but I was also really nervous. There’s a huge legacy behind these violins – they are considered to be the crème de la crème – so I obviously didn’t want to drop it.”

The 22-year-old graduated with a music degree from Oriel college last summer and is now the museum’s public engagement assistant. She said: “I helped put the audio guides together for the exhibition which will allow visitors to hear the violins being played as they walk around.

“It’s not really the aesthetics of the violin that are important – it’s the amazing clarity of sound that they produce, so it’s important for people to hear them.” Stradivarius runs until August 11.