Letty began playing the French horn aged ten, winning music scholarships at school and then to Worcester College, Oxford, where she was the recipient of the Joan Conway Performance prize. Letty also studied briefly at Cambridge University in the Music and Science department, before winning awards from the Leverhulme Trust and Wates Foundation to return to performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she graduated from the MPerf course in 2011. Studying with Hugh Seenan, Jonathan Lipton, Richard Bissill and John Kenny, Letty was awarded a Junior Fellowship after her graduation.
Letty’s orchestral career began in the National Children’s and National Youth Orchestras of Great Britain, from which she went on to perform with university orchestras, including side-by-side schemes with the Philharmonia, LSO and BBC Symphony orchestras. She is currently a busy freelance performer in London and has played in major venues including Buckingham Palace, the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall, with various performances for BBC Radio 3.
As well as orchestral playing, Letty has a keen interest in contemporary music, performing regularly with groups such as Apartment House, CHROMA and the London Contemporary Orchestra. In 2012 she was chosen to perform James Macmillan’s Horn Quintet in the Barbican Hall for the composer, and has participated in the International Ensemble Modern Academy.
Finally, Letty is a passionate teacher and educator, and has worked with children on music projects all over the world. Closer to home, she has worked with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, LPO, Britten Sinfonia and Aldeburgh Music.
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
London, UK
University of Oxford
Oxford, UK
University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK
What is your earliest musical memory?
As a small violinist (I soon saw the error of my ways!) I remember playing a solo on stage and forgetting the notes, to the point at which I had to stop and start again – my poor parents were having a heart attack but I calmly began again and played it better than ever, to rapturous applause at the end!
If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
If I had to choose another career, I would absolutely love to be a detective – as a huge fan of Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Morse and Lewis I think it would be thrilling to piece together a case and gradually unravel the mystery behind it – the more gruesome the better!