I began cello lessons at the age of 3, at the local Suzuki school in Northampton, Massachusetts, where my parents taught flute and piano. Not to be trusted with an actual breakable instrument, my first cello was a cereal box with a ruler for a fingerboard and a chopstick for a spike. After a few months of learning the correct positioning and singing lots of songs, I graduated to a 1/10 size cello (which isn’t much bigger than a viola).
I began cello lessons at the age of 3, at the local Suzuki school in Northampton, Massachusetts, where my parents taught flute and piano. Not to be trusted with an actual breakable instrument, my first cello was a cereal box with a ruler for a fingerboard and a chopstick for a spike. After a few months of learning the correct positioning and singing lots of songs, I graduated to a 1/10 size cello (which isn’t much bigger than a viola).
The sense of community at the music school instilled in me a love of playing music with others from a very young age. I went on to attend the preparatory department at New England Conservatory in Boston where I fell in love with orchestral and chamber playing. I was also a teen member of From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders, where I first worked as a community musician, performing in non-traditional venues around the city and volunteering in educational settings. These young experiences inspired me to pursue a career as both a performer and a music educator and to jump across the pond for my studies!
Now a graduate of the Royal College of Music (BMus) and Royal Academy of Music (MA), I have extensive experience as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral cellist. I have a particular interest in playing music by underrepresented composers and am a founding member of the Eumelia Piano Trio which promotes works by female composers from the 20th and 21st centuries. I play regularly with Sinfonia Cymru and the London Firebird Orchestra and have recently participated in the London Sinfonietta Academy, the Irish Chamber Orchestra Academy, and the Mike Block Folk Music Intensive.
Alongside my studies, I have worked in a wide variety of music education contexts including individual teaching, small group lessons, whole-class teaching, ensemble direction, and community workshop leading with the Tri Borough Music Hub and RCM Sparks. Since 2017, I have also held a leadership role with the Gifford Youth Orchestra in Florida where I helped to organise two Summer Music Camps, arranged and directed several virtual orchestra performances, and taught many students online during the coronavirus pandemic. Founded by Dr Crystal Bujol, GYO is an El Sistema inspired program which aims to support economically disadvantaged students/families and create positive social change through music education with the motto “More music, more melodies, better tomorrows”.
EDUCATION
Royal Academy of Music
London, UK
Royal College of Music
London, UK
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
How would you persuade someone who has never heard ‘classical music’ before to come with you to a concert?
Going to a concert can be a really fun night out. Just asking someone to come along can help to break the barrier of them feeling like they don’t know enough or wouldn’t be comfortable. I have been on the other end of this when a friend invited me to a rock show - I wouldn’t have felt confident to go on my own but had such a fun experience in the end!
What’s your most memorable moment as a musician?
In 2019, I was the leader of a series of workshops across 6 schools introducing 8-10 year olds to Ravel’s ‘Mother Goose Suite’, and teaching them a participatory song which they later sang in concert with the Royal College of Music’s Symphony Orchestra. It was so much fun to see how engaged they were throughout the concert - and the cellos got the biggest cheer at the end because they all knew me! I am very excited by the possibilities of blending participatory community workshops with traditional concert-going experiences and hope to further explore this during my time with Southbank Sinfonia!
