I grew up in a house full of music. With two older sisters who, between them, played the clarinet, saxophone, violin, bass trombone, the idea that I wouldn’t grow up playing an instrument was pretty much out of the question! We all took part in several different ensembles at the Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust, where I first was able to play in an orchestra.
I grew up in a house full of music. With two older sisters who, between them, played the clarinet, saxophone, violin, bass trombone, the idea that I wouldn’t grow up playing an instrument was pretty much out of the question! We all took part in several different ensembles at the Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust, where I first was able to play in an orchestra.
Later in my teens I started studying at the Junior Guildhall and became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. These two experiences really put me on the path to pursuing a career as a flautist, and in 2015 I began studying for a music degree at New College, Oxford. I’m not sure I’ll ever be as immersed in music as I was during that time: in the day I would be studying, attending lectures and tutorials, and writing the dreaded twice weekly essays, and in the evening I’d either be at a rehearsal or a concert. The breadth of repertoire I was able to cover was quite something. In one term you could play three or four operas by Britten, Stravinsky, Birtwistle, a Mahler Symphony, two or three recitals, a concerto… the list goes on! I was given a scholarship by my college to study with Michael Cox and Karen Jones. By the time I reached my final year, it was clear to me that a career in flute playing was the direction I was headed in.
I was given a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in 2018, and spent two years refining my skills in flute playing. I performed in all the Academy’s flagship ensembles – a particular highlight being a performance of Beethoven’s 8th Symphony with Lorenza Borrani and members of Spira Mirabalis, unconducted. Unfortunately, halfway through my second and final year at the Academy, Covid-19 struck. So possibly one of my most memorable experiences of music college was performing my final recital to a panel of three socially distanced, PPE clad examiners at the back of an empty auditorium...
When I arrived at the Academy, I formed my wind quintet, Ensemble Renard. We’ve now been playing together for almost four years and are currently coming to the end of what’s been an exciting year working as Chamber Music Fellows at the Academy, where we’ve been putting on recitals, coaching students, and commissioning new works. In 2022/3 we’ve got concerts lined up throughout the UK and in northern France, a recital series around Scotland as Tunnell Trust awardees, and we will also be Britten Pears Young Artists for the year.
A memorable moment I’ve had recently was performing Jolivet’s Flute Concerto at Middle Temple Hall. It was one of the first solo performances I gave after Covid restrictions were lifted, and the atmosphere was really special. The audience was filled with people who weren’t experienced classical concert goers, and there was a real sense of excitement that we were all able to experience live music together again. The sense of connection from concerts like these is one of the things I love most about being a musician.
EDUCATION
University of Oxford
Oxford, UK
Royal Academy of Music
London, UK
OTHER PROJECTS
Ensemble Renard
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
What do you do with your time when you’re not playing music?
I spend a large portion of my spare time cultivating a tiny garden on my roof terrace. My proudest achievement is probably the rose I bought in January from Poundland. It started out as a twig no more than 5cm long and now after about 6 months it’s almost half a metre tall and flowering!
Tell us something about yourself that might surprise us.
I’ve got grade 8 bassoon! Don’t ask me to prove it though, it’s been a while…
