I grew up in a very musical household, surrounded by all sorts of different genres so it was quite hard to avoid going down that path. I began playing the piano and the recorder at a young age, and when I turned 8 I decided that I wanted to be a cellist… which didn’t happen because my mum, a cellist, said we would argue too much. So next on the list was an oboe!
I grew up in a very musical household, surrounded by all sorts of different genres so it was quite hard to avoid going down that path. I began playing the piano and the recorder at a young age, and when I turned 8 I decided that I wanted to be a cellist… which didn’t happen because my mum, a cellist, said we would argue too much. So next on the list was an oboe!
After a few years I joined Junior Royal Academy of Music, where I experienced playing in chamber ensembles and orchestras for the first time, as well as theory lessons and aural classes (which I hated!). My summers were also filled with music, playing in different courses such as NCO, Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestra and NYO. At the age of 15 I moved to the Royal College of Music where I spent the rest of my teenage years until going on to win a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for my undergraduate degree. I am graduating from my one-year masters degree at Guildhall as a scholar. I have loved my time there, but I am now ready for the next stage and can’t wait to see how my career unfolds.
One of the highlights of my time at Guildhall is playing in a BBC total immersion concert celebrating the composer Frank Zappa with the ‘Ubu Ensemble’. I have never had so much fun, and it sparked my interest in using the oboe in ways other than to play in a traditional orchestra. I have been taking improvisation classes which are so fun and useful where I learn valuable skills that I can take into my other areas of work such as leading workshops and outreach projects.
I find exploring new music and playing with different sized ensembles the most exciting aspect of being a musician. One of my most memorable concerts is playing Benjamin Britten’s
Phantasy for oboe quartet alongside members of the Britten Sinfonia. The combination of oboe and strings in chamber music is something which I will always love. Another highlight is playing Bach's
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 as the oboe soloist alongside amazing musicians as part of the St Endellion festival. I hope to explore my love of chamber music over the next few years, as well as develop my understanding of different genres of music.
Something I’m realising more and more as I make my way into the profession is that music, at it’s core, is to make people feel something. It affects people in different ways and sometimes in ways which you wouldn’t be able to predict. It is such a powerful thing and I feel so lucky to be surrounded by it all the time, and I think its an important duty as musicians to share it with other people.
In my spare time, there is nothing I prefer doing than spending time with my friends and loved ones. I’m not very good at fully relaxing and having days in but when I do I love to cook and do nail art, something I started doing over lockdown.
EDUCATION
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
London, UK
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
Where’s your favourite place to listen to music and why?
Anytime I am on the move, especially on my commutes. I usually listen to the same song over and over until I get sick of it and move on to the next one. It really is a way to escape from anything stressful going on and living in a busy city! A day without my headphones is usually a bad day.
How would you persuade someone who has never heard ‘classical music’ before to come with you to a concert?
There are no rules when it comes to music, sometimes it speaks to you and impacts you in a way you wouldn’t have expected and sometimes it doesn’t! The world of classical music is so huge and it can be difficult to know where to start, but the beauty of it is that there are so many ways in which it will effect each individual person. You might go to a concert and love one of the pieces and not be sure about another, and you might love it all or none of it at all, but the experience of going to watch an orchestra perform is like nothing else and so that experience alone is worth experiencing.
