I first heard the clarinet at primary school during a demonstration. I fell in love with the instrument instantly and knew I had to play it.
I went on to play with the county orchestras in Cambridgeshire and have always enjoyed orchestral and chamber music. I loved playing the clarinet but didn’t realise it could be my career until one day my dad told me that I could play the clarinet as my job, so I decided that’s what I would do!
I first heard the clarinet at primary school during a demonstration. I fell in love with the instrument instantly and knew I had to play it.
I went on to play with the county orchestras in Cambridgeshire and have always enjoyed orchestral and chamber music. I loved playing the clarinet but didn’t realise it could be my career until one day my dad told me that I could play the clarinet as my job, so I decided that’s what I would do!
When I was 11, I went to Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and was totally immersed in music from then on. I was a part of the symphony and chamber orchestras at the school and performed regularly in lunchtime concerts. I was also a member of the National Youth Orchestra. My most memorable experience with the orchestra was performing
The Rite of Spring at the BBC proms, conducted by Thomas
Adès. This was my first performance at the Royal Albert Hall and it left a huge impression on me.
I attended Guildhall School of Music for my degree, studying with the incredible clarinettist Andrew Marriner. I learnt so much from Andrew and always found my lessons hugely inspiring, he motivated me to be the musician I am today. I also attended GSMD for my postgraduate, studying Orchestral Artistry in association with the London Symphony Orchestra. I learnt a lot from my studies at Guildhall and found it particularly rewarding rehearsing side by side with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Since leaving Guildhall I have worked with the Hungarian Radio Orchestra in Budapest, performing
Gotterdammerung and
Die Walküre from Wagner’s
Ring Cycle. I’ve also performed with the Britten Sinfonia and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Working with these professional orchestras is definitely a dream come true.
EDUCATION
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
London, UK
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
What do you do with your time when you’re not playing music?
When I’m not playing music I love to be in the countryside. I love to walk and see new, beautiful places. I’m from East Sussex and I find the landscapes there particularly spectacular!
What’s your most memorable moment as a musician?
My most memorable moment as a musician is definitely performing Wagner’s opera,
Gotterdammerung
in Budapest. This opera contains some of the most beautiful music I’ve had the pleasure to play. To be part of this orchestra, producing such an immense sound left a huge impression on me. As the performance is roughly 6 hours in total, I had never performed anything of this scale. It felt so rewarding and such a huge feat to perform this piece of music. A particularly special part of this opera is the double clarinet solo in the first act, just the two clarinets playing together. I hope every musician gets the opportunity to play this opera, and the other 3 operas in the ring cycle, as it’s just such an incredible experience.
