blog
winter 2020
Thanks to Hidden Notes + Sound Records in Stroud for hosting my very first solo gig with live electronics! Plenty to learn but a great experience and start to my solo project. So inspired by all that Hidden Notes are doing to support the arts in Stroud - check out all the amazing things they're up to! |
Took part in setting a Guiness World Record for the most viewed live streamed piano lesson with Jamie Cullum playing In The Bleak Midwinter. So much fun. You can watch it here. 2020 wasn't such a write-off after all......... |
autumn 2020
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This is the trailer for our MishMash Productions show, Strange Creatures which we managed to recreate, rehearse and even tour (!) during the lockdown in November. |
November home recordings:
Largo and Allegro Assai from Bach's sonata in C major for solo violin
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lockdown - spring 2020
Like many musicians in lockdown I embarked upon the steep learning curve of home recording and live-streaming, as well as starting musicianship teacher trainings and following other paths of curiosity, both music and non-music related. In short, I've been trying to make the most of the opportunity of being rooted in one place and cuckooing myself :)
Here are a few fruits from that time...
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I wish I knew who wrote this tune! It's a beautiful contemporary Swedish Polska I fell in love with instantly and had fun recording all the different parts into Spire on my phone. (Excuse the slightly compressed sound and DIY vibe...)
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This is Bach's 'Es Ist Vollbracht' from the St Matthew Passion, again recorded into Spire on my phone - again please excuse the compressed sound and some intonation issues! Mixed by Zac Gvirtzman.
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Lockdown split-screen edition of Stardust (Fran & Flora)
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Telemann Fantasia No.7 in Eb major - made for Jackdaws Music Trust
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An exploration of foley with the story, Where the Wild Things Are. (Narrator/Actor - Tom Curzon (aka Tom Penn), Music + Foley - myself and Dietrich Strause
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February 2020
Great fun to be interviewed on BBC Radio 3, This Classical Life with Jess Gillam!
2019 was a big year...
My experimental folk duo, Fran & Flora (described as ‘a string duo bound for glory’ by Max Reinhardt of BBC Radio 3) released our debut album Unfurl in February to widespread critical acclaim. Last year we were interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, BBC6 Music with Cerys Matthews, BBC Radio 3 In Tune which were exciting and terrifying in equal measure!
Enormous thanks to all our supporters - all those who pre-bought the CD via our crowdfunder campaign, Help Musicians UK for supporting our studies in Weimar and Canada, the Arts Council England who supported our release tour, a private donor who supported the launch event, and the PRS Foundation for supporting our ongoing creative work
In May 2019 it was a great privilege for me to give my debut recital at the Wigmore Hall on baroque violin with harpsichordist Benedict Williams, performing music by Böddecker, Pandolfi, Bach and Corelli.
December 2019 saw the release of my debut classical album, Meditations and Laments, on the FIRE label, with violin/violin and viola duo Gaia Duo, (Piotr Jordan and myself) featuring an eclectic range of music including a stunning contemporary piece by friend and composer, Zac Gvirtzman. Recorded + produced by Zac Gvirtzman at Heath Street Baptist Church, Hampstead 2016, released 2019. Mixed + mastered by Alex Bonney. Now available on Spotify and Bandcamp. |
Thanks also to Ryedale Festival for inviting me to be their Artist in Residence. A wonderful opportunity to lead performances of Dido and Aeneas, and perform a solo recital with harpsichordist, Pawel Siwczak!