Biography

My musical career began on a cereal box attached to a ruler with masking tape, when I was just shy of four years old. After some years of being taught Dr Suzuki’s approach to learning the violin, at nine. I was ready to join my first ensemble – the Taunton Children’s Orchestra. After a slight set-back when I discovered that I was the only member of the second violin desk not able to read music, I quickly progressed and gained a place in the National Children’s Orchestra later on. There, my love of the orchestra really developed and I auditioned for Wells Cathedral School where I was accepted as a specialist musician on what was my second instrument, but now my main passion – the oboe.

I was fortunate to experience a range of opportunities at Wells, including tours with my wind quintet to Hong Kong and the Netherlands. This was an important landmark for me, and my enthusiasm for chamber music continued onto my time at the Royal College of Music where I studied for both my Bachelor of Music and Masters of Performance. During my time there, I performed regularly with my chamber group, The Albert Quintet. We also took part in several outreach projects performing all over London, including at the Royal Opera House. During my Masters, I won the cor anglais solo in Copland’s Quiet City performing with the RCM Philharmonic Orchestra, this then motivated me to audition for an exchange to Cologne, Germany.

In Cologne, I joined the oboe class at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, where I spent a term studying under Christian Wetzel. The weekly oboe performance classes were a bit of a shock at the beginning but I now miss the intensity and how inspired I was afterwards. Like any student abroad, I made the most of the opportunity in Cologne to make myself acquainted with local customs – I am now adept at ordering kölsch and döners in German. (Prost!)

When not playing or practising, you’ll usually find me stuck in a book trying to beat my reading goals on Goodreads, seeing friends, or attending concerts. As a musician I believe it’s vital to experience and be open to a variety of genres of music, so I try to listen to and watch as many artists as I can. There’s so much that can be taken away from concerts and I feel just as inspired watching performances at Glastonbury as watching the LSO in the Barbican!