intersecting traditions and sound worlds…
I play clarinet and bass clarinet, write music and make things that happen between the worlds of music, theatre and dance. With a background rooted in contemporary classical performance practice and an interest in folk and ancient resonances, the work I make moves between the seams that tie these elements together.
What I do…
I’m involved in a wide variety of performance projects, chamber, orchestral and as a solo clarinet player. A lot of my work combines audio visual elements, live processing, spoken word, dance and theatre.
Sometimes these projects are large scale tours and sometimes they’re much smaller, intimate events - one-off happenings invented by friends or collaborations coming into being on the hoof.
I have been supported by the Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants, PRS Open Fund, Transmission Fund (Help Musicians UK), Sound and Music (Seed Award), IVORS, Brighter Sound, Worshipful Company of Musicians and Countess of Munster.
I also teach and run various chamber music and creative courses, because I feel that one of the best ways to make new discoveries is to have to try and bring about the same curiosity in others.
Writing music…
Through my work as a clarinettist, I’ve had the extraordinary pleasure to perform and collaborate on hundreds of new works, and to learn from a variety of inspiring mentors. I’ve also been an artist in residence at Snape Maltings Open Space, Sage Gateshead Summer Studios and Brewery Arts in Kendal.
I used this residency time to develop the ensemble Propellor alongside some of my favourite musicians. The Snape residency led to writing our first hour long touring work Loom along with five miniatures for different combinations within the group, and in turn, gave me the confidence to start a series of new writing projects. At Brewery Arts, I worked on Propellor’s second project Flight, which explores the connections between music, birds and soundscape ecology.
Photographs by Marcin Sz (Propellor live), Elly Lucas (Propellor), Craig Roberts (Rec), Petr Klapper (Mladi Ladi), Mark Battista (Flight // In Conversation) and Ian West (Portrait) at Sage Gateshead