I was so thrilled to be selected by competitive audition for the prestigious Britten Pears Young Artist Programme: Composition and Performance in 2019.

Over the course of 12 days I was challenged on EVERY level with fiendishly demanding contemporary classical music for chamber ensemble. Conducted by Jessica Cottis and Duncan Ward we studied and performed Oliver Knussen’s masterpiece ‘Coursing’, originally written for the London Sinfonietta! Birtwhistle’s ‘Carmen Arcadiae’, Takemitsu’s stunning impressionistic ‘Rain Coming’ and my first performance of a graphic score: Earle Brown String Quartet. So many complex notes, rhythms and extended techniques tackled in a short amount of time!

Each day we also workshopped pieces being written and edited along the way by the six brilliant young composers on the course. 

I learnt a lot and laughed till my belly hurt every day working with this incredibly talented and lovely group of musicians. I felt very lucky to be coached and mentored by exceptional cellist, composer and educator, Zoe Martlew!