Biography

I was introduced to music by my mother. We had a piano in the house, and when I was four, she began teaching me, or at least attempting to, as according to her, listening was not exactly my forte… I was also having recorder lessons at school. When I was eight, I moved schools, and to advance from the recorder, my mum really wanted me to learn the trumpet. After a 10-minute taster, the teacher said my mouth position was far more suited to the clarinet, and so the decision was made! Shortly after this, I picked up the saxophone so I could join the older kids in the school jazz band.

Thanks to my progress on the piano, when I moved to secondary school, I became the school’s first organ scholar. The music department was incredibly active, and alongside my existing instruments, I even got to pick up instruments like the bassoon and flute to fill in gaps in concerts and play tripling parts in the school musicals.

When I was twelve, I attended my first Kent Music Summer School. After a few years working my way up through different wind bands, I got invited to join the Kent County Youth Orchestra. This was the first time I had been exposed to orchestral music on a proper scale, and as a 14-year-old, I was completely inspired. I joined the Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra, which allowed me to keep up my saxophone and gave me a real love for jazz music. Coming up through the Kent Music system and belonging to their various ensembles developed my love for performance, and I knew I wanted to be a musician.

Once I decided to focus on the clarinet, I secured a place to study my undergraduate degree at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The highlight of my four years was performing the Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto as my final project! In 2023, I moved to London for my postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music. At both Conservatoires, I was exposed to a wealth of life-changing musical experiences and was really encouraged to push myself into becoming the musician I am today.

Outside of music, I have an extremely competitive Catan championship going on with my brother and dad, I like to read and stay active, and I know far too much information about hydrangeas!