Biography
Music was a constant presence in my childhood. My father is a professional blues and folk guitarist, and I’ve always felt an affinity toward those genres. At the age of three, I reportedly crawled toward Dad’s guitar, to which he bellowed, “Don’t let the boy become a guitarist! If he wants to make a real musical living, he should become a classical violinist!” I soon started learning violin, initially excited because I thought the bow looked like a sword. As I matured, this morphed from an aesthetic to a sonic attraction, particularly for the violin’s lower registers. In high school, I developed this further by switching to the viola (which, of course, has an even bigger sword).
In 2018, I began my undergraduate degree at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington. As the home of the New Zealand String Quartet and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Wellington is a tremendous city to grow artistically. This culminated for me with performing alongside NZSQ at the 2021 Martinborough Music Festival and touring with NZSO and Hilary Hahn in 2022.
In New Zealand, it is difficult to gain professional validity without studying abroad. Coming from a financially strained socio-economic background, overseas study always seemed unlikely. However, in 2022, I auditioned for a teaching assistantship with Professor Timothy Deighton and won a full scholarship to complete a Master of Music at the Penn State School of Music in Pennsylvania. I was tasked with teaching undergraduates, participating in local school outreach projects, leading senior and junior orchestras, and touring with chamber ensembles. The challenges I faced during these years were instrumental in fostering my ambition to audition for the 2024 Artist Diploma programme at the Royal College of Music.
My year at RCM provided many opportunities, including a performance at Wigmore Hall with Ensemble 360. My consistent goal was to audition for Sinfonia Smith Square. I dedicated much time to working through the audition repertoire with my teachers, Bryony Gibson-Cornish, Simon Rowland-Jones, and Rebecca Chambers. I am so thankful for their support and beyond excited to experience this new year with Sinfonia Smith Square!
When not playing viola, I can be found singing in London’s folk clubs or organizing my own classical-folk fusion recitals. Folk music provides personal creative freedom through composition, performance engagement, and lyrical expression (as someone with a stammer, I never stutter when I sing). My immersion in classical and folk music offers me diverse, yet complementary, artistic fulfilment. I am looking forward to further developing my voice within these genres!