Biography

I actually started playing the bassoon at 15, quite a late age for a classical musician. Being from the North East of England, there wasn’t a massive orchestral scene, and the closest professional orchestra to me was, and still is, the Royal Northern Sinfonia at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music (formerly Sage Gateshead). I would go with my mum every Friday to a concert and became fascinated with the inner workings of an orchestra, finding myself asking the right people to go and observe rehearsals. Their music director at the time was Lars Vogt, an incredible musician and pianist whose performances of the Beethoven piano concertos were absolutely spellbinding, and I would say they were what convinced me I had to pursue this professionally and as a career.

After taking a gap year, I started studying at the Royal Northern College of Music, tutored by Graham Salvage. Covid impacted a lot of my time there, but I used my free diary to do an enormous amount of practice (and reed-making!), striving to find the sound I wanted to make and my identity as a musician. In my third year, I went on the Swiss mobility exchange programme, studying in Luzern with Prof. Michael von Schönermark. My time in Switzerland enabled me to become the musician I am today. I freelanced with numerous orchestras such as the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and played on a run of Lohengrin with Zürich Opera conducted by Gianandrea Noseda.

Returning to the UK and finishing in Manchester meant a busy year of freelancing in the North West and Belfast, playing with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, and Ulster Orchestras, all while finishing my degree! Although it was a very busy and difficult period, I realise now it was vital that I worked so hard up there and built these relationships with ensembles in the region, as I have been back many times since moving to London as a guest player and made many treasured memories.

In 2023 I moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music. I had countless inspirational lessons with every tutor at that college, and I think I’ll be processing everything I learned there for the next decade! In the past year, I have been fortunate enough to earn three teaching positions at schools in North London. Highgate School, Channing School, and the Latymer School are places I love to teach and work with dedicated students. They keep me very sharp and often ask me questions I need to think long and hard to get the answers for! Teaching is something I love and will always do, probably long after I’m actually playing the bassoon.

When I’m not practising, rehearsing, or making reeds, you’ll often find me drinking a good single malt whisky or enjoying exploring many restaurants across London!