About Hannah
The Short Story
Hannah, a harpist and composer, plays ‘hard and fearlessly’ across multiple genres, with a passion for new music and innovative programming. Recently, she worked with the Riot Ensemble performing Henze’s Chamber Concerto with Ryan Wigglesworth, Hind’s latest opera ‘Sky in a Small Cage’ at Barbican and Berio’s Chamber Music. She is a recipient of their ‘Arts Mentor Foundation Lucerne’ scheme. She is one half of Flarra Duo, a genre blurring flute and harp duo, and is a founding member of [FLUX], an eclectic contemporary collective.
As a student at the Royal Academy of Music, Hannah has performed with the Multistory Orchestra introducing ‘The Planets’ to children in an interactive concert and with the Academy Improvisers Ensemble performing free improvisations at IKLECTIK. She has performed at festivals including London’s EMPOWER event celebrating women composers (premiering her composition ‘A Single Thread’,) the Royal Academy of Music’s Students Create Festival and the Seen and Heard Festival, exploring the impacts and barriers that come with being disabled.
As a disabled musician, Hannah believes it is vital to discuss and express experiences of being disabled and sees music's communicative power to facilitate these conversations. Aiding her with this is the Paraorchestra, a disability-championing orchestra with whom she performs regularly, including at the BBC Proms and the Southbank Centre. Hannah actively explores communication in her performances frequently researching new ways to present music to audiences.
The Ensembles
and Education
Hannah is studying at the Royal Academy of Music, with Catrin Finch where she receives a scholarship. She has also studied with Sue Blair and Catherine White and received guidance from leading musicians including Skaila Kanga, Anneleen Lenaerts, and trombonist Peter Moore. She is a harpist with the Paraorchestra and has performed with the Riot Ensemble as a recipient of the Arts Mentor Foundation Lucerne scholarship scheme through the Royal Academy of Music.
She has performed a wide range of solo, chamber, orchestral and choral music, and is also a composer, having written a variety of prize-winning works, and was a member of the Solace Duo with Trombonist Jess Bull Anderson. Hannah is also a violist, mostly performing orchestral and contemporary chamber music.
The Participation and Community
Hannah has spent time working in an additional needs school, seeing first-hand the difference music can make to people’s lives and education, and feeling their connection to music. She also performed with a group of primary school-aged musicians at the Royal Festival Hall playing the Nutcracker with as part of Bromley Youth Music Festival. Hannah intends to continue her work with children and those with special needs, researching and reading about the strengths and benefits of music, and developing skills to communicate in new ways. Aiding her with this, she performs with Open Academy, the Royal Acadmey's participation and community She undertook training for Creative Composition school workshops with Music Masters UK, presented a workshop on The Planets with the Multistory Orchestra, and performed in local schools to introduce the harp and the viola to children.
Hannah has a particular interest in the psychology of music, specifically the relationship between music and dementia/autism/mental health, as well as ways music can act as a form of communication. She also enjoys researching the historical contexts of music, focusing on the impact of societal events and traditions on contemporary composition. She has performed in the Royal Academy of Music's Seen and Heard Festival, and the Students Create Festival, both times devising and directing programmes that comment on the role of music in the lives of those with disabilities, and using the music to characterise the many complex states of mind such people can experience.
The Compositions
As a composer, Hannah creates striking sound worlds, explores exciting and innovate ways to present scores, and strives to create music that is both engaging to peform and impactful to experience. Hannah's works have won awards (Haberdashers Aske's Composition Compeition 2020, Maidstone Music Festival) and have been premiered at numerous locations and events including St Martin-in-the-Fields, Wigmore Hall, Ely Arts Festival, Toulouse Lautrec and the Royal Academy of Music.
Hannah's catalogue spans works for chamber ensemble, choir and solo instrument/voice. For commission requests, use the contact form below.
For a full list of works, click here. To purchase parts and scores, click here.