CUILLIN SOUND
musicians
LYNDA COFFIN - FLUTE
Lynda Coffin studied the flute with Geoffrey Gilbert at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and continued further studies with the celebrated flautist Marcel Moyse.
She has held principal flute positions with the Ulster orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Lynda’s recordings of major flute solos within the orchestral repertoire, for EMI etc, have been widely acclaimed.
She has also performed and recorded as guest principal with virtually all of the London orchestras, appearing as soloist with many of them. Lynda is currently principal flute of the London Concert Orchestra and the Mozart Festival Orchestra.
Solo and chamber music performances have involved further recording work, radio and television appearances and duo flute recitals with James Galway for the BBC. Recent recording session work has included the solo flute part for the film Emma, the sound track of which was awarded an Oscar.
Formerly a member of the Nash Ensemble, Lynda has continued to perform with various chamber music ensembles. Recent collaborations have been with Raphael Wallfisch and family, the Doric String Quartet and the Rasumovsky String Quartet.
Lynda is currently a professor of flute at Trinity College of Music, London. She has given master classes throughout the United Kingdom and abroad, and is in demand as a teacher both of professional and amateur players. Lynda has many years of experience coaching chamber music at centres such as Dartington International Summer School and for Beauville Arts, at Cubertou, SW France.
SARAH WATTS - CLARINET
Sarah Watts studied clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music with Angela Malsbury and Victoria Soames Samek (bass clarinet). Sarah then decided to specialise in the bass clarinet and studied at the Rotterdam Conservatorium on the postgraduate solo bass clarinet course with Henri Bok, funded by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and in 2002 a Leverhulme Trust Studentship. At the end of her course in Rotterdam Sarah was awarded the Exxon prize for the best classical music student.
Successes include: Winner, UK Howarth Clarinet Competition 2000; Winner, Hawkes Clarinet Prize (RAM) 2001; Winner, Sir Arthur Bliss Chamber Music Prize (RAM) 2000; Winner of wind section and Faber Prize, UK Performing Australian Music competition, 2001 (her clarinet and bass clarinet recital was broadcast on ABC radio); Finalist, Wind section, Royal Overseas League Competition 2000. Sarah has performed clarinet concertos with the Royal Academy of Music Sinfonia, European Union Youth Wind Orchestra and the Nottingham Orchestra of the Restoration.
Sarah also specialises on the bass clarinet with the intention of increasing its popularity as a solo instrument. She has performed solo repertoire across the UK, Ireland, Europe and America and has attracted composers such as Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Marc Yeats, Ian Wilson, Kevin O Connell, Alicia Grant and Sungji Hong to write works for her. In January 2003, Sarah performed a solo bass clarinet recital in London’s Purcell Room as part of the Park Lane Group Young Artist Series.
Sarah teaches bass clarinet at the Royal Northern College of Music and clarinet at Nottingham University. She has also set up a solo bass clarinet course on the Isle of Raasay in Scotland. Sarah has given workshops on bass clarinet technique at many establishments including the Royal Academy of Music, Trinity College of Music, The Royal Welsh College of Music, The Royal Northern College of Music, The Royal Irish Academy of Music, Keele University and Edinburgh University. Sarah has recently started studying for a PHD in contemporary bass clarinet techniques analysis at Keele University.
Sarah is a Gonzalez artist and plays on Gonzalez bass clarinet reeds.
LAURENCE PERKINS - BASSOON
Laurence Perkins was born in Lancashire in 1954, and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with Charles Cracknell. He has been principal bassoonist with Manchester Camerata since 1974, with whom he has performed in concerts throughout the UK (including the BBC Proms) and on overseas tours including France, Germany, Portugal, Norway, the Azores Islands, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia and Japan.
Alongside this on-going enthusiasm for the rich and varied chamber orchestra repertoire, Laurence has also done much work to promote the bassoon as a solo instrument. He has given many solo concert performances throughout the UK and Europe, including recitals at the Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room in London, concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra (at St. John’s, Smith Square) and with Manchester Camerata, and numerous overseas concerts including France, Portugal and Prague.
Laurence’s CD of concertos by Mozart and Weber with Manchester Camerata conducted by Douglas Boyd (released by Hyperion) received a five-star rating in the BBC Music Magazine, with the Mozart Concerto as a top recommendation on BBC Radio 3’s ‘CD Review’ programme. His solo CD of shorter, lighter pieces “The Playful Pachyderm” (with the New London Orchestra conducted by Ronald Corp) was described by David Mellor as “a must” in the Mail on Sunday.
Laurence has been a regular tutor at many summer schools and courses in the UK and overseas, including Aberystwyth, Dartington, Alston Hall in Lancashire, Kammermusik in Oxford, and Cubertou in the south of France. He is also involved on a regular basis with Manchester Camerata’s extensive education programme, and gives schools presentations during solo recital and concerto tours. He also organises and directs ‘Wind Serenades’ - wind chamber music weekend courses for amateur players in the UK throughout the year. His other activities include landscape photography, and musical relaxation sessions with patients at the Penny Brohn Cancer Help Centre in Bristol.
