When, where and what did you play the first time with the English Concert?
My first time playing with the English Concert was in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The emotion of being able to play music together again was palpable as we recorded Handel’s Rodelinda.
What has been your most memorable English Concert performance and why?
My first time playing on the stage of Carnegie Hall coincided with my first tour sitting as associate concertmaster. I remember feeling wave after wave of emotion while we performed Serse to a captivated audience, and more than anything a sense of awe at the artistic mastery of the singers and musicians surrounding me.
What’s one of your favourite pieces of music and why?
Johann Sebastian Bach’s B Minor Mass has to be one of my favourites. The emotional breadth, the diversity of styles and the perfection of form make it a deeply moving work for me, equally as a performer or listener.
Is there anything about you that would surprise people?
I’m not very good at keeping quiet about the things I love, so for many this will come as no surprise, but I am a very enthusiastic (although inexperienced and often inept) gardener. I find an inexpressible sense of relaxation tending to plants and being part of such vast and complex world.
Biography
After achieving a Bachelor of Music Performance with first-class Honours from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Annie knew that she had to explore broader horizons and auditioned for The Juilliard School.
Two years later she found herself standing in the Lincoln Center with a Masters degree in one hand and a ticket to Europe in the other.
The summer that followed found Annie performing in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus under the baton of Masaaki Suzuki, at William Christie’s Dans les Jardins, Pinchgut Opera’s production of Athalia, and Teatro Nuovo, a festival in New York working to rediscover classic Italian opera in line with current research in performing practice.
Currently residing in Germany and delighting in its rich musical fabric, Annie performs, records and tours regularly with The English Concert, Boston Early Music Festival, Australian Haydn Ensemble and Pinchgut Opera as well as being a founding member of two chamber music ensembles: False Consonance and Geigenconsort Bremen.
