We caught up with Ellen, one of the finalists for the ERSO Soloist of the Year competition who impressed us with her performance of the 4th movement of the Elgar Cello Concerto.
What is your main occupation at the moment?
I’m a full time scholar at the Royal Academy of Music.
What made you choose to play your instrument and how old were you when you started?
I’m the fifth generation of string players in my family and I was 5 when I started to learn the cello, taught by my uncle Oliver Gledhill. For as long as I can remember I used to listen to him practice and watch him play so it seemed very natural to want to have a go myself!
What made you choose the concerto that you will be playing?
The Elgar cello concerto is one of the best loved concertos in the cello repertoire and shows a full range of techniques and emotions.
What do you feel you would gain from the experience of winning this competition and playing your concerto with ERSO and Chris Stark?
It would be a wonderful opportunity to play with such a long established and experienced orchestra conducted by Chris Stark, a cellist himself and to follow in the footsteps of Jacqueline du Pré who I understand played this concerto with the orchestra back in 1959.
ERSO 