Katherine Spencer
Clarinettist Katherine Spencer made her concerto debut at the age of fourteen at the Royal Festival Hall and has since performed there as concerto soloist many times. She has also appeared as soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Orchestra at the Barbican Centre and at the Birmingham Symphony Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, made many live Radio 3 solo broadcasts, and performs regularly on Classic FM and European radio stations.
She has recorded the Brahms Sonata and Beethoven Trio for the Oxford Classic label with Sam Haywood and Martin Storey and many of her discs with the Galliard Ensemble, of which she is a long standing member are highly acclaimed in the world press, Gramophone and BBC Music Magazines.
Katherine has performed Mozart with the remaining members of the Amadeus Quartet in the presence of HRH the Emperor of Japan and alongside her many Royal engagements, has performed in the first live concert broadcast from Buckingham Palace.
As a chamber musician Katherine was chosen by the BBC to be on their Young Generation Artists Scheme which has facilitated her continuing to perform internationally with her ensembles regularly in Festivals such as the BBC Proms and the Barbican’s “Mostly Mozart Festival”.
Katherine is a member of the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra, principal clarinet of the City of London Sinfonia as well as regular guest principal with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Gabrieli Consort and Players. Her freelance work sees her regularly playing with many of Britain’s leading orchestras of both period performance and modern symphony orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Northern Symphonia.
Katherine is passionate about bringing music to all areas of society. She is always devising and delivering hugely valuable projects from composing and recording an entire film score written in collaboration by a mainstream and special needs school, to linking art and music to homeless people, which were exhibited in London’s main art galleries.