Lucy Tugwell

Lucy Tugwell, from Alcester, Warwickshire, graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester in 2004 after studying the clarinet with Lynsey Marsh and Barnaby Robson. Whilst at the RNCM, Lucy participated in Masterclasses given by Walter Boeykens, Michael Collins, Anthony Pay, James Campbell and Alan Hacker. During this time she also reached the finals of the Malcolm Arnold Competition, performed HK Gruber's 'Frankenstein' at the Wigmore Hall, London and incorporated an exchange visit to the Florida State University School of Music to study with Dr. Frank Kowalsky, where she toured South Florida as the principal clarinettist of the FSU Philharmonia Orchestra.

Lucy continued her training with Angela Malsbury and Mark van de Wiel at the Royal Academy of Music, London and there performed as principal clarinettist with the RAM Symphony Orchestra, the Manson Ensemble for Contemporary Music and also under Sir Colin Davis in the RAM Concert Orchestra. Lucy achieved her Masters of Music in Performance degree from the Academy in 2005 after gaining a distinction for her academic research into the Bb/A clarinet conundrum and her dissertation entitled, 'Instrumental Spirituality: performing on the 'wrong' instrument'.

Lucy has received awards from the Newport Foundation and the Denne Gilkes Memorial Fund and now enjoys a busy freelance career combining orchestral playing, chamber music, and teaching.

Lucy is currently a member of the European Union Youth Wind Orchestra and last year toured Belgium, France and Luxembourg as solo and first clarinettist with them. She is also principal clarinettist with the Cherwell Orchestra, the Beauchamp Sinfonietta and the Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra. Her concerto appearances include Weber's Clarinet Concerto No.1 (as part of the Midland Youth Orchestra's Guinness Book of Records achievement), the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Beauchamp Sinfonietta and Weber's Clarinet Concerto No.2 with the Cherwell Orchestra.

Other freelance orchestral work has included a live recording of Mozart's Requiem for Hyperion Records with members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and The Sixteen, performing the World Premiere of Guy Woolfenden's Sounds and Sweet Airs - A Shakespeare Journey with the St James's Players in Stratford-Upon-Avon, touring China with the Amadeus Orchestra and accompanying soloists Ann Murray and Nicola Benedetti at the Royal Festival Hall, London. Recent orchestral work includes performing as principal clarinettist with Ensemble Oriflamme and playing with the Oxford Sinfonia, conducted by Nicholas Cleobury.

A keen chamber musician, Lucy is the clarinettist and a founder member of Trio Animé, a clarinet trio consisting of clarinet, violin/viola and piano, who were awarded a Mortimer Award for Chamber Music from the Royal Academy of Music in 2006. She also regularly performs duo recitals, with recent projects including recording the première of Cursive Conversations for clarinet and piano by MG Mills with pianist Keith Ford. Forthcoming engagements include chamber music recitals in Nottingham and at Reading University.

Lucy is also very interested in music education; she is Head of Woodwind at Tudor Hall School for Girls in Banbury, Oxfordshire and teaches clarinet and saxophone and directs the woodwind ensembles at Alcester Grammar School in Warwickshire and at Hill House Preparatory School in Knightsbridge, London.

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