About.
Sally Hawkins is an accomplished and in-demand oboe, cor anglais and violin player based in Manchester. Classically trained, and grounded in folk, she is a versatile musician with experience across a range of genres.
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Originally from Sussex, Sally’s musical journey began at the age of five when she begged her Mum to teach her the recorder; by the age of eight, she was gigging around Sussex with her family’s ceilidh band the Motley Band. She studied recorder, violin and oboe classically through the East Sussex Music Service, and at the age of eighteen moved to London to study at Trinity College of Music with Tess Miller and Andrew Knights (oboe, cor anglais), and Andrew Sherwood (violin).
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In November 2022, Sally embarked on an 18-date UK tour with 8 x BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winners, Bellowhead, following the sudden and shocking loss of founder member Paul Sartin in September 2022. With the band, Sally has since recorded the theme tune for the prime time BBC One TV series Beyond Paradise at Rockfield Studios. She performs with Jon Boden's band, The Remnant Kings and has toured with them across the UK, and at Tradfest in Dublin in 2019.
She was an original member of the London Breakbeat Orchestra, recording Live at Maida Vale sessions for BBC Radio 1 and collaborating with Swedish House Mafia at KOKO in London. As a session musician, she has recorded at Abbey Road and Air Studios in London, and has performed
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in various bands, including support slots for Echo and the Bunnymen, Focus and David Ryder-Prangley (Adam Ant, Rachel Stamp), and for artists such as David Schweitzer, Shona Foster, Conspirators and Canter Semper. She also appeared on violin in the stage visuals for Muse's Absolution Tour!
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Sally performed as oboe soloist at the Royal Albert Hall, London for the world premiere of John Tavener's "Ekstasis", and has played at countless other prestigious venues across the UK, Europe and USA as an orchestral and chamber musician. She has performed at awards ceremonies and functions at beautiful venues such as the Dorchester Hotel, Natural History Museum and the Painted Hall, London.
She has also performed in the pit for musical theatre shows, operas and ballets, and plays regularly with orchestras and chamber groups in the North West.
In addition to her passion for musical performance, Sally delivers Early Years music and multi-sensory classes. She has also undertaken marketing roles, including Marketing and Communications Manager for Chetham’s School of Music, as well as for Leeds Lieder Festival, Southbank Centre and Blackheath Halls, London, and in Artist Management.
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Sally is currently working on a collaborative project "Reed:Breath:Air", developing a new sound for the folk oboe.