Sarah Williamson

Sarah Williamson came to the attention of the British musical public with her performances in the finals of the BBC Young Musician competition in May 2002. She won the woodwind prize and then, in the concerto final at the Barbican Centre, gave a highly individual and memorable performance of the Copland Clarinet Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Later the same week she performed live on BBC Radio 3's In Tune with Sean Rafferty, who said, "There's a star in the making, no doubt. She dazzled and melted the audience with her absolutely superb performance of the Copland Clarinet Concerto".

She then went on to represent Britain in the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians in the Berlin Konzerthaus the following month. Competing against nineteen other "Young Musicians" from around Europe in the recital round, Sarah won through to the concerto final, again playing the Copland Concerto, this time with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowsky. Against very strong competition, she was awarded second prize, a major achievement for a wind player.

Sarah started to learn the clarinet with Roy Upton-Holder when she was 8 and in 1997 won a scholarship to the Purcell School of Music to study with David Fuest. At this time Sarah also attended the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music. She won the concerto competitions at both the Purcell School and the Royal Academy playing the Copland and Mozart concertos respectively. In 2001, Sarah won the Shell LSO Gerald McDonald Award and was awarded the Arthur Frederick Bulgin Medal by The Worshipful Company of Musicians. Sarah was a member of the National Youth Orchestra for five years and principal clarinettist for two years.

She graduated in 2005 with the Paris Conservatoire's highest honour, the Laureate. She was the only UK student, studying with Pascal Moraguès, principal clarinet player with the Orchestre de Paris. Sarah was also a member of the Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris.

Sarah plays whenever she can. While at the Purcell school she toured the East Coast of the USA and toured France, Germany, Austria and Belgium with the NYO. More recently she has toured the Middle East, Tunisia and the Channel Islands. She now spends about half her time in Europe playing regularly in France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. The other half is spent playing at many festivals and venues across the UK including the Cheltenham and Harrogate International festivals, St Georges (Bristol) and the Wigmore Hall. She made her South Bank debut in May 2004.

Sarah enjoys playing contemporary music as well as the standard recital, chamber and concerto repertoire. She has championed the music of Edward Longstaff who has written a Prelude, Nocturne and Clarinet Concerto (premiered in April 2003) for her and she has recently taken part in the first performance of a new experimental opera inspired by genetic science called "Hidden States" by Jonathan Owen Clark. Last April she worked with Phillip Grange on his clarinet concerto with the National Youth Wind Ensemble.

Last summer she toured Spain with the Cuarteto Casals, giving recitals in Germany, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Scotland and playing at the Kings Lynn festival.

"I play on Peter Eaton Internationals and would never change them for the world; I'd even take them to a desert island with me. Everyone wherever I go adores my Peter Eaton clarinets."

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