Clara Hope Simpson

Clara Hope Simpson is a creative and versatile cellist who has performed as a soloist in venues including Wigmore Hall, Stoller Hall, and Kodak Hall. She has won solo awards including the John Barbirolli Memorial Prize for Cello and the Musicales Prize at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) as well as the cello concerto competition at the Eastman School of Music. She has performed across North America and Europe in solo and chamber contexts and worked with composers including Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Anna Clyne on their repertoire for solo cello. In 2022, Clara was awarded the Exceptional Global Talent Visa from Arts Council England. She has performed as a concerto soloist with orchestras including the Manchester Beethoven Orchestra, the Oldham Symphony Orchestra, RNCM Repertoire Orchestra, and Eastman School Symphony Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician, Clara was a founding member of the Aestus Quartet and has recently established a duo partnership with pianist Phillip Leslie. She has additionally collaborated with artists including cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard of the Danish String Quartet, pianist Keigo Mukawa, and the Elias Quartet. She has been principal cellist of numerous ensembles and performed with groups such as Manchester Collective and Manchester Camerata. Clara holds a master’s with distinction from the RNCM and a bachelor’s from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. She has been a member of RNCM Quartet Studio and completed additional chamber music studies at the Conservatoire Rachmaninoff de Paris with Gabriel Le Magadure of Quatuor Ébène. She additionally holds a bachelor’s in chemistry from the University of Rochester. Full biography coming soon.

Clara enjoys sharing her love of music with her community as an educator and creative workshop practitioner. She began cello in her school’s fourth-grade orchestra and strongly believes that everyone should have access to learn an instrument. Clara has been teaching for over 10 years and has studied pedagogy and Dalcroze. She has coached beginner through university-level cello, taught elementary school string programs in England and the United States, and has been a Junior RNCM substitute teacher. She teaches at Sheffield Music Academy as well as privately in Manchester and is proud of her students’ accomplishments.

Inclusivity and accessibility within music and education are important to Clara. She volunteer teaches online with the ARCO Project in India and has been a Benedetti Foundation Ambassador. She has taught young cellists with Special Educational Needs (SEND) and helped to lead music workshops for children and adults within the SEND spectrum for organisations such as Winchester Chamber Music Festival. She regularly leads musical workshops for school children and infants and has worked with groups such as Bridgewater Hall, Lymm Chamber Music, Lake District Music, and Festival Ravel in this area.