Principal
“Hannah Roberts is one of the outstanding ‘cellists of her generation and was privileged to have studied with William Pleeth and Ralph Kirshbaum.”
Having won prizes in numerous prestigeous competitions and awards such as Shell LSO, BBC Young Musician, Jacqueline Du Pre Memorial and Pierre Fournier awards, I have gone on to give many concerto performances with leading orchestras, including the London Mozart Players, LSO, BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Hálle, also making frequent broadcasts for BBC radio and recording for ASV.
My festival appearances have included Chichester, Malvern, Beverley, ‘Beethovenfest’ and regular participation in the prestigious ‘Manchester International Cello Festival’ where I was invited to lead a world premiere of a cello sextet work by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and performed on numerous occasions. Internationally, I have taken part in the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival in Los Angeles and numerous other festivals in Europe, and have an active schedule of solo and chamber music performances.
In addition to being principal ‘cellist of Manchester Camerata and my activities as a soloist and chamber musician, I am a committed and sought after teacher and professor of cello at the RAM in London and the RNCM in Manchester, and am a visiting tutor for the University of Oxford.
I am honoured to have been awarded both an HonRAM and an FRNCM for my work helping to nurture upcoming ‘cellists, and enjoy working with some of the world’s most gifted young musicians at prestigious international masterclasses each summer.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have several very absorbing and complementary musical ‘strands’ – playing with Manchester Camerata is always very stimulating and there is always much to be learned from my colleagues and our music director, Gábor Takács-Nagy. I also love the other projects that I do as a chamber musician and soloist and find that these connect in a very creative way with the teaching that I do. I am fortunate in working with some of the most gifted new generation of ‘cellists internationally and this demands continuous fresh thinking, challenges and lively interaction – all an excellent counter-balance to the hours spent alone practising.