Heather Roche – guest teacher, clarinet

Music by Anthony Braxton (1945–), Chikako Morishita (1981–), Jesse Broekman, Martin Iddon (1975–) and others.

Born in Canada, clarinetist and improviser Heather Roche lives in London. Referred to as "The Queen of Extended Techniques" on BBC Radio 3, she appears regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. She currently plays with the experimental chamber music ensemble, Apartment House, who are Ensemble in Residence at the Wigmore Hall as well as ‘House Band’ for the Sheffield-based another timbre label, for whom they have recorded 40+ CDs. She also has had a duo with accordionist Eva Zöllner since 2016, with whom she has toured Mexico, Sweden, Colombia, Brazil and Turkey. They have also performed together at festivals including Gaudeamus (Utrecht), Flow (Helsinki), HCMF (UK), Mixtur (Barcelona), etc. and commissioned dozens of works for their unique duo.

She has performed as a soloist with the BBCSSO in the premiere of a new Clarinet Concerto by Scott McLaughlin and performed as a guest with various ensembles and orchestras including the London Sinfonietta, the LSO, Musikfabrik, Skogen, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Red Note, Riot Ensemble, manufaktur für aktuelle musik, Mimitabu, etc. She holds a PhD from the University of Huddersfield, with her thesis on "Dialogue and Collaboration in the Creation of New Works for Clarinet". Her blog on writing for the clarinet attracts 70,000 viewers each year.

Her debut solo CD, Ptelea, is out on HCR/NMC, and her CD featuring the clarinet works of Christopher Fox, Headlong, appears on Métier. Her recording of Martin Iddon's clarinet works, Sapindales, appears on the another timbre label. She also appears regularly with bands including Dog Unit, Kelvin, and Modern Nature, and records for film, including on the Emmy-winning score for The Reason I Jump, by composer Nainita Desai.

She lives in south-east London with her partner and their cat, Vera.

www.heatherroche.net