Sarah
Field was educated at the Royal Northern College and Royal Academy of
Music, London studying trumpet and saxophone, graduating in both
woodwind & brass, she is the only musician ever to do so. In 2007
she became an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.
She
won both the International Royal Over-Seas League Competition Main Solo
Award for Woodwind & Brass and the Making Music Award brought her
into the limelight in 2000, leading to broadcasts on BBC Radio 2
ClassicfM & BBC Radio 3’s ”In Tune” which she now broadcasts
regularly on.
Festival
invitations include the Cheltenham International, Edinburgh Fringe,
Newbury, Brighton and Canterbury, along with solo appearances at
Cadogan Hall, Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, St. John’s Smith Square (with
pianist John Lill) and the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
International
solo tours include New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and Belgium,
Brunei (with pianist Simon Lepper), Harare International Festival (with
marimba player Mike Hamnett) and the USA (2007).
Performing
as a multi- instrumentalist Sarah has appeared with the BBC Concert
Orchestra with Christopher Warren-Green, RTE National Symphony
Orchestra of Ireland and Kwa Zulu Natal Philharmonic with Eno Shao.
Sarah was awarded a Gerald Finzi Scholarship 2007
to travel to India with her “Indian Odyssey” project; she hopes to
collaborate with world-class tabla player Abhijit Banarjee on her debut
CD Native released late 2008.
Sarah's website is http://www.sarahfield.com/
"Poised and Sensitive" IRISH TIMES
"Pure Sax Appeal. In Sarah's hands the alto saxophone has a dozen different voices. It catches your heart every time" EVENING STANDARD
"She brought the house down" Brighton Festival-EVENING ARGUS
Since graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music, Mike has performed with the Halle , BBC Concert, BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras, both in the concert hall and the recording studio, premiering works by Tan Dun, Gordon McPherson, Nicholas Maw and Bill Connor.
As a soloist performances have included the world premiere of Paul Mitchell-Davidson’s marimba concerto “Africana” ,subsequently broadcast on national television, and Paul Creston’s Concertino for Marimba at the Royal Festival Hall, London, and the Free Trade Hall, Manchester. In 2004, Mike performed as part of the Belgian International Marimba Festival.
As a chamber musician, Mike has performed and recorded extensively with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet but more recently has been working in collaboration with the award-winning saxophonist Sarah Field. The duo, known as SNAPDRAGON, made their London debut in July 2005 and has since performed across the globe, from Aberystwyth to Zimbabwe
In the field of jazz and world music Mike has appeared with notable artists including the vibraphone virtuoso Victor Mendoza, the Danish conga player Birgir Sulsbruck and the renowned British drummer and percussionist Dave Hassell,often acting as arranger and musical director and has recently been invited to take up the piano position in Dave Hassell’s internationally acclaimed latin-jazz group “Apitos”.Currently Mike is the African percussionist for the London production of “The Lion King”. All of this runs alongside his work as the director of the big band and percussion studies at Canterbury Christ Church University.
Mike's website is http://www.mikehamnett.com/
This irresistible combination has been at the forefront of contemporary chamber music since a packed London debut in 2005 and has performed at festivals from Aberystwyth to Zimbabwe . The duo draws upon influences from across the globe from Piazzolla and Part to Papasov, alongside newly commissioned works from composers such as Paul Max Edlin, Anwen Lewis and Basil Athanasiadis and recently embarked on a short residency at Illinois State University.