Abigail Burrows ~ Flute

Biography

Born in 1982 in Milton Keynes, Abigail Burrows started the flute aged seven and attended The Purcell School of Music as a scholar for nine years, studying with Anna Pope.  She was chosen for the prestigious Austin and Hope Pilkington Award and currently plays a handmade 9K Gold Brannen-Cooper flute awarded by the trust.  In 2000 she continued her studies at The Royal College of Music under Susan Milan.

Abbie is a frequent concerto soloist and has appeared at venues including London’s Royal Festival Hall, Russia's Novgorod Philharmonic Hall and The Anvil, Basingstoke.  Recent concerto performances include the Nielsen Flute Concerto with the Milton Keynes Sinfonia, the Thomson Flute Concerto with the Grampian Concert Orchestra, and the Mozart Flute & Harp Concerto with Daniel DeFry and the Cornerstone Chamber Orchestra. 

 

As a recitalist, Abbie has recently performed at the Fishguard, Windsor, Edinburgh and Buckingham music festivals, as well as several music clubs and societies.  International concerts include two tours of Russia, once as a recitalist during their Rachmaninoff Festival (as winner of the Watford Concerto Competition), and the following year as a concerto soloist playing with the Novgorod Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also performed in a televised ‘Stars of the 21st Century' concert filmed in Oslo, Norway and toured Germany as a guest solo artist with the New English Singers for the ‘Bach 250th Anniversary Celebrations’, performing in Hallé, Dresden, Berlin and Bach’s Thomas Kirche in Leipzig.  She has played in a private concert for Prince Charles at St James's Palace, to the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and at Southwark Cathedral for the Damilola Trust's 'Memorial Service for All Children Lost to Youth Violence', in the presence of Gordon Brown, the Leader of the Opposition and the Mayor of London, filmed by ITV.  She has been heard as a soloist on Classic FM, BBC Radio 4 (Remembrance Sunday), BBC World Service and has appeared on BBC1’s ‘The Joys of Christmas’ and ‘Songs of Praise’

 

A keen chamber musician, Abbie plays in a flute & piano duo with Daniel Swain, a flute & guitar duo with Tom McLauchlan and a flute trio called Flight (specialising in corporate events).  She has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Cheltenham Pitville Pump Room, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Blackheath Halls, Newport Riverfront Centre and Windsor Castle.  She also plays in the folk-rock band Paris Motel, whose first album was released in Europe to critical acclaim from the likes of NME, The Independent, Dazed & Confused, Music Week and Word Magazine.  They have appeared at venues including KoKo Camden, Islington Academy and Bush Hall, and festivals including Latitude and Glastonbury.  On 3rd May this year, Abbie was the classical guest artist at a sell-out Jethro Tull concert at The Barbican Hall, performing a solo slot and a duet with the legendary rock-flautist, Ian Anderson. Couture Designer Jasper Garvida, winner of SKY1's Project Catwalk, designed and created her dress for the occasion, and as a Pearl Flutes International Artist, she performed on her Crystal Pearl Flute, a unique specially-made instrument encrusted with over 8,000 Swarovski crystals. 

 

Abbie is on the Live Music Now! and Music in Hospitals schemes, giving regular outreach concerts across the UK.  She also works for Flutewise, as a contributor to their magazine and tutor on their residential courses in the UK, Slovenia and Croatia.  She is currently living in London and having lessons with Michael Cox.  In her spare time, Abbie enjoys creative writing and is currently working on a music storybook for pre-school children. Adventurous by nature, she has a passion for trying new things, including sky diving, stilt walking, flying trapeze lessons, acting and tap dancing.

 

 

Photography by Kirill Kozlov (top) and Samara Morris (bottom)