Sarah Small

Viola da gamba player

• Good Again? Tour

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Cycling Concert Tour: Good Again?

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• Diary
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About

Viola da gamba player Sarah Small is on a mission to demonstrate how touring can be done differently.
Disillusioned by the lack of support for sustainable touring within the arts, along with concerns about the impact and cost of audience travel from rural areas to venues in cities, she’s taking matters into her own hands and cycling from venue to venue to share her programme ‘Good Again?’ with audiences far and wide.
Centred around the title work ‘Good Againe’ by Tobias Hume, this programme for solo viola da gamba features music expressing the feelings of grief, contemplation, and hope felt by many of us during these unstable times, along with tales from the road that remind us of the beauty in slow travel.

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Diary

Dates & collaborations to be listed soon

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FAQ

Why are you doing this?
Because I strongly believe in the value of live music and the power it has to connect and communicate. Two things that are so important now more than ever.
If we are to continue to travel and reach new audiences, the way in which we do so must changeWhat is your aim?
In short: to inspire rapid change in how we bring music to audiences.
- Rethinking touring to include the less well served communities along the way.
- Financial support for more sustainable methods of transport for artists
- To highlight the inspirational aspects of slower, greener travel that enable us to be better artistsWhere are you going?
You can find the venues on the Diary page.
I’m touring Good Again? initially around the UK, cycling roughly 4000km before finishing at the south coast of England.
Part II into Europe TBC…Why aren’t you playing in many big cities?
I want to bring the music to the audience, lessening the impact of each performance, but also sharing my programme with new audiences who have less access to concerts (and probably very unlikely to have seen a viola da gamba!) to show that there is demand and great value in playing in these places.Will you document the journey?
Yes! You can follow along via my Instagram page @smallsarah
It won’t just be cycling and concerts - expect wildlife, wonderful humans, inspiring projects, worryingly weird weather, and the odd complaint about midges

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Contact

Interested in hosting a performance?Fancy cycling together along the way?Feeling generous and want to offer support?Please get in touch!

• Instagram
• YouTube
• Email

• Support

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Recommended Resources

• Music Declares Emergency
• Julie’s Bicycle
• Onboard Earth
• Flight Free UK
• Cycling UK
• Stay Grounded

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Biography

Sarah is a freelance viola da gamba player based in the UK. She first came across the instrument whilst studying recorder at the Royal College of Music, London, and instantly fell in love with its sound. She graduated with a Bachelors degree on both instruments and went on to further her viol studies with Hille Perl at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, having been awarded the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship. Sarah returned to the RCM to complete a Master of Performance degree as a student of Reiko Ichise and graduated with Distinction in 2020, generously supported by the Linda Hill Scholarship, the Robert McFadzean Whyte Award, the Countess of Munster Trust, and Help Musicians UK.Sarah has performed and recorded with various ensembles across the UK and Europe, including Fretwork, Charivari Agréable, and her own ensemble, Hex, as well as making appearances on radio stations such as BBC Radio 3 and Radio France and performing in such venues as The Globe Theatre, St Mark’s Basilica, and Buckingham Palace.

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Performances