Sarah Small

Viola da gamba player

• Good Again? Tour

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Cycling Concert Tour: Good Again?

• About
• Performances
• FAQ
• Contact
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About

A concert tour with a difference.
Cycling between venues, viola da gamba player Sarah Small is taking a slower and greener route to reach audiences all over the UK.
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 the programme ‘Good Again?’ with audiences far and wide.
Centred around the title work ‘Good Againe’ by Tobias Hume, these performances feature music old and new, drawing connections between the natural world and the mixed sentiments felt by many of us during these unstable times, along with tales from the road that remind us of the beauty in slow travel.Featured musicians will join for performances and premieres of special commissions* along the way.
See the Performances page for details.*with support from the Francis Routh Trust and Vaughan Williams Foundation

• Read the article on Continuo Connect

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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 Performances 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!

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• Email

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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

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Performances

• 7th May, 7.30pm: St John the Evangelist Church, Cambridge

Good Again? Awakening the Seasons
with Emily Ashton & Isaac Louth (viols)
Premiere of Lillie Harris’ Good Again? for solo viola da gamba*
* commissioned with support from the Francis Routh Trust and the Vaughan Williams Foundation

• 8th May, 6pm: Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall

Good Again? Solo recital

• 11th May, 3pm: The Belfry Centre, Overstrand

Good Again? Duo recital
with Daniel Murphy (theorbo)

• 16th May, 2pm: Sewerby Hall, Bridlington

Good Again? Solo recital in the Orangery
N.b. Standard admission tickets required

• 18th May, 6pm: Pealie’s Barn, Northallerton

Good Again? Solo recital in the Parlour

• 19th May, 6.30pm: Elvet Methodist Church, Durham

Nothing Gold Can Stay* premiere
with Kim Porter (alto & composer)
commissioned with support from the Vaughan Williams Foundation

• 25th May, TBC: St Mary’s Church, Lindisfarne

Good Again? Solo recital

• 27th May, 7pm: Pianodrome, Edinburgh

Good Again? Duo recital
with Eric Thomas (theorbo)

• 31st May, 7.30pm: Cathedral of St John, Oban

Good Again? Solo recital

• 1st June, time TBC: Castlebay Hotel, Barra

Good Again? Solo recital

• 3rd June, time TBC: Ceolas, South Uist

Good Again? Solo recital

• 4th June, time TBC: Taigh Chearsabhagh, North Uist

Good Again? Solo recital

• 11th June, 7pm: Durness Parish Hall

Good Again? Solo recital

• 18th June, time TBC: Viking Longhouse, Unst (Shetland)

Good Again? with Sunita Staneslow (harp)

• 21st June, 12pm: St Andrew’s Cathedral, Aberdeen

Good Again? Solo recital

• 22nd June, 6.30pm: Dundee University Chaplaincy

Good Again? Solo recital

• 23rd June, 7pm: Dunkeld Cathedral

Good Again? Solo recital

• 24th June, 7.30pm: Innerpeffray Library, Crieff

Good Again? Solo recital

• 27th June, 7.30pm: Moffat Theatre, Moffat

Good Again? Solo recital

• 29th June, 7.30pm: St John’s Church, Keswick

Good Again? Solo recital

• 2nd July, 7.30pm: Ullet Road Church, Liverpool

Good Again? Solo recital

• 5th July, 7pm: The Hanging Gardens, Llanidloes

Good Again?
with Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (melodeon & concertina)

• 7th July, 8pm: The Forge, Bristol

Good Again? Duo recital
with Jon Rees (viola da gamba)

• 8th July, 8pm: Burdall’s Yard, Bath

Good Again? Duo recital
with Jon Rees (viola da gamba)

• 10th July: Bitterne Station Community Hub, Southampton

with Anna Durance (oboe)