Meet Claire

This website represents a convergence of key experiences and passions in my life. I began playing the cello when I was 9-years old, my love of the instrument coupled with fantastic teachers and a supportive/bossy mother led to my having an ongoing career as a professional cellist later specialising in baroque cello. This career has taken me all over the world, meeting and playing the greatest works of music with some of the greatest musicians of our times – both famous and not so famous. As a performer I have played with modern orchestras in Portland (Maine, USA), Yamagata (Japan), Miami (USA), and California (USA); with baroque orchestras in California USA (Philharmonia Baroque-American Bach Soloists), Boston USA (Boston Baroque-Handel and Haydn Society-Banchetto Musicale), United Kingdom (Dunedin Consort), and also Portland Baroque (Oregon) and Seattle Baroque. I have also had the honour and pleasure of playing chamber music with many of the world’s greatest musicians. I have indeed been very fortunate.

I also have been privileged and honoured to play my cello in more intimate settings such as friends’ living rooms…and as we all age, sadly at the bedsides of dear friends very near to death or actively dying. These most intimate of all intimate experiences opened my eyes to the raw, intense realness of death and dying – and to a purpose for playing music that is entirely separate from performing. This growing awareness eventually led me to a USA-based organisation – the ‘Music in Transitional Healing Program (https://www.mhtp.org/)’ where I was trained and eventually became a ‘Certified Music Practitioner (CMP)’. As a CMP, I was employed through hospices in Seattle (USA) to play cello at the bedside of people (either in hospital, hospice, or their own homes) who were in palliative care; the effect of my playing was visceral and powerful. When I relocated to Scotland in 2007, I unhappily discovered that there were no opportunities for me to be employed to continue this type of work. However, I did find a wonderful course at the University of Stirling, called ‘Enhanced Palliative Care’, which I shared with a most inspiring group of Scottish Nurses, and wherein I learned how to write essays on very interesting topics related to end of life care. This course led directly to my applying for and being awarded a studentship whereby I was paid to complete a PhD in Sociology – my chosen topic was exploring the effects of playing familiar music (on solo cello – both live and pre-recorded) on the relationship between two listeners; a care home resident with dementia in palliative care and someone closely connected to him/her. The successful completion of my PhD (2015), I held a uniquely titled post of ‘Researcher of Creative Arts and Dementia’ within the Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester (UK) for four-years. During this time, I was invited to present at many national and international conferences; I trained Admiral Nurses (specialist nurses working with dementia) and other front-line medical professionals; I conducted workshops focusing on effective ways of using music with people living with dementia; and I also conducted research and evaluations related to using various creative arts media with people living with dementia, and wrote articles and reports for these various projects. Additionally, I was a guest presenter on several high-profile media platforms including the Hay Literature Festival and BBC Radio 4 Saturday Live programme.

It is time for me to combine my unique combination of experience, talents, and knowledge to provide an equally unique set of high-quality services. My passion is connecting and inspiring people – from all walks of life through sharing and creating sonic ‘havens’ in which each of us can thrive and flourish; bringing the best out of people through private instruction and ensemble coaching; and sonically creating ‘havens’ through solo performances, in which listeners can fully engage in whatever is at hand – be it a celebration, a memorial, or an intimate moment.