Audio Network is delighted to name The 2009 Queens Medal for Music recipient, Kathryn Tickell as Composer of the Month for March 2010.
London March 2010. Audio Network appoints Kathryn Tickell as their March 2010, Composer of the Month. In 2009 Kathryn Tickell was awarded the Queen’s Medal For Music - an annual award given to just one musician who has had ‘a major influence on the musical life of the nation’.
As something of a child prodigy, Kathryn is primarily known as a player of Northumbrian pipes - she released her first commercial album On Kielderside at the age of 16 and in 1987, Channel 4 chronicled Kathryn’s musical development and background in the documentary, ‘The Long Tradition’.
The consummate performer, famous for her versatility as well as her virtuosity, she is also an adept composer and is a committed campaigner and fundraiser for young musicians.
“Writing for Audio Network has been a revelation for me,” said Tickell, “I enjoyed the process far more than I was expecting to. I had been interested in writing media music for some time, but I was concerned that I would be restricted in how I write, that it would be somehow watered down so it’d work on the telly. It was a real surprise to me that what I did would work really well on any commercial release I did – well perhaps not the Morris Dancing track!”
Tickell’s popularity peaked with her Northumbrian Pipes solo on Sting’s ‘Fields of Gold’, but since then she has gone on to perform on 4 of his albums (including the current one) and make regular TV and radio appearances with presenters like Jools Holland and Andy Kershaw. She has also kept up a steady stream of her own releases which have met with considerable success and critical acclaim.
Andrew Sunnucks, Audio Network’s Creative Director said, “I was guilty of having a pretty dim view of folk music and I’ve learned that entirely down to my ignorance. Working with Kathryn and all the other fantastic players quickly taught me that there was a new musical world to start to find out all about.”
Click here to read her biography and listen to her tracks.
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