Albums

Sample Songs

  • Add Song to Cart Listen to a Sample As A Lamp [Be Generous ...]
  • Add Song to Cart Listen to a Sample Three Love Poems [As God is my Witness]
  • Add Song to Cart Listen to a Sample Hidden Words [Music 7]

Carolyn Sparey-Fox

Carolyn Sparey-Fox studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, after which she became one of the UK's best known viola players. During her long and successful career she has performed all over the world as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. She has worked with Simon Rattle, Yehudi Menuhin and Benjamin Britten amongst others, and has featured on BBC radio and TV as well as several commercial recordings, both as soloist and chamber player.

Carolyn was invited to take up the position of principal viola with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, with whom she performed as soloist in Bach's Brandenberg Concerto no. 6 for BBC television; she was also involved with the Fitzwilliam Quartet, performing on BBC radio 3 and at the Wigmore Hall, as well as venues all over the UK. As principal viola with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Carolyn featured as soloist on radio 3 in 'Harold in Italy' [Berlioz], Mozart's Symphonia Concertante, and Bengamin Britten's 'Lachrymae'. With the Chamber Group of Scotland, she performed the UK premiere of Penderecki's string trio and clarinet quartet. Carolyn is currently seriously involved in composition, her string quartet, 'The Mystic Ring' [dedicated to the potter Bernard Leach], having received several performances by the Fitzwilliam quartet. In 2004, inspired by skateboarders in Paris, Carolyn wrote a composition for solo viola, 'Les Planchistes de Paris', which has received performances in Glasgow, France, Canada and Corsica; several viola compositions which incorporate words and music are performed regularly, including three poems of the martyred Persian poetess, Tahirih. Her composition, 'Fereshtehha', [Angels] for 20 solo strings, written in memory of ten Baha'i women who were martyred in Iran in 1983, will be premiered in September 2008 by the Scottish Philharmonic Orchestra, with a performance planned in New Zealand for 2010. Carolyn's viola concerto, 'From behind the Veils' [a tribute to Táhirih] was commissioned by the Israeli viola player, Rivka Golani.

"... beauty of tone ... a musician of exceptional gifts." - Liverpool Daily Post "... her frequent flashes of insight, coupled with a tone of persuasive beauty and warmth, disclosed considerable mastery." - Daily Telegraph