Julia Sherriff

I was very lucky to have some wonderful teachers at school, where I studied the violin and piano to Grade 8, along with A-level music. However that is where my formal musical training ended.

I have played and sung in numerous orchestras, choirs and other ensembles over the years, but for many years (almost a period of a decade) I played very little other than in the privacy of my own home, and even then the violin and piano practice became much less frequent! As I think many people find, other aspects of life simply got in the way. Which is not to say that music disappeared for me – I have always loved it and always will – but it took something of a back seat to other things.

A few years ago I decided to change that. I made the only new year’s resolution that I have ever kept! I would do something musical every day, whether it was reading about music, actively listening to it, or playing. I stuck to it, and eventually worked up the courage to join a local amateur orchestra, and slowly but surely I became a musician again.

Then COVID-19 came along and we were all confined to our own homes. Amateur music-making stopped, to all intents and purposes (although with the help of technology some things did continue). In an effort to keep playing, and to keep in contact with friends, family and above all those I missed playing with, I started recording myself using my phone and exploring ways to combine those recordings both with my own and with those provided by other people. For a long time it was the closest we could get to ensemble playing.

As the lockdown progressed, audio recordings became videos, and I began to explore the idea of playing a full set of orchestral parts on either the violin or viola and combining them.

At around the start of 2021 I decided to try writing something myself. I don’t have any formal training in composition (the last time I composed anything was for my A-level music) but this seemed like an appropriate creative outlet. Whether (and to what extent) they have anything meaningful to say about the times in which they were created only time will tell! But certainly the lockdown provided the time and opportunity.

I have learned a lot along the way, and not all of the results bear listening to! But I hope some of them do… Enjoy, and if you comment, please be kind!