Biography
Nicola Gerrard
Flautist
Nicola is a highly experienced professional flautist, noted for her creative and innovative playing style and ability to communicate with her audience. She is is available for weddings, functions, recitals and teaching in Cheshire and the North West and performances throughout the UK.
Having studied Music at Sheffield University she went on to complete her Masters degree including research and performance on the baroque flute, before training at the Royal Northern College of Music with Peter Lloyd and Rachel Brown. During her studies she won a number of prizes including the Mrs Stewart Blake Recital Prize.
Nicola has established a busy and successful career as a freelance flautist on both baroque and modern flute. She regularly performs on BBC Radio 4 as part of the Daily Service programme and has made numerous appearances on television. She has been first flute with the New English Orchestra since 1995, regularly touring with them to Salzburg during the world-famous International Music Festival and to Rome, and has contributed to several professional recordings by them. She plays baroque flute as a core member of Dei Gratia (a professional baroque ensemble) and is often invited to play with the London-based All Souls Orchestra.
As a soloist, Nicola has recorded four flute CDs where she performs on baroque, alto and modern flute, as well as the piccolo, with a mix of classical baroque, and contemporary styles. She has also established her own ‘Sunday Afternoon Concert Series’ called ‘Flute and Friends” as well as very popular Advent Musical Meditations. She has recently been appointed as a Music Examiner for London College of Music.
She lives in High Legh, Cheshire with her husband and two daughters, where she runs her own business, ‘High Legh Flutes’ which ‘deals with all matters flute’ and involves performing, teaching, repairing and advising on any aspect of flute playing.