At 7.30pm on Saturday 28 February Havant Symphony Orchestra will be presenting “Echoes of the Isles” at Warblington School, Havant. Edelyn is looking forward to playing violin in this concert.
She tells her story.
I began learning the violin when one fell out of a cupboard in my primary school! This chance encounter at age seven led me to play violin, later picking up the clarinet at aged thirteen and viola aged fourteen. I started the clarinet when West Sussex Music Service offered a free instrument learning programme for seven to twelve year olds and, although I was a year too old, I applied tactically requesting clarinet, flute or cello – whatever was available!
As I already played violin, I had an advantage and quickly took grade three, five and eight receiving distinctions in all. I am particularly proud of receiving 136/150 in my grade eight despite taking it only a year after my grade five. Around this time, I also took my grade seven and eight violin receiving higher distinctions in both, closely followed by distinction in ARSM diploma on clarinet, that was a busy year!
I am looking to study clarinet, first study, and violin, second study, at conservatoire. I am currently deciding between Guildhall with a scholarship and RCM.
I love string quartet music, a current favourite being Smetana’s first quartet, particularly movement two. I also love orchestral works, the top four symphonies that I have played are, in no particular order, Mahler 1, Sibelius 2, Dvorak 8 and Prokofiev 5.
A chamber piece I would like to play is the Bernard Herrmann clarinet quintet. Having spoken to clarinettist Julian Bliss, who has recorded it, I discovered the reason I could not find copies was because no one has published it, which is going to make things tricky. I am hoping Julian Bliss will publish it soon, as he mentioned he might. Bernard Herrmann is known for his film music, particularly Psycho, and this chamber piece was his final composition before his death.
In HSO I initially played viola, later moving to first violin and, in Southeast-Hampshire Youth Orchestra (SHYO) I was principal second violin and am now principal clarinet. I was fortunate to be able to play Weber’s concertino as a soloist, which I enjoyed thoroughly.
A recent HSO highlight would be Sibelius 1 as a first violin, especially the end of the third movement attacca into the fourth. I truly appreciated the full length of my bow in that piece! I love playing Eb clarinet in orchestras as we often play with the violins and it feels closer to home as it were!
Aside from HSO I have played with the National Scouting and Guiding Symphony Orchestra in Brumell Hall and with members of The Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra and Royal Marines in Horse Guards Chapel, National Youth Wind Orchestra, English Schools Orchestra in Cadogan Hall and the National Klezmer Youth Orchestra. My favourite was playing principal clarinet with ESO for Mahler 1 or playing a solo with NYWO.
I have enjoyed workshops with Julian Bliss on RAF National Clarinet Day and a master class with Emma Johnson.
Locally, I have led and co-lead the West Sussex Youth Orchestra and dep on Eb clarinet with Worthing Philharmonic. I also started a string quartet, The Martlet Quartet, after attending Young Grittleton string quartet camp. We have played for various events, and our next concert is for the West Sussex Headteacher Conference. I also hope that I will one day have the chance to play a violin concerto or part of one!
My family are not particularly musical, my dad played accordion and guitar, and my mum completed her grade three saxophone. In primary and early high school, I considered becoming an architect, interior designer and later, a luthier, but I am now firmly set on music as a career.
In my spare time I like to design and build theatre set designs for my A-Level, occasionally I try various arts and crafts, take photographs of architecture and read books written from 1850 – 1950. I am a former member of the National Youth Parliament and army cadets.
Simon asks about the next couple of concerts that Edelyn has got with the Havant Symphony Orchestra and the Southeast-Hampshire Youth Orchestra.
I’m particularly looking forward to the SHYO concert tomorrow (25 January 2026), because I’m principal clarinet in it and I’ll play Beethoven 6, which I haven’t played before and it’s got a very good clarinet part. It’s quite difficult, so it’s nice to have something to work towards. And then we’re also playing Gladiators and Phantom of the Opera. I’ve actually played Phantom of the Opera with Havant before, but I’m now playing it on a different part because I was first violin and now the clarinet. So it’d be quite fun to play the same thing, but on a different side of the orchestra.
The Youth Orchestra does very well to get pieces ready very quickly because we only have two rehearsals. We have two all day ones, and then the concert on the same day as the 2nd rehearsal day.
And then the upcoming Havant concert (on 28 February 2026) is entitled Echoes of the Isles, where there’s a piece by Maurice Johnson, which I’ve never heard before (and not many members of the orchestra have either). It was played at the Proms quite a while ago, but it’s actually really lovely. It’s called Welsh Rhapsodie and it’s got some really pretty violin parts and lovely woodwind solos.
I’ve got into Royal College of Guildhall on the clarinet, but I play both instruments quite a lot at the moment. And I want to do violin as second study. I’m pretty equal on both.
I’m using this year to do other performances with quite a lot with lots of orchestras. I did quite a lot of playing this year because I needed to build up my track record for my conservatoire application. I was fortunate to a concertino by Weber with the Youth Orchestra. And I’m doing some string quartet work.
Simon asks Edelyn what she sees herself doing in five years’ time.
I love to play the Eb clarinet! It would be amazing to begin auditions for orchestral jobs, whether for ballets or operas or on-stage orchestras, as an Eb clarinet player.
Something I really, really enjoyed playing, which is an unpopular opinion, is the Eb clarinet. It’s called all kinds of horrible things, like a squeal stick and more. That may be because I’m a violinist, and the range of the Eb clarinet means that it often plays with the violins. The violin and the Eb clarinet are bedfellows because of the relative range of each instrument: the Eb clarinet has the sort of the role of the clarinet in a solo instrument and to do the similar sound of a clarinet, but it can go so much higher. So when you need a clarinet sound to play with the violins, that’s what it does. And the lowest note of the Eb clarinet is open G just as the violin. So it’s very similar range actually.
