Each week, the OUMS newsletter features an interview with someone who positively contributes to the Oxford music scene. This week, we sat down with violinist and composer Tabby Hopper to discuss her upcoming (world!) premiere with the incredible Oxford University String Orchestra!
Tabby Hopper Violinist and Composer
Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hi! I’m Tabby and I’m a first year music student at Merton. I play violin and piano, but I’m
mostly interested in composition. I am a member of OUPhil, the Oxford University
Ceilidh Band, the Oxford Baroque Players, and my college orchestra, the Fidelio
Orchestra. My favourite composers are Rachmaninoff and Ravel, but I have recently
been enjoying Dora Pejačević and Tōru Takemitsu as well as King Gizzard and the
Lizard Wizard. In a couple of weeks OUSE is going to be playing one of my
compositions which I’m incredibly excited about (27 th of February- be there or be
square), and the week after that my string quintet is being performed in the Holywell
Music Room (7th of March- be there or be even more square).
What are you currently working on?
I have been trying to write some chamber music works for friends as well as a larger
orchestral work for my old youth orchestra. I am also in the middle of learning Dora
Pejačević’s Violin Sonata which has been a lovely chance to find out about an amazing
female composer. Along with that, the OUPhil concert is coming up, as well as Ceilidh
band varsity.
What has been your favourite musical experience at Oxford so far? Getting to the end of all the tremolos in Mahler 2 with OUPhil in the Sheldonian, feeling
like my arm was about to fall off. Also any post-concert pub trip/ bar crawl.
Where do you envision yourself heading in the future?
I would love to do composition professionally, but I would be very happy doing anything
within music. And if that doesn’t work out, I might become a gardener.
Could you provide us with a music recommendation?
Narek Hakhnazaryan playing Giovanni Sollima’s “Lamentatio” (the 2014 version on
YouTube)
To hear the world premiere of Tabby's latest composition, get your tickets for the OUSE concert on Tuesday 27th February here!
To find out more about the OUMS newsletter and our interviews, email Christopher at secretary@oums.co.uk.
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