Cheryl Frances-Hoad
"A remarkable talent...like a declaration of faith in the eternal verities of composition."
The Sunday Times
Admired for her originality, fluency and professionalism, Cheryl Frances-Hoad has been composing to commission since she was fifteen. Classical tradition (she trained as a cellist and pianist at the Menuhin School before going on to Cambridge and King's College London) along with diverse contemporary inspirations including literature, painting and dance, have contributed to a creative presence provocatively her own.
"Intricate in argument, sometimes impassioned, sometimes mercurial, always compelling in its authority" (Robin Holloway, The Spectator), her output - widely premiered, broadcast and commercially recorded, reaching audiences from the Proms to outreach workshops - addresses all genres from opera, ballet and concerto to song, choral, chamber and solo music.
© Ates Orga
"What a sound. Frances-Hoad drenched each phrase in dramatic expression – wonderment and horror, principally – of the most ravishing intensity."
"A voice overflowing not only with ideas, but also with the discipline and artistry necessary to harness them."
"Frances-Hoad's music is melodic, passionate, equal parts humour and reverence...
I urge you to become acquainted with this composer’s work. Her music is worth your time."
"There's something engagingly freewheeling about Frances-Hoad's works, the feeling that she is quite unselfconscious about the music she writes and oblivious to how others might categorise it."
Selected reviews
The Arts Desk
The Scotsman
American Record Guide
The Guardian