Annabel is a composer and pianist based in Midlothian. Originally from Aberdeenshire, Annabel studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, going on to have a rich and varied career within music education. Her most recent work in this area has included devising and delivering a composition and animation project on behalf of Youth Music Initiative/Screen Education Edinburgh, exploring children’s experiences and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic within Edinburgh primary schools. Annabel has also worked as a teaching musician with Sistema Scotland (Big Noise Raploch) from 2014 – 2022. In March 2015, her orchestral composition Approaching the Horizon was performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as part of the orchestra’s Side by Side project involving children from the Big Noise Raploch Symphony Orchestra.
As a composer, Annabel seeks to explore aspects of narrative and texture with a strong leaning towards jazz harmony and language, following her study of jazz piano on the Graduate Diploma Jazz programme at St Andrews University (2011 – 2014) headed by jazz educator, Richard Ingham. Most recently, Annabel performed at the 2022 Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival as part of the Take On Mingus project led by bassist Emma Smith, exploring the life and music of Charles Mingus.
Image: Graham Napier, Top Dog Photography
