Francesca attended Chetham’s School of Music where she was awarded the Arthur Kolbert Prize for Outstanding Cello Playing two years running. She joined at the age of 10 studying with Barbara Grunthal (Manchester Camerata) and David Smith (Alberni Quartet). She then went on to study with Josephine Knight (Piatti Chair of Cello) at the Royal Academy of Music graduating with first class honours as well as being awarded The Joyce Anne Beckett Award.

 

Francesca has had masterclasses with many distinguished cellists such as Guy Johnston, Hannah Roberts, Sung Won Yang, and most recently a live streamed masterclass with Alisa Weilerstein where she performed Brahms’ F Minor Sonata. She has performed recitals at various venues around the country including solo performances at St James’s Piccadilly, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts Concert Hall, David Josefowitz Recital Hall and at Manchester Cathedral. Francesca was also invited to play Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Chester Philharmonic prior to their performance with Guy Johnston.

 

Francesca has performed solo recitals in France, Germany and Italy as well as been invited to play as a chamber musician collaborating with students from the Barratt Due School of Music in Oslo, Norway performing Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence (First cello) and The Foundation of Music and Dance in Amstelveen, Holland working with Candida Thompson, Leader of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.

 

Francesca is a passionate chamber musician and her first string quartet (winners of the Fiona Ord String Chamber Music Competition and the Mozart Scholarship for quartet playing at Chethams), were the first school-aged group to be invited to play for Richard Ireland in his Masterclass program at Kings Place.

 

Other notable chamber music performances include Ravel’s String Quartet at the Wigmore Hall, Schumann’s Piano Quintet at the Draper’s Hall in London with Leeds International Piano Competition finalist Anna Geniushene, and a performance of On Wenlock Edge in Lincoln Cathedral with pianist and broadcaster David Owen Norris and British tenor Marke Wilde. She has also collaborated with the Russian Ballet School performing works of Tchaikovsky at the London Palladium and Cadogan Hall. In 2019 Francesca returned to Chetham’s to perform in the Stoller hall at the International Piano Festival playing the Schumann Piano Quintet with pianist Peter Frankl.

 

As an orchestral player, highlights have included performing with the London Sinfonietta at the Royal Festival Hall with Pascal Rophé and with James Newton Howard’s 3 Decades of Music for Hollywood tour performing at the Royal Albert Hall, conducted by the composer. Francesca has already rehearsed and performed a significant amount of the orchestral repertoire, also performing at The Bridgewater Hall and the Barbican working with many renowned conductors including Sir Mark Elder, Jac Van Steen, John Wilson and Paul Mann.

Francesca currently plays on a cello by Harry Strong made in 2019.