Performer

As a freelancer, Abbie has played with many London orchestras including the Philharmonia, London Mozart Players, National Symphony Orchestra, Heritage Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and London Concert Orchestra.

She has recorded for labels including Sony, Universal and Decca Classics, and played on many albums and TV/Film soundtracks, including Disney’s upcoming film ‘The Princess’ and featured inserts for ‘The Batman’ (2022).

In the pit, she has held chairs on the UK Tours of Les Misérables, Wicked and The King and I as well as Oliver! (Curve Theatre, Leicester), Flowers for Mrs Harris (Sheffield Crucible and Chichester Festival), Fiddler on the Roof (Chichester Festival), and played flute and recorders on Pinocchio at the National Theatre. She is a regular deputy in London’s West End and has played on Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, An American in Paris, Half a Sixpence and Miss Saigon.

A versatile musician, she has also performed with commercial artists including Andrea Bocelli, Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson and Il Divo, as well as playing for Ministry of Sound Classical (including their 30th birthday at the O2), and recording tracks for the no. 1 album ‘Ibiza Classics’ with Pete Tong and The Heritage Orchestra. She has also performed for orchestral tributes to Genesis, led Zeppelin and Queen, and has played with bands at music festivals including Latitude, End of the Road, Gone Wild, and Glastonbury. She particularly loves playing low flutes and recently enjoyed performing on bass flute for acclaimed avant-garde composer and violinist Galya Bisengalieva’s live shows at Donau Festival (Vienna) and Haus Der Kunst (Munich). 

As a soloist and chamber musician, Abbie has performed extensively throughout the UK, playing at concert venues including The Southbank, Wigmore Hall, LSO St Luke's, Cadogan Hall, The Anvil, Birmingham Symphony Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Bridgewater Hall, as well as internationally throughout Europe, Africa, Australia and America. Career highlights include playing the solo flute part of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no.5 with The Philharmonia (Switzerland tour), performing a solo at Dubai Opera House with the Arabian Philharmonic, tours of Russia (soloist with the Novgorod Philharmonic Orchestra) and Germany (guest solo artist with the New English Singers, performing Bach Sonatas in Hallé, Dresden, Berlin and Bach’s Thomas Kirche in Leipzig), and an invitation to play at a Jethro Tull concert at The Barbican, performing a duet with the legendary rock-flautist Ian Anderson. Originally from Milton Keynes, she frequently returns to her hometown as a recitalist and soloist with the Cornerstone Chamber Orchestra. She has also played for the Royal Family at St James's Palace, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, and to the Prime Minister and Mayor of London at Southwark Cathedral.

Abbie has also been an invited Guest Artist at the National Flute Association Convention (Chicago and Orlando), Adams International Flute Festival (Netherlands), Aflaup Festival (Porto, Portugal), Polish Flute Festival (Katowice), Flute Fest! (Iceland), Spanish Flute Convention (Valencia), La Côte Festival (Switzerland) and Australian Flute Festival (Bisbane and Sydney).

Abbie began learning the flute aged 7 and within a year was offered a place at the Purcell School. She studied there for nine years with Anna Pope and was awarded one of the schools most prestigious scholarships. She had a busy performing schedule from a very early age and was invited to play as a soloist for HRH Prince of Wales in a private concert at St James's Palace aged 12 and made her concerto debut at London’s Royal Festival Hall aged 14. She continued her education at the Royal College of Music with Susan Milan but left the institution before completing her degree. Feeling ‘burnt out’, she quit the flute entirely for 5 years before returning to it with renewed love and enthusiasm, and has never regretted it. She restarted her studies privately with Michael Cox and Robert Winn.

Abbie is very proud to be a Haynes Artist and is generously supported by the Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust. She currently lives on a houseboat on the River Medway and likes to spend her spare time at her seaside flat in Margate.