Orchestras & Shows

Abbie is a busy freelancer and has worked with orchestras including the Philharmonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, London Contemporary Orchestra, Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, London Concertante, Arabian Philharmonic, and London Concert Orchestra.

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, Les Misérables, Mary Poppins, An American in Paris, Half a Sixpence, The Snowman and Miss Saigon.

Commercial

A versatile musician, Abbie plays in the orchestra for ‘Ministry of Sound Classical’ (including their 30th birthday celebrations at the O2 and Royal Albert Hall), as well as Clockwork Classical events in the UK & Ibiza, and recording tracks for the no. 1 album ‘Ibiza Classics’ with Pete Tong and The Heritage Orchestra. She has worked with artists including Il Divo, Andrea Bocelli, Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson, and The Who, and regularly plays in orchestra-to-film concerts (incl. tours of Love Actually, Hocus Pocus and Harry Potter). She has also performed in orchestral tributes to Genesis, Led Zeppelin and Queen, and played with various bands at music festivals including Latitude, End of the Road, Gone Wild, and Glastonbury.

Abbie has recorded in many of London’s studios and played on many TV/Film soundtracks including recent releases of Disney’s ‘The Princess’ and a featured track for ‘The Batman’ (2022). She particularly loves playing low flutes; recording on solo alto flute for Voces8’s Classical Chart no.1 album ‘Enchanted Isle’, and on bass and contra-bass flutes for the movie soundtracks ‘Adrift’, ‘Amsterdam’, ‘Knock at the Cabin’, and sample libraries Spitfire Audio and Sonixinema. She also 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). 

solo & chamber

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), 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 solo and 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 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 proud to be a Haynes Flutes Artist and is 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.