Claire Victoria Roberts

Described as writing “music of mood and muscle” by Wales Arts Review, Claire Victoria Roberts is a composer, vocalist and violinist who creates richlyscored, glimmering music, that draws upon diverse influences: from her love of lyrical jazz, to traditional fiddle music, and impressionist orchestral textures.

Born in Wales, she began performing classical and folk music on the Eisteddfod stages. Her dad, a gypsy jazz violinist, gave her a taste for swing, and after graduating from Oxford with a choral scholarship she cut her teeth touring as violinist vocalist with the Swing Commanders around the UK and Europe. Singing and fiddling on 1940s Western Swing, Claire soon began to make a name for herself as a versatile vocalist performing jazz, swing, bossa, folk and chanson.

As a composer, her music has been performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Psappha Ensemble, cellist Oliver Coates, Opra Cymru, Uproar Ensemble, Camden Symphony Orchestra, Solem Quartet, and The Carice Singers. In collaboration with producer David Coyle, she created electroacoustic works as composer-performer, playing violin, synths and virtual instruments, for Morley Arts Festival, Aberystwyth Arts Festival, and Sherman Theatre.

Claire is the Winner of a Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize 2019-2020, as well as 2017 winner of the Mathias Composition prize, and 2019 winner of a Francis Chagrin award. She has been broadcast on Radio 3, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru.

Biography

Described as writing “music of mood and muscle” by Wales Arts Review, Claire Victoria Roberts is a composer, vocalist and violinist who creates richlyscored, glimmering music, that draws upon diverse influences: from her love of lyrical jazz, to traditional fiddle music, and impressionist orchestral textures.

Born in Wales, she began performing classical and folk music on the Eisteddfod stages. Her dad, a gypsy jazz violinist, gave her a taste for swing, and after graduating from Oxford with a choral scholarship she cut her teeth touring as violinist vocalist with the Swing Commanders around the UK and Europe. Singing and fiddling on 1940s Western Swing, Claire soon began to make a name for herself as a versatile vocalist performing jazz, swing, bossa, folk and chanson.

As a composer, her music has been performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Psappha Ensemble, cellist Oliver Coates, Opra Cymru, Uproar Ensemble, Camden Symphony Orchestra, Solem Quartet, and The Carice Singers. In collaboration with producer David Coyle, she created electroacoustic works as composer-performer, playing violin, synths and virtual instruments, for Morley Arts Festival, Aberystwyth Arts Festival, and Sherman Theatre.

Claire is the Winner of a Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize 2019-2020, as well as 2017 winner of the Mathias Composition prize, and 2019 winner of a Francis Chagrin award. She has been broadcast on Radio 3, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru.

External Links

Music Map

Discover more about the classical music of today with NMC's Music Map, and exciting and educational online tool which enables you to see and hear the connections between composers, their teachers, pupils, influences and their works.

Music Map