The Hermes Experiment heads off to France tomorrow for our improvisation residency (generously supported by) Help Musicians UK – a quick update before our trip to Normandy…

What a few months it’s been! Most recently, The Hermes Experiment was featured in a BBC Radio 3 Open Ear event at LSO St Luke’s, where we played wonderful pieces by Meredith Monk, Josephine Stephenson and Joel Rust. The broadcast will be on Saturday 22 September at 10pm; in the meantime, you can catch snippets of our performance, along with a couple of interviews, in a feature by BBC World Service – catch it now while the link is still live!

In other news, I was fortunate enough to work with Britten Sinfonia and Thomas Adès on some whacky and wonderful pieces by Gerald Barry: his Piano Concerto, and the virtuosic vocal showpiece The Conquest of Ireland, including a tour to Amsterdam where I played at the Concertgebouw for the very first time – an experience I won’t forget any time soon!

Another first for me in May was working in a prison, helping to deliver a workshop as part of Tuning Up, a programme run in association with Britten Sinfonia, Orchestras Live and HMP Whitemoor. This project was extremely powerful for many reasons, above all serving as a strong reminder that the arts have a place all through our society, and that they serve to enrich and empower, that art is something for everyone, everywhere.

A festival renowned for its audience reach is the BBC Proms, where I recently played with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The event was a celebration of the 40-year anniversary of the BBC Young Musician Competition, engulfing a huge 22(!) soloists across 9 pieces, including 3 world premieres written especially for the evening.

Finally: we have some new headshots! The Hermes Experiment recently updated its photos with thanks to the wonderful Raphaël Neal, who took some individual headshots too, one of which is featured at the top of this update. Keep your eyes peeled on the Gallery for new pics soon…