davis robb duo violin/double bass
Sunday 19 January 2025, 3pm · St Mary's Parish Church, Haddington
LONG DAYS, SHORT NIGHTS
In our informal Jazz in January! slot we are delighted to present multi-award-winnning jazz bassist Andrew Robb and Emily Davis, the newly appointed leader of the Hallé Orchestra. They will play an eclectic blend of classical music, the Great American Songbook, folk music from Brazil, Scotland, and Norway, and a work written for the duo by the exciting young Scottish composer Catriona Price.
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EMILY DAVIS enjoys a vibrant and international career as an orchestra leader, soloist, chamber musician and teacher.
Recently appointed Leader of the Hallé Orchestra from the 2024/25 season (a 30% position), she combines this with guest leading orchestras elsewhere in the U.K. and internationally. Orchestras she is invited to lead include the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few. She formerly held the position of Concertmaster with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and for two years as a student was Concertmaster of the European Union Youth Orchestra.
Emily has performed as a soloist in festivals and venues across the world. Memorable highlights include Arvo Pärt’s, ‘Fratres’ with conductor Vasily Petrenko at the Pärnu Festival in Estonia; Piazzolla’s, ‘Four Seasons’ at the Bergen International Festival; the Cuban premiere of Vaughan Williams’s, ‘Lark Ascending’; Szymanowski’s Concerto No.2 with the Ålesund Symphony Orchestra (Norway); Prokofiev’s 2nd Concerto with the Bristol Symphony Orchestra and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra. She has broadcast live as a soloist on British (BBC), Estonian, Romanian, Cuban, Norwegian (NRK) and Irish (RTÉ) radio stations.
Emily is passionate about directing larger chamber ensembles from the violin and founded ‘Thirteen North’ with Co-Artistic Director Catriona Price. As an ensemble they have a unique influence of both classical and folk music, formed of musicians who are performers, composers and improvisers in their own right. They are driven to bring classical music out of concert halls and into the heart of communities around Scotland.
As a director, other notable performances include leading an ensemble of young European and Cuban musicians for a live televised concert in Havana, directing a performance of Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante at the Gothenburg Konserthuset as both director and soloist and directing the strings of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra at the Trondheim Kammer Fest. As a chamber musician, Emily has also collaborated with notable artists and groups including Paul Lewis, Kian Soltani, Julian Rachlin, Lars Vogt and the Hebrides Ensemble.
Emily enjoys frequent invitations to collaborate with chamber orchestras, including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Aurora Orchestra in London, the Scottish Ensemble and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, touring to inspiring venues across the world including Carnegie Hall (New York), Suntory Hall (Tokyo) and the Musikverein (Vienna).
Driven to share her wide ranging musical experiences, she has been appointed a Violin Professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, and is a former teacher at St Mary’s specialist music school in Edinburgh. This coming year she will tutor the first violin sections of both the National Youth Orchestra of GB and the European Union Youth Orchestra.
In the academic year 2021-22, Emily completed a graduate certificate with the Global Leaders Program to expand her knowledge of organisation leadership and cultural changemaking - www.globalleadersprogram.com
Emily plays on a Ferdinand Gagliano violin kindly loaned to her through the Beare’s International Violin Society.
• • •
Since winning 1st Prize at the European Society of Bassists Jazz Competition in 2018, ANDREW ROBB is establishing himself as one of the most versatile and talented young double bassists in Europe. Growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, he started learning double bass at the age of seven and became immersed in classical and jazz music. Equally versatile in both styles, his musical talents have been widely recognised and was recently named as the only representative for the arts in Scottish Review’s 20/20 Vision Young Scots of The Year in December 2019.
He graduated with BMus Jazz at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama 2012. During his time there he led the double bass section of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and won the BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 2009. This led to his music being featured on BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 3 as well as performing at the Edinburgh, Glasgow and London Jazz festivals.
As a sideman he plays with the award-winning Alan Benzie Trio, Henry Spencer’s Juncture, Renato D’Aiello’s Quartet resident on Monday nights at Ronnie Scott’s and jazz folk group Twelfth Day. Andrew completed a Masters in Jazz Performance at the Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen in 2018. His co-founded trio A Northern Code, with Mathias Marstrander and Sigurd Steinkopf, is released their debut album in December 2019 on the Øra Fonogram label and successfully toured across the UK and Norway.
Andrew has had the pleasure of playing with the legendary US singer Salena Jones, Norwegian Jazz legends Dag Arnesen and Knut Kristainsen, the Art Blakey alumnus Valery Ponomarev, saxophone stars Tim Garland and Tommy Smith, organist Tony Monaco, UK pianists Julian Joseph and Kit Downes, singer Cleveland Watkis and trumpeter Byron Wallen. He has toured extensively in the UK and across Europe.
Andrew is a sought-after educator of Jazz, Improvisation, and Double Bass. He has worked with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, The National Youth Jazz Collective, The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland and The National Children’s Orchestra of Scotland. His workshop series Freeing The Music has given improvisation workshops across the UK and recently completed a successful composition collaboration with the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain.
He was appointed Head of Jazz at St Mary’s Specialist Music School, Edinburgh in 2018, Senior Lecturer of Jazz Bass at Leeds Conservatoire in 2019 and Part Time Lecturer of Jazz at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2024 he was appointed as Professor of Double Bass at Junior Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London as well as Double Bass Teacher at Chaterhouse School, Woldingham School and Wetherby School in London. Andrew is a Remic Microphone Endorsing Artist.
Recently appointed Leader of the Hallé Orchestra from the 2024/25 season (a 30% position), she combines this with guest leading orchestras elsewhere in the U.K. and internationally. Orchestras she is invited to lead include the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few. She formerly held the position of Concertmaster with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and for two years as a student was Concertmaster of the European Union Youth Orchestra.
Emily has performed as a soloist in festivals and venues across the world. Memorable highlights include Arvo Pärt’s, ‘Fratres’ with conductor Vasily Petrenko at the Pärnu Festival in Estonia; Piazzolla’s, ‘Four Seasons’ at the Bergen International Festival; the Cuban premiere of Vaughan Williams’s, ‘Lark Ascending’; Szymanowski’s Concerto No.2 with the Ålesund Symphony Orchestra (Norway); Prokofiev’s 2nd Concerto with the Bristol Symphony Orchestra and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra. She has broadcast live as a soloist on British (BBC), Estonian, Romanian, Cuban, Norwegian (NRK) and Irish (RTÉ) radio stations.
Emily is passionate about directing larger chamber ensembles from the violin and founded ‘Thirteen North’ with Co-Artistic Director Catriona Price. As an ensemble they have a unique influence of both classical and folk music, formed of musicians who are performers, composers and improvisers in their own right. They are driven to bring classical music out of concert halls and into the heart of communities around Scotland.
As a director, other notable performances include leading an ensemble of young European and Cuban musicians for a live televised concert in Havana, directing a performance of Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante at the Gothenburg Konserthuset as both director and soloist and directing the strings of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra at the Trondheim Kammer Fest. As a chamber musician, Emily has also collaborated with notable artists and groups including Paul Lewis, Kian Soltani, Julian Rachlin, Lars Vogt and the Hebrides Ensemble.
Emily enjoys frequent invitations to collaborate with chamber orchestras, including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Aurora Orchestra in London, the Scottish Ensemble and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, touring to inspiring venues across the world including Carnegie Hall (New York), Suntory Hall (Tokyo) and the Musikverein (Vienna).
Driven to share her wide ranging musical experiences, she has been appointed a Violin Professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, and is a former teacher at St Mary’s specialist music school in Edinburgh. This coming year she will tutor the first violin sections of both the National Youth Orchestra of GB and the European Union Youth Orchestra.
In the academic year 2021-22, Emily completed a graduate certificate with the Global Leaders Program to expand her knowledge of organisation leadership and cultural changemaking - www.globalleadersprogram.com
Emily plays on a Ferdinand Gagliano violin kindly loaned to her through the Beare’s International Violin Society.
• • •
Since winning 1st Prize at the European Society of Bassists Jazz Competition in 2018, ANDREW ROBB is establishing himself as one of the most versatile and talented young double bassists in Europe. Growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, he started learning double bass at the age of seven and became immersed in classical and jazz music. Equally versatile in both styles, his musical talents have been widely recognised and was recently named as the only representative for the arts in Scottish Review’s 20/20 Vision Young Scots of The Year in December 2019.
He graduated with BMus Jazz at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama 2012. During his time there he led the double bass section of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and won the BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 2009. This led to his music being featured on BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 3 as well as performing at the Edinburgh, Glasgow and London Jazz festivals.
As a sideman he plays with the award-winning Alan Benzie Trio, Henry Spencer’s Juncture, Renato D’Aiello’s Quartet resident on Monday nights at Ronnie Scott’s and jazz folk group Twelfth Day. Andrew completed a Masters in Jazz Performance at the Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen in 2018. His co-founded trio A Northern Code, with Mathias Marstrander and Sigurd Steinkopf, is released their debut album in December 2019 on the Øra Fonogram label and successfully toured across the UK and Norway.
Andrew has had the pleasure of playing with the legendary US singer Salena Jones, Norwegian Jazz legends Dag Arnesen and Knut Kristainsen, the Art Blakey alumnus Valery Ponomarev, saxophone stars Tim Garland and Tommy Smith, organist Tony Monaco, UK pianists Julian Joseph and Kit Downes, singer Cleveland Watkis and trumpeter Byron Wallen. He has toured extensively in the UK and across Europe.
Andrew is a sought-after educator of Jazz, Improvisation, and Double Bass. He has worked with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, The National Youth Jazz Collective, The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland and The National Children’s Orchestra of Scotland. His workshop series Freeing The Music has given improvisation workshops across the UK and recently completed a successful composition collaboration with the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain.
He was appointed Head of Jazz at St Mary’s Specialist Music School, Edinburgh in 2018, Senior Lecturer of Jazz Bass at Leeds Conservatoire in 2019 and Part Time Lecturer of Jazz at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2024 he was appointed as Professor of Double Bass at Junior Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London as well as Double Bass Teacher at Chaterhouse School, Woldingham School and Wetherby School in London. Andrew is a Remic Microphone Endorsing Artist.
