Clara has recently discovered her dream cello and is on a fundraising mission. The instrument is a beautiful antique Italian cello on generous short-term loan from Florian Leonhard Fine Violins. If you support Clara’s artistic vision and work, please consider making a donation or investment towards the purchase of this instrument by emailing or completing the contact form below to learn more. Thank you!
Clara Hope Simpson is a creative and versatile cellist who has performed as a soloist in venues including Wigmore Hall, Stoller Hall, and Kodak Hall. She has won solo awards including the Sir John Barbirolli Prize for Cello and the Musicales Prize at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) as well as the cello concerto competition at the Eastman School of Music. She has performed as a concerto soloist with orchestras including the Manchester Beethoven Orchestra, the Oldham Symphony Orchestra, RNCM Repertoire Orchestra, and Eastman School Symphony Orchestra. She has worked with composers including Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Anna Clyne on their repertoire for solo cello, and performed across multiple continents in solo and chamber contexts. In 2022, Clara was awarded the Exceptional Global Talent Visa from Arts Council England. She has been principal cellist of numerous ensembles and has additionally performed with groups such as Manchester Collective and Manchester Camerata. She has been a member of Eastman Collegium Musicum and RNCM Baroque Soloists, has dabbled in the five string Baroque Cello, and has an interest in interdisciplinary artistic collaboration and improvisation. Clara is passionate about chamber music and her collaborators have included cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard of the Danish String Quartet, pianist Keigo Mukawa, and the Elias Quartet.Clara was the first cellist to be selected as a 360 fellow with Manchester Camerata in fall 2024. Since then, she has had the opportunity to perform alongside the orchestra, participate in Camerata’s groundbreaking music and dementia work, and be supported in her creative and professional development. She traveled to and from Paris in 2024-2025 to study chamber music with Gabriel Le Magadure of Quatuor Ébène in her former role as cellist of the Aestus Quartet. In March 2025, Clara broke her neck as the passenger in a car accident. Following a long recovery, she is looking forward to return to performance in upcoming engagements and is excited for what the future holds.In the 2023-2024 season, Clara toured internationally to countries including France, Ireland, Sweden, Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, and Italy. She made radio appearances on Radio Slovenija 3 and the Radio Television of Serbia. Clara performed at festivals including Festival Ravel, Winchester Chamber Music Festival, Cellissimo (Music for Galway), Fairplay Chamber Music, Colluvio Academy, and Residart. She is a 2023-2024 Britten Pears Young Artist and attended the Chamber Futures intensive in contemporary music with the Aestus Quartet in Snape Maltings. She was also selected as Studio Quartet of the Royal Northern College of Music in 2023-2024 with the Aestus. One of her highlights from the year included giving the closing performance at the 2024 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards alongside Instrumentalist winner, Jasdeep Singh Degun.Clara enjoys sharing her love of music with her community as an educator and advocate for music in schools. She began cello in her school’s fourth-grade orchestra and strongly believes that everyone should have access to learn an instrument. Clara has been teaching for over 10 years, and has studied pedagogy and Dalcroze. She has coached beginner through university-level cello, taught elementary school string programs in England and the United States, and is a Junior RNCM substitute teacher. She teaches at Sheffield Music Academy as well as privately in Manchester and is proud of her students’ accomplishments.Inclusivity and accessibility within music and education are important to Clara. She volunteer teaches online with the ARCO Project in India and has been a Benedetti Foundation Ambassador. She has taught young cellists with Special Educational Needs (SEND) and helped to lead music workshops for children and adults within the SEND spectrum. She regularly helps to lead musical workshops for school children and has collaborated with festivals such as Lymm Chamber Music, Lake District Music, and Festival Ravel in this area.Clara holds a Master of Performance with distinction from the RNCM, a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from the University of Rochester, and entrepreneurial training from the Institute for Music Leadership. She has performed in masterclasses and studied short-term with artists such as Alban Gerhardt, Miklós Perényi, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Camille Thomas, Natalie Clein, Torleif Thedéen, Jakob Koranyi, Natasha Brofsky, Lluís Claret, and Richard Aaron. She is forever grateful for the support of her primary teachers: Hannah Roberts, Steven Doane, Rosemary Elliott, Mara Finkelstein, Toby Saks, and Shaun Diaz.
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© 2025, Clara Hope Simpson. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Tom Barker.