Composer and Violinist Sue Aston graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire and freelanced as a professional violinist with symphony and chamber orchestras as well as doing sessions for rock and folk bands, both as an orchestral member, as well as a soloist.  Sue also appeared on classical recordings, radio and television, both nationally and internationally, and worked with eminent classical musicians such as Simon Rattle, Nigel Kennedy, Peter Donohoe, Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Charles Groves and Esa Pekka Salonen, and Chris de Burgh, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick from the pop and folk world.

From Birmingham To Cornwall

I graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire and freelanced as a professional violinist with symphony and chamber orchestras, as well as doing sessions for rock and folk bands, both as an orchestral member and as a soloist.

It was also during this time that I appeared on classical recordings, radio and television, both nationally and internationally, and worked with eminent musicians such as Simon Rattle, Nigel Kennedy, Peter Donohoe, Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Charles Groves and Esa Pekka Salonen from the classical music world, and Gordon Giltrap, Chris de Burgh, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick from the realms of pop and folk.

I started composing on both the violin and piano from an early age, often improvising over the classical and gypsy music that I loved playing, and interpreting the music to make it my own style. This created a passion to create my own music, and record four albums and a DVD. My music videos have been featured on Sky, Classic FMTV and BBC 1 and my music has been played on BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4.

Cornwall and the Landscape

It was when she moved to Cornwall in 2004 that she started to really concentrate on composing her own music.  She has released three albums, a DVD and an EP during this time and is now releasing new music on a monthly basis.

“I am aware of how music has changed, especially in how people listen and consume it.  I will still do physical editions for my Patrons, but my focus now is getting my music into Film, TV and Stage.  You will start to see new releases on Spotify and iTunes“

To get an idea of how well her music compliments the visual media you only have to look at her recent videos.

“I have my own recording studio and record primarily on piano and violin, although I have access to many other musicians if required.  I also do a lot of string arranging for clients.

As a composer I can change arrangements and compositions very quickly to fit the scene required”.

Influences

Although classically trained, Sue was always a musical rebel, often listening to punk and rock music alongside violin concertos. As a young child, Sue would interpret violin virtuoso showpieces, but improvise and change them, creating her own musical soundscapes.