Francesca Lombardelli

Hailing from the brass band scene in the Midlands, Francesca became principal percussionist in the National Youth Brass Band under Bramwell Tovey in 2013. In the summer before taking up an offer from the Royal Academy of Music, she was invited to play in the respected Chipping Campden Festival Academy Orchestra accompanying soloists such as Nicola Benedetti, Paul Lewis and Roderick Williams, and in 2017, was selected for the LSO Percussion Academy. Her most notable and enjoyable performances have included those at the 2019 World Economic Forum under Marin Alsop, Maria de Buenos Aires at Latitude Festival, Mahler’s 9th under Semyon Bychkov, Jonathon Dove’s Flight with Royal Academy Opera and playing as part of a drumline for Clean Bandit at the 2017 MTV EMA awards. She most recently spent the Summer in Germany, participating in the Berlin Opera Academy’s Orchestra, supported by Help Musicians UK and was selected to play in the Schloss Hundisburg Music Festival Orchestra near Magdeburg, in both Festivals as Principal Timpanist. Amongst more conventional concerts, Francesca particularly enjoyed playing Mozart in an old Silent Movie Theatre, Piazzolla on a train, and Brahms in a Barn! Francesca looks forward to future performance engagements, including the production of Madam Butterfly for the Glyndebourne Tour, and embarking on further study as a scholarship holder and Postgraduate student at RAM.