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Hammered dulcimer

Kate Arnold

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About Kate

Hammered dulcimer, violin, vocals. Mainly folk music and improvisation, also pop/rock, Western classical, early and Middle Eastern music.
Hammered dulcimer
London
Public liability insurance of £10 million

Originally a classically trained violinist and vocalist, Kate also took up the hammered dulcimer in 1997. Her particular interests are in improvisation, experimental composition and soundscapes, early/medieval and Renaissance music, Middle Eastern and folk music. She performs as a solo artist, with her band Fear of the Forest, and also works as a session musician and teacher. She can arrange different groups or combinations of musicians, whatever is most appropriate for your event. Recent engagements have included playing for Lisa Knapp, Rose McDowall and Doudou Cissoko, and she has worked with record producers such as Steve Albini and Tony Visconti. A love of new challenges has led her to venture into several different genres of music, making her an unusually versatile musician, as comfortable playing fiddle at a ceilidh dance or in a rock band as she is leading a classical string quartet or improvising on an Arabic maqam. The hammered dulcimer has tended to be treated mainly as a ‘folk’ instrument, but is so much more versatile than this would suggest. Kate's instrument (made by Oakwood) is fitted with a customised Headway electric pick-up so that she can play in any setting and with any kind of ensemble. She has an MMus (Distinction) in Ethnomusicology (specialising in Middle Eastern music performance) from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. She has a Certificate of Teaching from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and is a member of both the Incorporated Society of Musicians and the Musicians' Union.

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7th Anniversary
This act has been working with Encore for over 7 years
Musicianship
Genres:
Classical, Baroque, Classical crossover, Early music, Medieval music, Renaissance, Contemporary classical, Film / TV music, Opera, Electronic, Ambient, Electronica, Folk, Folk rock, Traditional Irish folk, Traditional Scottish folk, Ceillidh, Traditional English folk, Avant garde, Noise music, Experimental, Originals, Pop, Acoustic, Covers, Ambient pop, Vintage, Rock, Alternative rock, Punk rock, Progressive rock, Indie, Pop rock, Heavy metal, Classic rock, Post rock, World music, African music, Arabic, French music, Scottish music
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Instruments:
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Event types:
Recording session, Wedding, Bar / Club / Venue event, Private event, Corporate event, Concert, Theatre / Show, Burns night, Birthday party, Christmas party, New Year's Eve
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Other skills:
Arranger, Composer, Lyricist, Songwriter, Orchestrator, Transcription, Fluent improviser, Fluent sight-reader, Live looping, Instrumental teaching, Musicologist
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Kate's Song list

(All original works unless otherwise stated):
2n=24
Shanty
Threes and Sevens
Family II (Captain Swing)
Skeleton Key
In Nomine 1
Fairy Tale Ending
Ship in Distress (Trad. Arr.)
Pearls Before Swine
In China, Said the Moon (after Hans Christian Andersen and Stephin Merritt)
Here Comes the Flood (Peter Gabriel)

Kate's Reviews

From customers:

JM
Jen W
7 years ago

Excellent musicianship.

DF
Dave A
7 years ago

Deft at weaving exotic musical patterns