In this interview the British composer Emma Butterworth talks about Orchard Street, her new opera based on Bristol’s historical links with the slave trade. The opera, which features characters and stories from her own road – Orchard Street – will be performed on the road itself (date TBC). Built in the 1720s, Orchard Street is Bristol’s oldest cul-de-sac.
Emma Butterworth started playing the cello aged four, and, after completing a degree in Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge University, went on to devote herself to a career in music. She completed an MA in Composition for Film and TV at Bristol University. Since then, she has scored over a dozen films and has arranged music for a wide variety of ensembles and genres. More information about Emma Butterworth and her music can be found here.
Alongside her career as a composer, she teaches the cello, and has worked with many student and adult orchestras, coaching chamber music ensembles and leading improvisation sessions. She has also worked as a session musician and singer, and has her own Steampunk folk band – Pocketwatch – for which she sings, plays the cello and writes music.
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Emma Butterworth has lived in Bristol for five years after moving from Bow in London, having grown up in Croydon. She shares her home in Orchard Street with her husband, an Alexander technique teacher, and their toddler son. Funded by Arts Council England, Orchard Street is her first opera.