ABOUT US
Ret Frem Ensemble interacts with a new audience to the explore the imaginative world of contemporary music through engaging online content, professional development and educational opportunities, and creative programming. We want to invigorate audiences with thrilling, virtuosic performances of new music in remarkable settings. We work with the most talented music creators living today, and investigate and develop little-known genres and artists to bring them together with the audience they deserve.
Formed in 2015, Ret Frem is a chamber music ensemble brought together by composer and artistic director Will Handysides.
THE ENSEMBLE
Fraser holds Masters from Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a BMus (Hons) at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. He has an exciting, diverse career spanning all styles of music: from live performance and recording sessions with artists inc Eminem, Burna Boy and dodie to orchestral concerts with London Sinfonietta; from Royal Festival Hall to Wembley Arena. Fraser enjoys presenting audiences with the ever-growing array of new, stimulating music being composed today.
Kate is studying for a Masters at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with Matthew Jones. At GSMD she has taken part in projects with London Symphony Orchestra and Australian Chamber Orchestra. In 2017 she became co-principal viola of Skallsjö Sommarorkester, an unconducted string ensemble based in Gothenburg. In 2018 she was recipient of the Max and Peggy Morgan Award for Viola, giving the winner’s recital in St Martin in the Fields. Kate is generously supported by Norman Gee Foundation.
Abi Heath is an versatile and imaginative musician. She graduated from Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2017 with distinction at BMus and MMus. She is a freelance performer and community workshop leader, working with ensembles across the UK, performing a wide range of repertoire in venues from intimate churches to large concert halls. Notable collaborations inc Royal Opera House, BBC and LSO. A founding member of Ret Frem, Abi enjoys working with composers on new works of contemporary music.
Jenni is a London-based performer and maker. Career highlights inc performing at SJSS, on Radio 3, QEH and the Barbican as a soloist and in chamber groups inc Personal Clutter and Bastard Assignments. She has played at festivals inc Darmstadt, Principal Sound and Tete a Tete. She has improvised on numerous film scores, with three premieres at BFI in recent months. Jenni is studying for a PhD at The University of Leeds and is recipient of the Stanley Burton Scholarship to support her research.
Will is a composer and arts administrator based in London. Will founded Ret Frem Ensemble in 2015, successfully forming a platform for composers and performers to work together, bringing new music to new audiences. As a composer, he has written several pieces for Ret Frem and for organisations including Composers Ensemble, Bit20 Ensemble, Onyx Brass, Trondheim Sinfonietta and Tête-À-Tête. He has also worked for London Ear Festival, Borealis Festival of Contemporary Music and Royal Opera House.