London-based duo, Flutes & Frets present intimate, magnetic performances that exploit the fragility and versatility of their ensemble. Their concerts feature an array of instruments that enable them to express the colours, gesture and emotions of repertoire from the medieval era through to contemporary.
Enthusiastic about developing in knowledge, they are devoted to keeping primary sources at the core of their historically-informed approach to performance practice. Through researching and arranging music for their combination, they push the boundaries of repertoire creating imaginative and innovative programmes.
Flutes & Frets have had the pleasure of performing all over the UK and Europe. Their radio debut with WDR 3 took place in 2023 and they have been featured in world-class festivals including Misteria Paschalia, the National Centre of Early Music, Alpen Classica Festival, Festival Van Vlaanderen Antwerpen, International Early Music Festival of Sierra Espuña and the Wunderkammer Festival in Trieste. Autumn 2025 will see the release of their debut album Heir Of All The Ages released by EM Records featuring sound-snapshots of the evolution of British music over the past six hundred years. Highlights include a new folk-inspired commission for flute and guitar from British composer Seth Bye; an arrangement of one of Henry Eccles’s many violin sonatas for traverso and theorbo; and lute songs by Renaissance court musician, Nicholas Lanier, amongst many other gems.
They have won numerous international competitions including the 2023 International H.I.F. Biber Competition; 2022 “22nd LAMS Matera Award”; 2021 La Follia Nuova International Chamber Music Competition; and the International Music Competition (IMC) of Association Les Musicales Du Centre. They have been Making Music Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist (PDGYA) Award Scheme artists, an ECOS Ensemble 2023, Brighton Early Music Festival (BREMF) Live! Ensemble 2022 and DEBUT Horizon Artists. In 2022, they were chosen as an “IYAP Selected Promising Ensemble” for the International Young Artist Presentation, enabling them to perform in the Early Music Festival, “Laus Polyphoniae” at AMUZ, Antwerp, Belgium. This led to being selected for an award from the European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA) supported by the European Festivals Association.
Known for their onstage chemistry and interaction, they cultivate a special sound-world taking audiences on a journey through time.