About
Coral Lancaster is a cellist with many years experience both teaching and performing. Born in Perth, Australia, Coral has been living in the UK since 1997. She performs as a freelance cellist with UK orchestras, including the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Coral gives solo concerts in which she especially enjoys exploring modern solo cello repertoire and music by women composers.
Why am I a musician?
Music allows us to touch a deeper part of ourselves: for me, music is a type of ecstasy. I felt the first strong pull towards a life in music as a 12-year-old watching a concert of the Dvorak Cello Concerto:
Since then I have been privileged to perform the Dvorak cello concerto as a soloist with orchestra and have also played the concerto in numerous auditions: the music always inspires and is a great cornerstone of the cello repertoire!
Becoming a musician has involved hard work and many hours of practice over the years. I studied with Gregory Baron and Suzanne Wijsman in Western Australia, where I completed a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Music. In 1995 I spent a year in Canberra learning with David Pereira at the Australian National University.
In 1997 I moved to the UK. This was a transformative time for me as I encountered so many amazing musicians in master classes and courses. The process of going for auditions taught me the importance of tenacity and working extremely hard to achieve the highest standards. I worked fulltime in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for six years before launching as a freelance musician.
Since 2009 I have performed regularly as a freelance cellist with many orchestras in the UK. I also give solo concerts and perform in chamber music collaborations. My home is Oxford – a city I love! In my spare time I enjoy both walking in the beautiful river meadows and exploring the city’s older streets and university buildings.
For more information on my concerts see www.corallancaster.com.
‘Coral is an encouraging and engaging teacher. My daughter has progressed well in technique and musicality with Coral, and she has grown to love the cello as an instrument. Coral includes some theory and music knowledge in the lessons, as well. All in all, she is a wonderful and highly skilled teacher!’ (Helena, parent)
‘Sophie has enjoyed her cello lessons with Coral very much over the last year, but we were particularly impressed with the effort Coral went to during lockdown, to make online lessons as beneficial, nurturing and helpful as possible.’ (Jo, parent)
‘Coral is a very professional cello teacher. She is patient and very clear with all her explanations. The lessons are enjoyable yet she stretches the children’s abilities even from the earliest stages. She is an extremely talented and beautiful cellist.’ (Monica – mum to Angharad age 8)