Amy Jolly
Amy is a cellist and creator living in Manchester, UK. Amy was recently awarded a PhD in performance practice from the Royal Academy of Music for her project The Intervening Cellist - Control & Creativity in Creative Practice. Read more about it here.
Amy is co-founder of improvisatory group Playdates and folk duo Jassper, both with violinist Gemma Bass. She is also a member of trio Little Pillars (Rich Jones, piano and Gemma Bass, violin) and mixed-media duo Bonjour Claude with composer Ellen Sargen. Bonjour Claude run triannual scratch nights for northern-based cross-genre artists at Levenshulme Old Library.
Amy has performed with Psappha, Riot Ensemble and UPROAR and has been involved with CoMA Manchester since its revival in 2020. She has performed as a principal player with BBC Philharmonic, Opera North and Birmingham Royal Ballet and has appeared in pit bands for shows such as Hamilton and Mrs Doubtfire. Current work includes a commissioning project with low-flute specialist Carla Rees (Rarescale) and a folk music revivial in schools in North Wales via BBC NOW Education.
Amy has previously been a recipient of the Charles Hallé Award and the Dame Gillian Brown Scholarship, and has received support from the Richard Stapley Foundation, the Royal Society of Musicians, Britten-Pears Foundation and Help Musicians UK. Amy is lucky enough to play on a William Forster cello from London, 1780 and a Joules Coq cello from Toulon, 1850.
Photos by Dan Wiebe