BETH HIGHAM -EDWARDS
Percussionist
Beth Higham-Edwards is a London-based percussionist. Contemporary music, theatre, and chamber music are her specialisms. Skills include tuned percussion, hand percussion, bodhran, timpani, drum kit and orchestral percussion. Beth is the co-recipient of the RPS ABO Salomon Prize 2021, and is on the board of trustees with the National Children's Orchestra
Recent theatre credits include; The Mirror and the Light (West End for RSC), Inala (West End and international tour), Amadeus, Common, and Twelfth Night (dep) at The National Theatre and The Tempest (for which she was Musical Director), King Lear, Measure for Measure, Macbeth, Henry V (dep), and Othello at Shakespeare’s Globe. Beth was deputy MD on King Lear, Macbeth and Othello.
Beth has recently worked with the BBC Singers, Paraorchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and the London Contemporary Orchestra.
Beth is a founding member of the percussion group Beaten Track Ensemble where she performed to critical acclaim in the Tate Modern’s Alexander Calder exhibition Performing Sculpture. She appeared on BBC Radio 3 In Tune and Music Matters with the group. They have performed three times at the Wigmore Hall for their learning events in 2020-2022.
Beth performed with Alter Bridge, Bring Me the Horizon and Architects as part of Parallax Orchestra. She has performed live with Blanco White and Fionn Regan, and as a session artist for mercury prize winning Alt J. She has experience working with synthesisers and backing vocals. Other session work includes working with composers Cheryl Frances-Hoad for Champs Hill Records and Charlotte Harding for Nonclassical.
Beth trained for a Masters at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and for an undergraduate in Music (performance and composition) at the University of Birmingham.
Beth co-created and performed in Daughters of the Sun in Autumn 2018 at Camden People's Theatre. Beth contributed ideas towards the original script, composed the score, arranged songs and performed in a speaking role as well as a musician.
'Edwards’ musicality brought a great lift to the production. Her utilisation of a variety of instruments throughout the play heightened the tension, working in cohesion with Brewer’s address. The musician’s speech to the audience, without script, was particularly moving. Her kind and warming approach encouraged each individual to really use their own imagination explore their connection to and relationship with music.' - Jessica Battison for North West End