Shirley Smart, cello Tuesday 28 October

Acknowledged as one of the UK's most versatile and creative cellists and composers, Shirley Smart is equally at home and well versed in jazz, folk, Middle Eastern and World Music, as well as classical, and her music draws upon this rich tapestry of influences.

Shirley has established herself firmly on both the jazz and world music scenes working with artists including Mulatu Astatke, Neil Cowley, Robert Mitchell, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Nikki Yeoh and Alice Zawadzki. Current projects in which she is involved also include Issie Barratt's Interchange Dectet and Nikki Yeoh's trio project Café Oran, which debuted at the Ronnie Scott's International Piano Trio Festival in 2019. She has since also opened for Avishai Cohen at the Barbican. She appears as a guest on the upcoming NYJO album, and released an acclaimed duo album with pianist Robert Mitchell, 'Zeitgeist' in 2022. Shirley leads, and composes for, several of her own projects

She is also a keen educator, and is Professor of Musicianship and Improvisation at the Royal College of Music, and Musician-in-Residence at St. John's College, Cambridge.