Katherine Spencer
Katherine ‘Waffy’ Spencer, the newly appointed principal clarinet of the Handel and Haydn Society, is also the principal of The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, Gabrieli Consort and Players, The Irish Chamber Orchestra, and the City of London Sinfonia, as well as guesting with many of Europe’s leading period and modern orchestras. Katherine has played for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and at a private performance for the Emperor of Japan.
The New York Times says Katherine delivers “a knockout performance”, Opera Wire said her performance with the Handel and Haydn Society “was so exquisite her solo should have been repeated as an encore” and The Independent has acclaimed her “brilliant clarinet solos”.
Katherine made her concerto debut at London’s Royal Festival Hall aged 14. She has played as a soloist in all of the UK’s major concert venues with orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. She has made numerous BBC Radio 3 solo broadcasts, performs at the BBC Proms, and has presented BBC radio programmes. She also performs regularly on Classic FM and many European radio stations, on both modern and period instruments. A believer that music is for everyone, Katherine leads the education and outreach departments of most of her orchestras.
Katherine studied at Chetham’s School of Music (Manchester), The Royal Academy of Music (London), Hannover Hochschule für Musik, and is completing a doctorate at Stony Brook University, New York. Next season Katherine will begin her first season with the Handel and Haydn Society, record with The Vauxhall Band and tour the Mozart Clarinet Concerto as part of OAE’s 40th birthday celebrations. When on tour, she misses her Persian cat. Instagram @dailymidge.