Julia Sherriff

I am an amateur musician who rediscovered the joys (and challenges) of writing my own music during the pandemic. I have no formal musical training beyond what I learned at school, where I was lucky to have some wonderful teachers and to study the violin and piano to Grade 8, along with A-level music.

Over the years I have played and sung in numerous orchestras, choirs and other ensembles, but for many years (almost a period of a decade) I played very little at all: as I think many people find, other aspects of life simply got in the way. Which is not to say that music disappeared for me, but the violin and piano practice certainly became less frequent!

A few years ago I decided to change that. I made the only new year’s resolution that I have ever kept! I would do something musical every day, whether it was reading about music, actively listening to it, or playing. I stuck to it, and eventually worked up the courage to join a local amateur orchestra, and slowly but surely I became a musician again.

Then COVID-19 came along and we were all confined to our own homes. Amateur music-making stopped, to all intents and purposes (although with the help of technology some things did continue). In an effort to keep playing, and to keep in contact with friends, family and above all those I missed playing with, I started experimenting. To begin with, we shared and combined recordings, and then I decided to try to write something myself. When playing resumed we started playing chamber music every week. That inspired me to have a go at writing for string quartet, and the results are here…!

Visit my website: https://juliaasherriff.com

Visit my YouTube channel: @juliasherriff