Flute Recital - Tilly Coulton - Topsham Music Festival 2026

About

Tilly Coulton is a flute player, improviser, and teacher from Devon, UK. A graduate with distinction from the Royal College of Music (MPerf 2024), and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (BMus(Hons) 2022), her skills range from orchestral playing and solo/chamber recitals to contemporary/experimental music and improvisation.

Tilly is the recipient of several major awards, including the ABRSM Queens Platinum Jubilee Award, and John MacGregor Flute Prize, as well as achieving first prize in both the RCS Concerto Competition and RCS Governors Recital Prize for Woodwind within the same week. She has played in recitals alongside Tim Carey and Sophia Lim at venues including St Dunstans-in-the-West, St Michaels Highgate, and the Yamaha Music School and had her concerto debut in 2024 performing Michael Daughertys Trail of Tears.

As a freelance orchestral player, Tilly has performed throughout the UK and taken part in professional schemes with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Scottish Opera. She served as principal flute with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in 2022. Recent highlights include Messiaens Turangalla-Symphonie at the Royal Festival Hall and John Adams Harmonielehre at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

A keen supporter of contemporary and experimental music, Tilly is Creative Director and principal flute player of the contemporary ensemble Standard Issue: a group that prioritises inclusivity, accessibility, and bringing music by living composers to new audiences. Previous projects also include Ensemble Moderns Young Ensemble Academy (2024), Hylozoic/Desires An Omniscience: an atmos-etheric, transnational, interplanetary, cosmist bird opera, spanning seven continents and the many verses (bass flute) performed at the Finish National Opera (2024), Sound and Music UK Ensemble in Residence (2024), Birmingham Contemporary Music Groups NEXT Programme (2023-24), Floating Worlds: The Seaweed Gatherers by Daryl Jamieson (composer) and Graham Eatough (theatre director) (2022), and performing free improvisations regularly with the London Improvisers Orchestra and others.