My name is Yijia Cui and I have been teaching double bass at the Abbey School for just over a year. I grew up in Reading and started learning the double bass at the age of 15, through Berkshire Music Trust. At this point, I was still playing violin and piano which I believe were crucial to my musical development before taking up the bass. After leaving school, I attended and graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire after four years of training. Going to a conservatoire was a route I didn’t know anything about until very close to the UCAS applications deadlines but I feel so fortunate that I did explore it because I cannot imagine I’d be half the musician I am now, without that training and immersion in the world of performance.
Since graduating in 2022, I have been enjoying a very busy and successful freelance career. I have had the joy of playing in several of this country’s top orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra to name a few. I’ve also had the pleasure of doing some guest principal double bass work with the English Chamber Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
Freelancing with different groups means that I can enjoy a highly varied career and enjoy lots of different types of projects. Some of the fun projects I have been able to be a part of include the recent Aurora Orchestra BBC Prom which involved playing a symphony from memory and going on some fun tours with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, to India playing for the Ambani family’s pre-wedding events and a special concert with Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. This Autumn, I have been enjoying several weeks of concerts with the CBSO and the Britten Sinfonia orchestra. In October I performed a couple of concerts of How to Train your Dragon live with orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, the hall where I had previously played the score of Top Gun Maverick where Tom Cruise himself had shown up to present.
When I am not at work rehearsing and performing, I am practising for upcoming projects so that I am as prepared as I can be. Being able to make music with my peers everyday and explore the world by a map of concert halls and venues is a huge blessing that I get to call work.
