Lunchtime Live | Young Artists: Hertfordshire Festival of Music

We are pleased to be presenting this week’s Lunchtime Live in association with the Hertfordshire Festival of Music.

Admission to the concert is free and there will be a retiring collection towards the work of the cathedral's Music Department.

Ella Harrison is a first year student at the Royal College of Music, studying with Richard Harwood. She previously studied at the Purcell School with Pal Banda and attended the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music. She was a member of the National Youth Orchestra for five years and was principal cellist in 2025, performing at the BBC Proms. A passionate chamber musician, Ella has performed in renowned venues including Wigmore Hall, the Elgar Concert Hall in Birmingham, and the Leeds International Chamber Music Series. Her recent chamber work features performances of Ravel’s piano trio, Mendelssohn’s Octet, and Debussy’s String Quartet. As a soloist, Ella has appeared with the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra in performances of Elgar’s Cello Concerto at the Bradshaw Hall in Birmingham and at Julian Lloyd Webber’s Broadway Arts Festival. She has also given a recital at Burgh House and collaborated with the Lee Singers in Nystedt’s Stabat Mater and Tavener’s Svyati. Most recently, she performed Shostakovich’s 1st concerto with the Amadeus Chamber orchestra. Ella has participated in masterclasses with leading cellists including Zlatomir Fung, Robert Cohen and Josephine Knight. She currently plays on an 1800s English cello generously loaned by Benslow.