Esther Swift ‘Expectations of a Lifetime’

Join Esther Swift as she launches her debut album 'Expectations of a Lifetime' at The Queen’s Hall in June 2024.

The album is a culmination of Esther’s musical work to date, from her roots in folk music, her love of dance music and her studies of classical and jazz. This immersive performance will see The Queen’s Hall transformed into a breathing urban forest – created by Esther in collaboration with visual artist Oana Stanciu, sound designer Dave House and lighting designer Sam Jones.

The launch will feature the inimitable string quartet Vulva Voce and harp, vocals and sonic palettes performed by Esther. Drawing on themes of womanhood, metamorphoses and nature, this performance invites the audience to experience the music in a multi-sensory environment in Edinburgh’s leading chamber music venue.

A prolific, boldly innovative harpist, composer and singer, Esther works across genres as diverse as classical chamber music and free improvisation, and writes for ensembles large and small. Likened to Kate Bush, Anna Meredith and Björk, her style is influenced by her love of jazz, minimalism and dance music alongside her folk background.

Oana Stanciu is one of Edinburgh's leading visual artists, her work combines performance, photography and moving image to create unnatural and subtly distorted self-portraits. Her award winning work has been exhibited in Edinburgh at the Ingleby Gallery and the Royal Scottish Academy, as well as in Romania, Japan, Norway and other cities in the UK.

About Vulva Voce

Vulva Voce is an all woman genre-defying string quartet that brings exciting, dynamic performances of music composed by women and underrepresented voices to spaces and venues beyond the concert hall. Their mission is to break away from long held conventions of classical music and the string quartet, presenting audiences with radical and refreshing musical experiences.

About Juliette Lemoine and Chris Amer

Two exceptional and accomplished new voices on the Scottish music scene, Juliette Lemoine and Chris Amer together explore traditional Scottish music with originality, energy and depth. Since launching her SAY Award Long-listed album ‘Soaring’ with a sold-out performance at Celtic Connections 2023, cellist Juliette has continued to cement her status as a trailblazer, progressing and redefining the cello within Scottish traditional music. Chris Amer plays a unique 5-string theorbed tenor guitar and exemplifies a thoughtful, musically intelligent playing style. As a unique duo, their live performances are an immersive dialogue characterised by rich emotional colour, close interaction and vibrant spontaneity.

Image credit Sean Purser

Presented by The Queen's Hall. This event is supported by Creative Scotland, Help Musicians and Holyrood Distillery.