Lizzie Ball is a British musician, concert producer, violinist, vocalist, and advisor and educator on various musical and theatrical projects. Her career has seen her work with artists including

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

Judith Owen Judith Owen (born 2 January 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her first North American album, ''Emotions on a Postcard'', was released in 1996 and has been followed by several additional albums. She is co-founder of Twanky Records with her hu ...

, Bryan Ferry, the

New York Polyphony New York Polyphony is a male classical vocal quartet based in New York City. Music of the Renaissance and Medieval music periods constitutes the core of the ensemble’s repertoire, but increasingly, new music occupies an important place both i ...

, and

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

James Pearson Trio. In November 2018, Ball's debut curated show ''"Corrido: A Ballad For The Brave"'' premiered at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

as part of their

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

exhibition.

Early career

Ball was born in

Hathersage Hathersage ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District in Derbyshire, England. It lies slightly to the north of the River Derwent, approximately south-west of Sheffield. Toponymy The origin of its name is disputed, although it is ...

, Derbyshire, and attended

Lady Manners School Lady Manners School is an English secondary school located in Bakewell, a market town in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District ...

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...

in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

. Raised in a musical family, her father was a jazz pianist. At the age of seven, Ball heard a violin being played on the radio and decided that it was the instrument she wanted to play. Ball became leader of the

City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra The City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra is an orchestra in Sheffield, England. It has about 90 players whose age range from 13 to 21 years, with half still being at school with the rest at college, many of them training as professional musicians. The ...

, before gaining a place at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

to read Music. Whilst studying at Cambridge, Ball became principal of the Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra, and was an Instrumental Scholar. After graduating from Cambridge University, Ball went on to undertake postgraduate studies at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

and the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, where she studied under violinists

Yossi Zivoni Yossi Zivoni (born Joseph Krasilshikoff) is a violinist, born in Tel Aviv of parents, both of whom were doctors. His middle-class upbringing instilled in him a passion for music and he began to play the flute. At the age of six, while playing his fl ...

and David Takeno.

Professional career

Ball's professional music career has seen her work with a wide variety of classical and contemporary musicians. Her desire to present classical music to a wider audience has led to collaborations with the likes of

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

Russell Watson Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. He began singing as a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang "God ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, Adele,

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

and Rob da Bank. Fifteen years after first hearing him on stage, Ball met Nigel Kennedy at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London. In 2010, Kennedy invited Ball to duet with him and become the concertmaster for the European tour of his Orchestra of Life, in which role Ball has performed at venues including the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, Symphony Hall Birmingham,

Bridgewater Hall The Bridgewater Hall is a concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build in the 1990s, and hosts over 250 performances a year. It is home to the 165-year-old Hallé Orchestra as well as to the Hallé ...

Berlin Philharmonie The Berliner Philharmonie () is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is on ...

and the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

, together with Massive Attack’s

Damon Reece Damon Reece (born 16 February 1967) is an English drummer, who has been a member of Spiritualized, Echo & the Bunnymen and Lupine Howl. Career Growing up in Croydon and drumming in the indie band Abdul & the Casbah Cruisers, Reece moved to Liv ...

and soul singer Carleen Anderson. Ball's career has seen her collaborate with

, Bryan Ferry and the

as a featured artist. She has also worked on numerous albums with artists including

Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...

and Paul Weller, and has been a part of film soundtracks including

Terminator 3 ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' is a 2003 science fiction action film directed by Jonathan Mostow. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, and Kristanna Loken, it is the third installment in the ''Terminator'' fran ...

. In November 2018, Ball collaborated with Lithuanian

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

ist Martynas Levickis, performing as

Orchestra Director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

and Soloist for a performance named ''Kings and Queens, Castles and Legends'', an all-English programme to honour the fallen on

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

. Ball later worked as orchestra leader on

Ariana Grande at the BBC ''Ariana Grande at the BBC'' is a BBC television special featuring Ariana Grande. Grande performed thirteen songs during the hour-long special, and was interviewed by Davina McCall. The program was announced on 31 August 2018, recorded on 7 Sept ...

with British conductor and composer

Steve Sidwell Steven James Sidwell (born 14 December 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Sidwell was a product of the Arsenal academy, and after winning two FA Youth Cups, he had constructive loan spells at Bren ...

Classical Kicks

In 2012, Ball set up Classical Kicks, a collective of classically trained musicians, based out of Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. The collective have sold out every appearance at the jazz club since forming, and have gone on to appear at UK festivals including Bestival, collaborating with DJ Rob da Bank, and have performed at schools across the country.

Tracks4Change

Ball is also co-founder of Tracks4Change, a songwriting competition in partnership with Bestival and charity Bite the Ballot. Tracks4Change is designed to entice young songwriters and composers into writing music inspired by their opinions of democracy, with the overall objective to support increasing awareness of the need for young people to register and use their right to vote. The competition is judged by DJ Rob da Bank, actress

Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). She ...

and entrepreneur and founder of

SB.TV SB.TV Global Ltd, also known as SB.TV or SmokeyBarz, is a British music media company founded by Jamal Edwards and a small team of young people who work on web-based content. The platform was created on 2 November 2006, and its origins in urban m ...

, Jamal Edwards MBE.

Corrido: A Ballad For The Brave

In 2018, Ball partnered with producer Emily Blacksell to create the show Corrido: A Ballad For The Brave, an audio-visual concert paying musical homage to artistic self-expression, amplifying female voices and honouring established heroines, including the life and works of

. Ball and Blacksell curated the show together after Ball had returned to the United Kingdom after spending time in Mexico. Corrido premiered as a special event at the

as part of their Frida Kahlo exhibition on 2 November 2018, which is Day of the Dead in Mexico.

Personal life

On 10 November 2018, Ball received an honorary master's degree from the

University of Derby , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, Ear ...

in recognition of her achievements in the field of music and her innovative and creative approach to classical music. Ball is passionate about outreach projects, and has been working with the Sheffield Music Hub on various projects. She is also an ambassador for PRISMA, a charity founded by classical guitarist Morgan Szymanski providing art workshops for children in rural Mexico. Ball has one older brother who resides in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil. Her mother resides in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, United Kingdom.

Discography

* You Held Me (2009) *Hasta Siempre EP (2013) *Hasta Siempre Otra Vez EP (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Lizzie 1981 births Living people Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British women singers British violinists British record producers People from Hathersage