Eleanor Graff-Baker
Leicester born, Eleanor Graff-Baker gained a music scholarship to Dean Close School, Cheltenham and from there went as the first female Choral Bursar to The Queen’s College, Oxford where she read Music and sang with Schola Cantorum.She has freelanced in both performance and education, as a violinist, singer and choral director. In this capacity she has enjoyed a variety of experiences from leading parish church choirs at St Catherine’s, Burbage, and St Margaret’s, Leicester, to being on the music staff at Leicester Cathedral and directing The Beauchamp Choral Society and Loughborough University Choir. These have given rise to opportunities to perform in historic locations such as Belvoir Castle, Chester and Liverpool Cathedrals and Holy Sepulchre London as well as to direct performances by contemporary composers including the first performance of Paul Ayres’ Loughborough Cantata.
As a violinist she has performed with many orchestras including the Royal Ballet Orchestra, Opera International Orchestra and Melachrino Strings and Orchestra. She is a member of the EVE Piano Trio and has combined playing and singing in a number of specially devised words and music events. Her compositions range across choral and works for small orchestra. For many years she taught at Leicester Grammar School.
