Ellie Consta, violinist and founder of group Her Ensemble catches up with YCAT about her life and career as freelance musician. 

What does your career currently look like?

I am a freelance musician, and my career predominantly revolves around running my own group, Her Ensemble, and doing the work for that, which might include researching music by women, booking players or organising gigs. When I’m not doing that, I’m arranging lots of music, writing string parts for singer songwriters and playing for recording sessions. In and amongst that I do try to set aside time to rest or just think: I find my best work happens when I have bigger “margins” and time to reflect between jobs or projects.

Where did it all start for you?

I started playing the violin at primary school, where I had group lessons. My parents weren’t pushy at all: I just remember really liking playing along with my Fiddle Time Joggers CD at home! I played with the local youth orchestra and also had a music scholarship to Norwich High School for Girls. It was there that a teacher recommended I apply to music school so I went to Chetham’s in Manchester. After that, I studied at the Royal Academy for a year, but then the teacher I wanted to study with retired, so I transferred to Royal College (RCM) where I completed the rest of my undergraduate and Masters degrees.

I do try to set aside time to rest or just think: I find my best work happens when I have bigger “margins” and time to reflect between jobs or projects.

How did the idea for Her Ensemble come about?

It was during the pandemic and, like everyone else, I was at home thinking about work and thinking "What am I going to do?". I was living with singer songwriters and it was the first time we had compared our lives. It was obvious that our lives were completely different, even though we were all working in the music industry. And started to question things like: ‘Why do they get to wear cool clothes?’ or ‘why is the rehearsal vibe so different for them?’ Up until that point, I hadn't even realised that I hadn't played basically any music written by women, and that's when I started my own group, because I'd had the time to think about all these things and realise, “Oh, maybe, maybe I should just start a thing?".

How was the process of setting up your own group?

I really didn't know what I was doing. I just thought, “Okay, well, there's nothing to lose,” as I'd already hit quite a low point in the pandemic. I think I'd spent so many years being worried about what people thought, doing what was expected of me and and people pleasing - I just decided to go for it. I set up an Instagram page and asked a couple of my friends if they were interested, and just started talking about "stuff", with no filter. I’d like to get some of that bravery back, because the more people know about Her Ensemble, the more I feel the self consciousness creeping back again. But yeah, at the time, I was just like, “Well, what's there to lose? Nothing, so I'll just do it.” So I started those social media accounts, and asked some friends if they wanted to play and whether they were interested in researching or performing some of this unplayed music, and it went from there! Even now, though, there are endless unexpected jobs to do: you can be in danger of thinking that it’s just book the venue, book the players, play the gig, but the amount of emails I get, even after the event is over, is a lot!

What was your experience of getting funding for Her Ensemble?

First of all I applied for Developing Your Creative Practice Funding (DYCP) and I used that over six months to do research. I went to the British Library and looked through the archives. I used lockdown and the funding to just think and develop my ideas. Applying for DYCP as a dyslexic person was challenging, to say the least! Then when it came to our first gig, I worked with a producer to do the next funding application, which was so valuable. We put on an event at Battersea Arts Centre, that was like a ‘taster menu’ of different music written by women, from different genres across the world. It included music from some of the earliest hand-written texts from 450 BC to music written by Anna Meredith. We were creative with the lighting and made it appeal to both classical and pop audiences. It was one of those first concerts coming out of lockdown so it felt really special.

Even now, though, there are endless unexpected jobs to do: you can be in danger of thinking that it’s just book the venue, book the players, play the gig, but the amount of emails I get, even after the event is over, is a lot!

What was the best piece of advice you ever received?

I don’t know if this is a bit naff, because it’s a quote, but there’s something Helena Bonham Carter said that I always come back to, which is: “Everything in life is art; what you do, how you dress, the way you love someone, how you talk, your smile, your personality, what you believe in, and all your dreams, the way you drink your tea, how you decorate your home or party, your grocery list, the food you make, how your writing works, and the way you feel. Life is art.”  I just really like that, because it’s basically saying ‘be yourself.’ I feel like prior to starting my own group, I was trying to please other people so much I wasn’t 100% being myself: I felt like I had to leave part of myself at home before coming to orchestra because it wasn’t an atmosphere where I could do my own thing. I think our individuality and the way we express ourselves should be an asset to our work, and it can be fun to play with that as well. Rather than fixating on what makes an ‘acceptable’ or ‘proper’ outfit for a concert, what if we enhanced what we were trying to say with the visuals we create?

And if you were going to give advice to someone who wanted to do something like you in the future, what would you say?

I would say, if you're passionate about something, just just start it. You’ll probably make mistakes, but you can't not make mistakes. You could sit and think about it for a year, two years… but even then, when you think you’ve got it down, everything is constantly changing and evolving. There’s never going to be a ‘perfect moment’ - things will only keep changing. So just start it and just be open and be authentic and true to what you believe in, and just keep doing it with an open heart. 

"You’ll probably make mistakes, but you can't not make mistakes."

You can follow Her Ensemble on Instagram

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