Louise Lansdown
Assistant Head of Strings (Viola)
PhD, MMus, PgDip, BMus (Hons), Dip ABRSM
Email: [email protected]
Violist, educator, researcher and philanthropist Louise Lansdown is currently Assistant Head of Strings (viola) at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and Professor of viola and chamber music at the Yehudi Menuhin School (YMS).
Prior to this, Louise was Head of Strings at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (2012-2023) after holding the position of Senior Lecturer at the RNCM (2001-2012). Louise is the founder and Artistic Director of the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition and Festival, launched at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in October 2014. In 2024 Louise directed the merging of the Lionel Tertis and Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competitions culminating in a major festival and double iteration of the competitions at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music with the Royal Sinfonia from 19-25 January 2025. The new double-bill competitions are a registered charity in the UK and have begun their work across the length and breadth of the UK running Viola days and courses for adults, students and scholars. www.tertisaronowitz.co.uk
Louise is also the founder and President of the British Viola Society https://www.britishviolasociety.co.uk/
Along with her viola students, Louise is the founder of a major distance learning education project that was initiated at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in collaboration with the Morris Isaacson Centre for Music in Soweto, South Africa called “ARCO”. The project was launched in July 2015 and was nominated for a guardian internationalization award in 2018 and a BASA22 Award in 2019 (Business and Arts South Africa). Louise Launched ARCO India in 2021, in collaboration with KM Music Conservatory, AR Rahman Foundation and the Sunshine Orchestra and ARCO Prince Albert in 2023. ARCO is a recognised non-profit organisation in South Africa. The project is currently supported by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, Prince Albert Community Trust, Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, RNCM, Friends of Orchestral Music, D’Addario Foundation. Louise initiated the Kaleidoscope Chamber Music Festival in Prince Albert in 2025, the first solely South African music festival entirely with its raison d’etre to support the ARCO Project. The project currently teaches 80 young learners between the ages of 4-13 violin, viola, cello and double bass. ARCO Teaching and Learning Manager Elliot Tingley is based on the ground in Prince Albert alongside his role facilitating the ARCO module at the RNCM. www.arco-project.org
Louise is a trustee of the Quartet of Peace.
She plays on a French Viola c.1750, 1890 Sartory bow, both previously belonging to the South African violist Cecil Aronowitz. She has recently commissioned Antoine Gourdon to make a copy of her Aronowitz viola. Louise plays mostly chamber music and solo concerts, collaborating with violists and other musicians across the world. She commissions new music for the viola and concocts hair brain schemes to perform music by Paul Hindemith and much unknown viola music, bringing the viola to many unsuspecting and innocent people. Louise has a publishing contract from Schott and is working on a book “Hindemith and the Viola”.
She is a member of the South African “Ubuntu Ensemble” who headline the African Concert Series at Wigmore Hall. She is also Principal Violist of the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra.
Louise has recently released her first solo album on Meridian Records of unpublished, unknown music for viola by South African composers. She is soon recording her second solo album on the Meridian Label. As a result of recording this music Louise has recently started her own publishing company and has begun the process of editing and bringing this music into the published domain “Mzansi Publishing” will soon be introducing Monthati Masebe’s ‘Trials that trail”, a set of 10 pieces for solo viola to the world.
Current and Future Research
Louise first became enamoured with Paul Hindemith around 1993 when she was studying at Stellenbosch University. Her Systematic Musicology Lecturer, Winfried Lüdemann set an assignment on the composer, in addition to analysing the Hindemith’s “Mathis der Maler” Symphony. At the same time Louise had started to perform Hindemith’s Sonata for Viola and Piano op.11 no.4 – the combination was clearly lethal and the Hindemith “bug” had truly bitten! Thirty years later Louise is still fascinated and fixated with Hindemith!
Louise’s MPhil at Stellenbosch University, MMus at the RNCM and PhD at the University of Manchester were all Hindemith Hommages! Both MMus on Hindemith’s Sonatas for Viola and Piano and the PhD “The Young Paul Hindemith: Life, Works, Relationships, Influences and Musical Activities until 1922”.
Louise has spent a huge amount of time in places connected to Hindemith – Frankfurt, Hanau, Mainz, Zurich, Yale University and Blonay doing research, giving talks, running courses and playing concerts! Over the years Louise and her students have travelled across the world to broadcast Hindemith and his music. She has written many articles on Hindemith and currently has a book contract from Schott to write a book “Hindemith and the Viola” over the next few years.
Louise has delivered lectures on Hindemith at conferences around the world, alongside performing his music. She has also designed and delivered academic modules on Hindemith, and acted as a supervisor to other researchers on the composer. Louise has given concerts in Hindemith’s Kuhirttenturm in Frankfurt consisting of lesser known music, including the Trio for viola, piano and heckelphone op.47, Musikalisches Blumengärtlein und Leyptziger Allerley (1927), parody for clarinet and double Bass, transcribed for viola and double bass etc. In November 2021, Louise was invited by Nobuko Imai as guest artist and presenter at the 8th National Viola Festival featuring Paul Hindemith in Amsterdam. Louise, Nobuko Imai and Timothy Ridout are again planning further Hindemith celebrations in January 2025 to run concurrently with the Cecil Aronowitz and Lionel Tertis International Viola Competitions.
Research Areas
- Book contract from Schott “Hindemith and the Viola” as part of Frankfurter Studies.
- Album recording, catalogue, performance and workshops of South African music for the viola by Monthati Masebe, Priaulx Rainier, Surendran Reddy, Allan Stephenson, Hendrik Hofmeyr and John Joubert.
- Documentary (Episodes 5-8) of Cinderella No More: The English Viola Legacy with Timothy Ridout (viola) and James Baillieu (piano). Episodes 1-4 are already in the public domain. See links below.
- https://youtu.be/WWZJyX6FeW8?si=TPPgbHs8xqe-dLaf
- https://youtu.be/JCNBamJTS6c?si=Z-rmSSiRRwEDoxtu
- https://youtu.be/XA9IyVWLuVQ?si=4UJ0YP_oQtwjcK0c
- https://youtu.be/o-reJ2csjfA?si=5n9gcTCz2678HGn8
External Research Roles
Louise is a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa and External Examiner and Advisor for the European String Teachers Association and Chichester University for their postgraduate teaching course.
Selected Outputs
Lansdown, L. (2008) The Young Paul Hindemith: Life, Works, Relationships, Influences and Musical Activities until 1922. PhD, University of Manchester, 2008.
Lansdown, L. (2009) Hindemith’s Toilet Humour? Paul Hindemith’s Dramatic Masterwork Der Bratschenfimmel THE STRAD, July 2009.
Lansdown, L. (2010) Paul Hindemith’s Early Years: Patrons and Mentors. Hindemith-Jahrbuch, 39, Hindemith-Institute, Frankfurt/Main.
Publication of Articles on Paul Hindemith, Cecil Aronowitz and other viola related topics in the Australia New Zealand, American, South African and English Viola Society Journals (2008-2011).
Publication, compilation and editing of the English Viola Society Journal and Newsletter (2008-2011) and British Viola Society monthly online Newsletter and annual Journal (2012-2014)
Lansdown, L. (2011) Do we need a magic wand – or has the spell already been cast? THE STRAD, May 2011.
Lansdown, L. (2012) Hindemith’s Viola Concerto Der Schwanendreher: A biographical landmark. Journal of the American Viola Society, Autumn 2012.
Lansdown, L, Evans, M and Rutherford, A. (2016) In Review: The 12 Lionel Tertis International Viola Festival and Competition, Journal of the American Viola Society, Volume 32, Summer 2016 Online Issue
Lansdown, L (2016) Music Teacher Birmingham to Soweto: Pioneering String Connections between the UK and South Africa, October 2016, pg 30
Lansdown, L (2017) Postcard from Soweto “Crossing Continents” The STRAD, May 2017 p.26-27
Lansdown, L (2018) “The Middle Way” (Strings Focus) Classical Music Magazine, January 2018 p.72-3
Lansdown, L (2018) Cecil Aronowitz – the musician, his viola and the legacy M. Murawski. ALTÓWKA – SPEKTRUM IMPERATYWU ARTYSTYCZNEGO, Poznan, pg 71-76
Lansdown, L; Galbreath, D; Devaney, K (2021) ARCO South Africa: Research Report www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/about-us/arco/research
Lansdown, L; Masebe, M (2021) Trials that Trail. Suite for Solo Viola (2020): A collaboration
Lansdown, L (2022) “Evolution of a Partnership” The STRAD, February 2022, p.54-9
