Hannah Dunster

I am a music facilitator and flautist, with a love of forming creative environments which enable others to discover their own artistic identities. I have many years of experience in leading early years music groups, classroom music and leading community music workshops with disabled children and adults as well as working on projects for organisations such as the Barbican, LPO and the Southbank Centre.

In 2011, I formed Soundcastle with three other collaborators. Soundcastle is a music social enterprise and it is at the centre of my work. We strive to unite communities through captivating musical experiences promoting creativity across social divisions. Soundcastle projects draw inspiration from and respond to their setting, enabling local residents to create exciting new music, expressive of their unique identity, regardless of their previous musical experience.

I originally trained as a classical flautist, however my Masters in Leadership at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2011) not only informed my skills as a workshop leader but also developed my style as an artist, absorbing British folk and storytelling influences as well as forming a cross-arts partnership with visual artist Somang Lee called LightBox.

Alongside my work with Soundcastle,  I am a part of Lambrego, exploring contemporary Paulista song writing with a group of Brazilian musicians in São Paulo and Tribe of Tinkers, an eclectic folk band based in the UK.

Fascinated by different cultural approaches to music, I have travelled to Brazil, India, The Gambia, Bali and Singapore in order to develop my own musicianship and leading style. I am particularly interested in researching ways to make the arts a more sustainable and valued part of local communities, enabling everyone to explore high quality music-making regardless of previous experience.