Early Years
(then known as Elizabeth Lane)
As a child composer, Liz received widespread media attention and her music was commissioned and performed both in the UK and abroad. Here are a few snippets of those early days:
AGE 6
Liz started writing music when she was six and her first composition was a Christmas carol, It’s Christmas Time; this was performed at the Central Hall, Westminster, London by the Westminster School Boys’ Choir, conducted by Mrs Joan Lloyd Webber and accompanied by Dr William Lloyd Webber.
AGE 8
She was a prizewinner in the open composition class at the Mid-Somerset Festival – this sparked a flurry of media attention including the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, an appearance on John Craven’s Newsround and an article in the Radio Times.
AGE 8, 9 and 10
Prizewinner in the Bach Choir Carol Competition age 8; Cradle Song was performed twice by the Bach Choir, accompanied by Richard Popplewell, organ and the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, conducted by David Willcocks at the Royal Albert Hall. The following year, age 9, the carol was especially requested by choir members and received a further two performances, one of which was televised on BBC1. Age 10, Liz was a prizewinner again with another carol, Gabriel to Mary Came, this was also televised.
AGE 11
Winner of the music section of Dr Barnados/BBC Nationwide Champion Children Competition. The event was held at the Hilton Hotel, London, televised live with a presentation from Princess Margaret and attended by guest celebrities including Michael Crawford, Ernie Wise, Ronnie Corbett and Richard Baker.
AGE 12
Liz was the subject of a 40 minute ITV Magpie television documentary, And I Write Music.
AGE 13
She wrote the title music for the ITV series, An Exceptional Child, performed by members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
AGE 13-16
Commissions and performances included music for the Auckland Boys Choir, New Zealand, an anthem for a choir in Boston, USA, a choral commission for the Cookham Festival, a set song for the Grimsby Festival, further performances of Sinfonietta for Strings including the London Schubert Orchestra, conductor Brian Brockless, St Bartholomew the Great Church, London and Concertino for Violin and String Orchestra, also performed in London. She was also interviewed by Brian Johnston for Radio 4's Down Your Way.
Soliloquy for double bass was commissioned for the Canadian bassist Joel Quarrington and performed at Canada House, London; Liz had recently started to learn the french horn and her commission fee was the purchase of her own instrument.
AGE 14
Sinfonietta for Strings was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Arthur Davison, in a concert at the Fairfield Hall, Croydon, which included Rossini Barber of Seville Overture, Grieg Piano Concerto (soloist Maura Lympany) and Beethoven Symphony No 5; this was subsequently televised by ITV.