Clare Salaman plays baroque violin,
medieval vielle, hardanger violin, nyckelharpa, viola
d'amore, viola, hurdy gurdy and accordion. She started
her career as a baroque violinist in the English
Concert and has since played and recorded with all the
major UK period instrument ensembles in the UK and
abroad. She has wide experience as a leader and has
made many chamber music recordings for CD and BBC
radio with ensembles such as the Purcell Quartet,
Charivari Ageeable and the St. James Baroque Players.
As a hurdy gurdy player she has performed as a soloist
with the Palladian Ensemble and the London Concert
Sinfonia. She has toured with the contemporary dance
theatre company Second Stride, playing hurdy gurdy and
accordion. Her interest in music outside the Western
classical music tradition has lead her to collaborate
with Indian musicians (in the UK), Tanzanian
musicians, as part of a British Council project in
Tanzanzia and the English traditional violinist, Chris
Wood. On the nyckelharpa and hurdy gurdy she has made
recordings for TV (channel 4 docudramas, City of Vice
and The Harlot’s Progress and David Attenborough Wild
Life programmes) and CD (with The Ian Mcmillan
Orchestra). She is a member of the Dufay Collective.
Last year she composed the music for KIPPERS, a short
play with music, which was commissioned by and
performed at Chipping Norton Theatre and Latitude.