Chameleon Woodwind Quartet

Cara Houghton (flute, alto flute, piccolo)

Sarah Austen (alto sax, soprano sax, clarinet)

Jessica Tomlinson (clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax)

Eleanor Mills Bassoon, clarinet, baritone sax)

 

Traditional - Arr. Jess Tomlinson

Toss the Feathers

Gustav Holst - Arr. Freya Chambers

Jupiter

Amy Beach

By the Still Waters, Op. 114 - Arr. Jess Tomlinson

Out of the Depths - Arr. Sarah Austen and Cara Houghton

Jenni Watson

Downpour (featuring Eleanor Mills)

Anton Dvorak - Arr. Cara Houghton

Song to the Moon

Gershwin - Arr. Sarah Austen

Promenade: Walking the Dog

Ben Harlan (commissioned for Chameleon Quartet)

Chamaeleonidae

INTERVAL

Anton Dvorak - Arr. Cara Houghton

Carnival Overture

J.S. Bach - Arr. Jess Tomlinson 

Aria de la Pastorale

Jenni Watson

Mycelium ii

Valerie Coleman

Danza de la Mariposa (featuring Cara Houghton)

Camille Saint-Saens - Arr. by Chameleon

Carnival of the Animals (selections)

 

Chameleon are a prize-winning, versatile woodwind ensemble with a mission to create, empower, and share music with audiences far and wide. Their performances feature an impressive array of up to 13 woodwind instruments split between only four members, with the quartet seamlessly transitioning between them to showcase the diversity of the woodwind family.

Chameleon are winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society Henderson Award, 2023, and are Live Music Now artists specialising in SEND and primary school engagement. They were recipients of the RPS Enterprise Fund for “Virtually Live” in 2021, a concert series driven by a passion for connecting with their audience through conversation and interaction. Their performing and engagement projects work in tandem, with a firm belief that every piece of music can be understood and enjoyed by anyone.

An alumna of both the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, Cara Houghton is a freelance flautist, teacher and writer based between London and Manchester. She enjoys playing a broad range of music, but has a particular interest in commissioning and performing contemporary music and was selected as a London Sinfonietta Academy Musician for 2023. During her studies, Cara had the privilege of learning with many renowned flautists that have helped her to grow her love for not only the flute, but also the piccolo, alto and bass flutes. She enjoys taking this expertise into her outreach work, developing workshops and interactive concerts for Early Years, Primary and SEND schools to introduce participants to the flute family.

Cara has worked with Students’ Unions for several years, becoming the Chair of Conservatoires UK Student Network for 2021/22 and campaigning for the health and support of students across the country. She won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Writer’s Prize in 2022 and has since been featured on the Gramophone website. Her combined passion for playing, teaching, writing and wellness has resulted in the creation of her new project Happy Practice, which will be launched in 2026.

Sarah Austen is a multi-instrumentalist based in Manchester with a Masters Degree from the Royal Northern College of Music where she studied with Rob Buckland and Carl Raven. Although primarily a saxophonist, Sarah also specialises in clarinet, piano and flute and uses each of these in her work as a freelance musician. As a performer, Sarah enjoys playing in pit bands for musicals and will be performing in the Thursford Christmas Spectacular this year. She also gigs regularly for events such as weddings and birthdays. Whilst studying, Sarah had the privilege of working with world-renowned saxophonists such as Timothy McAllister and performed alongside Mo Pleasure. During her undergraduate degree at The University of Leeds, Sarah took the opportunity to study for a year at the University of Massachusetts in the USA where she worked with inspiring teachers on saxophone and clarinet to develop her playing.

Sarah is passionate about music in community outreach work and has experience bringing music into SEND schools and working with students with differing needs. Sarah also teaches woodwind, piano
and musicianship and theory and runs a saxophone ensemble at Macclesfield Music Centre.

Jessica Tomlinson is a clarinet and saxophone player from Manchester, passionate about creating exciting, accessible and engaging performances. She has an active freelance career splitting her time between performance and therapeutic music. Performing credits include the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, JAMES UK tour and album recording, Oliver! at Leeds Playhouse, Thursford Christmas Spectacular and BBC Philharmonic orchestra, with dep work for the Wicked and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang UK tours. Alongside performance work, Jess is a Live Music Now musician and has worked as musician in residence at several SEND schools around the North West. She is a music-for-health practitioner at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and has had her research in this area published in music therapy journal “Approaches”.

Jess graduated in 2018 from the RNCM with a Distinction Masters, studying with Nicholas Cox, Antonio Salguero and John Bradbury. She previously studied at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, graduating with First Class Honours, under the tutorage of Michael Whight. As part of her training, she played side by side with members of the LSO, BSO and Manchester Camerata, took part in the Hallé professional experience scheme and performed at the Bridgewater Hall, Cantiere Music Festival, Southbank Centre and Cadogan Hall.

Eleanor Mills is a multi-instrumentalist and is an active freelancer frequently playing in orchestras and pit bands around the country. She is currently touring around the country with Kaleidoscope orchestra in their Daft Punk and Eminem shows, and has also appeared with them on BBC News and BBC Winter Watch. She was recently a dep at Thursford Christmas Spectacular in Norfolk, was part of the company premiering The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchitt at the Hope Mill Theatre and is a recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Enterprise Fund to create a series of filmed collaborations showcasing the scope of the bassoon through unusual instrumental pairings. Eleanor graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2019 with an Advanced Post Graduate Diploma and a Masters with distinction, studying with Roberto Giaccaglia, Stefano Canuti and Gretha Tulls. Previously she studied with Laurence Perkins at the University of Nottingham achieving a BA Hons in music.

Eleanor is extremely passionate about outreach and accessibility, striving to share music to as many people as possible. She is a Live Music Now musician and frequently leads workshops and interactive concerts as well currently being in residence at two SEND schools, leading class-wide music participation sessions and workshops weekly. During the lockdown she worked on a zoom initiative with Live
Music Now and Cheshire and Merseyside Women and Children’s Partnership to bring music sessions to families of children who would not otherwise have access to music. Eleanor also works as a musician at Alder Hey Children’s hospital for the Music as Medicine project and for DaDaFest providing one-to-one sessions for long-term patients.