Meet the band: Sophie Gledhill (Cello)
This week Polis sat down with cellist Sophie Gledhill to find out what she enjoys the most about working with Down for the Count!
What got you into playing the cello?
I was so young – five, I think. My older sister (she’s a professional clarinettist) was already playing clarinet at the time, so I begged my mum to teach me recorder when I was three. But I quickly realised that you couldn’t sit in an orchestra or a band with it, so I wanted to learn a different instrument. I’m really lucky to come from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, where there’s this amazing music school called Musicale. The family who run it decided – based on my personality, when I was 5 – that I was a string player, not a wind player like my sister.
How did they decide that?
I never actually asked them why! Maybe because she talked all the time. But they let me try a few string instruments. They also let me try the flute because I kept going on about it, but my mum begged me not to play the flute. And my sister was in my ear, saying, “Pick the cello, it’s really cool.” So I did. When you’re that age, the cello is about the size of a viola. It’s tiny.
What drew you to jazz and swing?
I’ve always just loved music in general. It annoyed me that playing the cello meant you tended to get pigeonholed as a classical musician. So whenever there were other opportunities, I jumped at them. I’ve always been a believer in telling other people what you’re interested in, and being really open about what you love. When you do that, the right opportunities seem to come your way. That’s how I got into musical theatre – just letting everyone know that I was a massive nerd about it.
You worked on Wicked...
Yes, I depped on that back in 2015. I’d met the cellist by doing the BBC Symphony Orchestra. I’d known him for years, and when I found out he did Wicked, I said I’d love to do that. He got me on, and that led to me doing Les Mis, and that UK tour for 14 months, and now I have a regular job on Oliver!
You’ve also worked abroad. Tell me about that.
I did my Master’s in America – at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, upstate New York. (Basically: any excuse to travel, I will take.) It was hard for me to come back from my Master’s because I was having such a good time out there, but I knew that being based in London was best for freelancing. As a freelancer, I got work in China, then a week’s orchestral trial with the northernmost opera company in the world, in Umeå, Sweden, then a gig in Azerbaijan with an all-female swing orchestra. I don’t like to admit this now, but we were playing for the Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition. It was a one-hour gig and we got to go out there for four days, being treated like celebs. It was very surreal, but amazing to go to Azerbaijan.
It seems your taste, like your experiences, is varied! Who do you look up to in music?
If we’re talking cellists, the obvious answer for me would be Yo-Yo Ma. He doesn’t seem to care about genre at all, and is just happy to work with great musicians whatever they’re playing. And he seems interested in the goal of music. Not just music itself, but what it can do in terms of bringing people and cultures together. Plus he loves James Taylor, and I’m obsessed with James Taylor!
Have you seen them perform?
I did! It was the summer I finished my Master’s. I stayed to work at a band camp in Lenox, Massachusetts, which is in the same town as the Tanglewood Music Festival. I had a friend who worked in the office for the festival and gave me a pass so I could go to any gigs. So I saw Yo-Yo Ma, and the Silk Road Ensemble, James Taylor twice, Boston Symphony Orchestra… all the greats.
How did you first get involved with Down for the Count?
I first heard about them through a couple of friends who played with them: cellist Lulu Andrews and viola player Jordan Sian. I was on the Les Mis tour with Jordan. He knew I loved that kind of music and also loved Christmas, so he knew I’d be a great fit. When the band were looking for a cellist, he put my name forward. The first gig I did with them was the Spring tour in 2022, which Jordan and I both took time out from the Les Mis tour to do. I just loved it. It was the kind of thing that you had to keep reminding yourself was work.
Do you have a favourite gig or memory with DFTC?
Newcastle Cathedral, where we were absolutely freezing, wearing hats on stage, and the audience went absolutely wild. Totally worth it. And the reception we get in Liverpool every time, I just love it. You feel like rock stars. On my first tour, we played ‘Mona Lisa’ with the most incredible string arrangement.
Are you looking forward to any particular gigs?
In two weeks’ time, I’m going to Amsterdam. And we’re travelling by Eurostar, which makes me very happy (I’m trying to avoid flying wherever possible). The job is at the Concertgebouw, which I never thought I would play at, with the Paraorchestra, who are made up of both disabled and able-bodied musicians. They do really interesting stuff – the musicians are going to be spread out in a space the audience can walk around, to experience the music from different perspectives.
What other musical projects are you working on?
My regular gig has been Oliver! since last summer. I do a bit of BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Concert Orchestra, as well as a lot of pit-based stuff like opera and ballet. I’m always trying to find projects that are somehow related to the environment. In 2016, I worked on the all-female Opera for the Unknown Woman, which was described as a sci-fi eco-feminist multimedia opera. Ticked all of the boxes for me!
Does that mean you also sing and act?
Um… when required! My mum went to Guildhall for drama and was an actor for a while, so I feel like it’s in my blood somewhere. But my dad’s tone deaf, so make of that what you will.
You’ve also performed with Billie Eillish! What was that like?
One of the last things I did before lockdown, so it all feels a bit like a dream now. She sang ‘No Time to Die’ at the BRIT Awards and had a big string orchestra behind her. It was cool to see that she was just very normal and also quite nervous, with the same anxieties we all have on stage.
What are your hobbies besides performing?
Travelling for sure. Anything slow travel, trains mainly. My honeymoon two years ago was Interrailing, so we took a month to go around Europe. Since my first Interrail pass I got a bit addicted, so I’ve had four or five of them now. My husband and I have applied to go on Race Across the World twice. For me, the dream would be to live my life half on that show and half playing cello. I also do a bit of wildlife photography and since Covid, I’ve become a massive bird nerd. The other thing I’ve got obsessed with is hiking around tiny countries. Two years ago, I did the Lichtenstein trail – a five-day hike from South to North – and started making lots of notes, which I hope to turn into a book one day, so that’s always on the back burner. Last September, I hiked around San Marino in three days, which was bonkers because it was in the wake of Storm Boris, and none of the normal people were out. I got lost at one point and my hiking boot got stuck in some mud. I managed to dig it out, but I did think for a moment that I’d have to do the rest of the hike with only one boot.
About the author
Polis Loizou-Denyer is Down for the Count's marketing and communications officer. Though it's a long time since he played an instrument himself, he likes to keep creative with his own writing, performing, theatre making, filmmaking and oral storytelling.
