Biography
During the course of her career, Anna has been invited to perform with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Orchestra of Opera North, the Royal Shakespeare Company, English Symphony Orchestra, Welsh Chamber Orchestra and British Philharmonic Concert Orchestra among many others. She has performed in professional orchestras accompanying internationally renowned soloists such as Leslie Howard, Catrin Finch, Nicola Loud, Simon Dinnegan, and Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Crossover work has included National Symphony Orchestra with Katherine Jenkins and Russell Watson, UK tours have included 'Ibiza Classics', 'The Music of Bond' and 'Interstellar' with The Limelight Orchestra (Leader/Co-Leader), 'Stars of the West End' with Louise Dearman, and Kerry Ellis, and 'Voices of Swing' with the Down for the Count Concert Orchestra. Recording work has included Wagner's Gotterdaemmerung (Act 1) with English Symphony Orchestra, The Dream of Gerontius with the Orchestra of Opera North and Huddersfield Choral Society and Andrew Downes Symphony no 6 with Central England Camerata and String Quartets nos 1&2 with the Amabile Quartet.
Having been born into a family of professional musicians (her father was the internationally acclaimed composer Andrew Downes), Anna started her studies at an early age. She studied violin with Malcolm Latchem of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and with David Gregory of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As a student, she played with The English Mozart Players and also appeared as a soloist on BBC radio 2.
Established in 2013, 'Anna Downes Productions', supplies top quality professional musicians to the live music, audiovisual, film and TV industries. Most recently ADP provided the musicians for the short film ‘The One Note Man’, produced by Cusp Films, directed by George Sougias, music by Stephen Warbeck and starring Jason Watkins. The film has won over 60 film awards and was shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards and the BAFTAs in the Best Live Action Short Film category.
Anna Downes Productions incorporates Central England Camerata, a professional chamber orchestra which works extensively with some of the finest choral societies in the UK as well as staging its own events. Recent collaborations have included Wagner - The Flying Dutchman with Persona Arts, and school productions of Mozart - The Magic Flute, Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet, and Tchaikovsky - Sleeping Beauty with Transformation Partnerships. CEC has also taken part in several audio and film recordings including the works of Andrew Downes and most recently, for Cusp Films. For the weddings and events market, ADP offers Sophistication Strings - quartets, trios and duos and these groups have performed UK wide and abroad including a project launch for Lancôme in the South of France.
In 2001 Anna founded Central England Ensemble which was made up of postgraduate musicians, music students and other talented musicians. The group had two main aims: to promote the music of Midlands' composers and to provide a high standard performance platform for young talented musicians in the area. Between 2001 and 2024 CEE performed over eighty concerts with a work by a Midlands based composer in each one. The orchestra also toured in Northern Germany and in Paris, giving concerts in prestigious venues such as La Madeleine and the American Cathedral. The orchestra also ran its own Concerto Competition which attracted over 100 entrants from all UK music colleges, and abroad, since the inaugural competition in 2008. In 2019 Anna founded Music for Sanctuary, a charitable organisation which has raised almost £30,000 for local homeless charities through musical events. In 2024, CEE became The Sanctuary Orchestra, coming under the umbrella of Music for Sanctuary. It now exists as the only orchestra in the UK with the sole aim of raising funds for the homeless. The inaugural concert of The Sanctuary Orchestra took place on Sunday 8th December 2024.
Anna is an active recitalist and works extensively as part of The Himley Duo with pianist Tony Bridgewater. The Duo are regulars on the recital circuit across the central region of the country, from Shrewsbury to Nottingham.
In addition to performing commitments, Anna is an experienced teacher and adjudicator, and has worked as Head of Music in a variety of settings. She has been invited to adjudicate for Northfield Festival, Solihull Festival, Dudley Young Musician, Winterfold House Instrumentalists' Competition, West House School Music Prize, Central England Ensemble Concerto Competition and The Andrew Downes Performance Prize at Birmingham Conservatoire.