Su Hart CV

BIOGRAPHY

Su was brought up in the music of the Methodist church and the folk clubs of N E England before doing an Arts degree in Oxford with vacation times spent busking around Europe and S.America. She has had many musical travels, collecting songs from Scotland to Scandanavia, from New Zealand to Bhutan. Since 1993 she has made many visits to the African Rainforest in Cameroon, to sing and live with the Baka Pygmies. The collective spiritual singing of the Baka women has informed and inspired her musical development. This led to setting up the acclaimed world-music band Baka Beyond in 1993, melding African rhythms with Celtic melodies. The band continue to perform internationally.

Su currently directs three UK community Choirs, and the London Rainforest choir, performs with Baka Beyond and other musical projects & solo concerts as well as composing with Sian Croose for women’s voices.

  • Born: Gateshead
    Singing in church & Folk clubs in NE UK
  • 1979-82 Studied Fine Art. Oxford Uni. Busking in Paris and around
    Europe in all holidays
  • 1985-6 PGCE art teacher Training
  • 1983-5 Formed ‘Amazinda’ 3 piece women’s band, balafon flutes and voices
  • 1984 Lived in Bhutan Eastern Himalayas worked as a teacher and
    Illustrating & gathered songs. Travels and song collection in Thailand Burma
  • 1988 Illustrator in Ecuadorian rain forest project.
    Song gathering & busking in Colombia, Venezuala and Carribean.
  • 1989-94 Art and guitar teacher Oxford prison
  • 1992 Visited Baka rain forest people SE Cameroon and begin learning
    Women’s spiritual singing. Continue to present
  • 1993. Formed Baka Beyond with Martin Cradick. 8 studio cds & solo cd
    International touring til present, USA, Canada, and Europe
  • 1995 Formed Global Music Exchange a charity to return royalties to the Baka
  • 2003 Initiated into Baka women’s spiritual forest singing
  • 1995 onwards Teaching in schools choirs and community groups
  • 2000 Musical director Walcot State Choir. Bath
  • 2000-10 Teacher training and in schools with Jenny Mosley UK, Eire and India.
  • 2005 & 6 Set up and ran festivals of traditional music of the tribes of Southern
    Ethiopia in Arba Minch
  • 2009 onwards. Run and teach polyphony for rain forest singing camps in UK
  • 2010 Teaching rainforest singing to choirs in UK, Canada ,USA, Australia
  • 2010. Taught the Silver Ring Choir, Bath.
  • 2012 Lectures in Bath Uni, SOAS and Perth University on rain forest issues
  • 2012 Speaker at Head Teachers Foundation Conference, Bangalore
  • 2008-10 ‘Sing Up’ singing training for teachers
  • 2012-13 Conduct “Shakti Sings” massed choir for Glastonbury festival
  • 2012 Set up and direct Widcombe Choir Bath
  • 2013 Set up and direct the London Rainforest Choir and Bruton choir.
  • 2010 – present. Song writing for choirs and solo work. Many on forest / green issues
  • 2015 Compose “Harmonium” music for women’s voices with Sian Croose