Ellie Wilson is a violinist and composer whose work melds contemporary classical, folk, field recordings and electronics. Her output ranges from live performances to immersive sound installations and draws on themes of psychogeography, nature, memories, history, time, and folklore. Her music has been described as 'reflective, playful and mesmerizing' (Songlines Magazine) and ‘beautifully poised’ (Errollyn Wallen, BBC Radio 3).

Her live set at Eavesdropping Festival, Café Oto (March 2024) was hailed by The Wire Magazine as one of ‘the weekend’s best moments. Mix[ing] humility and adventure’. It was recorded by the BBC and recently broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show and on Deutschlandfunk’s Atelier neuer Musik.

Recent highlights include:

• A solo album Memory Islands, released on the Bigo and Twigetti label 29 September 2023. A collection of new works for violin, hardanger fiddle and electronics, which explore the strange landscape of memory and the spirit of place. The first single (Unnamed Unseen) hit #3 in the iTunes Classical Chart and was described as ‘beautiful … absolutely wonderful’ (Cerys Matthews, BBC 6Music) and ‘Immersive, reflective and playful … mesmerizing’ ★★★★ (Songlines Magazine).

​• The score for Shakespeare’s Globe productions of Henry VI and Richard III, directed by Sean Holmes and Ilinca Radulian. Ellie also performed (violin, musical saw, vocals) in the two shows. The music was hailed as ‘impressive … this season’s most memorable’ (Fringe Review) and described as ‘melt[ing] seamlessly into the drama’ (The Guardian) and ‘tonally akin to a Scorsese film’ (What’s On Stage).

• A sound installation created as part of Ellie’s Epping Forest artist residency called Unearthing Stories of the Forest which explored the human impact on Greater London’s ancient woodland through the centuries: Iron-Age hillforts, WWII bomb craters that are now ponds, and her ancestor Thomas Willingale – a local labourer who helped save the forest during the c19th enclosure movement. Wireless headsets enabled visitors to experience the sound installation while exploring the forest. The work was released as a limited edition album and the project linked to the Waltham Forest’s London Borough of Culture The People’s Forest. It was described as ‘Brilliant ... A rich audio tapestry of folk and drones’ (Luke Turner, The Quietus).

• A short piano piece called Waiting for pianist Rolf Hind, which was premiered at London’s King Place in October 2020 (one of the few live concerts of the year!) and a remix for composer Colin Riley’s project In Place which was also selected for NMC Recordings’ The Big Lockdown Music Survey. She released Dominion of the Sword, an EP featuring a selection of music written for the Shakespeare’s Globe productions of Henry VI and Richard III along with speeches by some of the Globe Ensemble actors, and had a piece released on Accidental Records Antechamber Music compilation in July 2021.

Ellie is a former member (2014-2019) of ‘Britain’s most exciting new folk band’ (Uncut Magazine) and 5-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominees, Stick In The Wheel. She has toured the UK and Europe in various bands, and performed at major UK festivals including Latitude, Glastonbury, WOMAD and Green Man; venues including Usher Hall, Royal Festival Hall, the Houses of Parliament; and in live sessions for John Kennedy (Radio X), Tom Robinson (BBC 6Music), Dermot O’Leary and Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio 2).