KATE ST JOHN


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Welcome to the official website of Kate St John. Kate has played in Van Morrison's band for many years, been a member of The Dream Academy and formed one third of The Ravishing Beauties. Kate has also played many sessions as a oboe/cor anglais/sax specialist, and has played live with various people including Jools Holland's Rhythm And Blues Orchestra. Details of Kate's solo albums Second Sight and Indescribable Night, and of her recordings with Channel Light Vessel and Roger Eno can be found on the Discography page. In 1999 Kate played with violinist Nigel Kennedy on live shows and the recordings for his Jimi Hendrix project and was MD at the Barbican's Nick Drake tribute concert. She was also chosen by Tom Waits to join the eclectic ensemble performing Tom Waits' music in his play The Black Rider with performances at London's Barbican in May 2004, San Francisco in August/September and Sydney in January 2005.

2008

2008 saw the resurrection of the Daughters of Albion concert at Birmingham and the Brighton Festival and a set of string arrangements for singer Bishi and the London Symphony Orchestra that was performed at St. Lukes in June. In July Kate was Musical Director for Hal Wilner’s Rogue’s Gallery Sea Shanty concerts in Dublin, Gateshead and London which featured amonst others, Lou Reed, Shane MacGowan, Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson and actor Tim Robbins.

2007

In 2007 Kate was worked with Damon Albarn producing the score and parts for his and Jamie Hewlitt's opera
Monkey: Journey To The West for the Manchester International Festival and the Chatelet Theatre in Paris.

Kate played oboe and Cor anglais in the ensemble for Philip Glass's work The Book of Longing which featured settings of Leonard Cohen's poems for singers and small instrumental ensemble. The world premier was in Toronto at the Luminata festival June 1-3 2007 and was also performed in Charleston's Spoleto festival June 6-8, Chicago's Ravinia festival June 12-13 and the Lincoln Center festival July 14-15 2007.

In May 2007 Kate played with Damon Albarn and Vashti Bunyan at the Barbican’s Syd Barrett tribute. In July she took part in the Jarvis Cocker/Hal Wilner Meltdown Disney tribute concert at the Festival Hall in which her arrangement of Little April Showers was performed by Skye from Morcheeba, Ed Harcourt and the orchestra. In November she composed a work for the Plague Song concert at the Barbican for choir and 10 piece band.

2006

Kate was part of the band for Tom Waits' The Black Rider showing at the Los Angeles Ahmanson Theatre, end of April to mid-June 2006. She has also performed in London, San Francisco and Sydney as part of the band.

In spring 2006 Kate put together and played in the band for the London sessions of Hal Wilner's Sea Shanty album Rogues Gallery, working with amongst others Nick Cave and Bryan Ferry.

Kate was Musical Director of the sell out Daughters Of Albion show at London's The Barbican, part of their Folk Britannia series. The concert, which received glowing reviews, featured Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy, June Tabor, Kathryn Williams, Lou Rhodes and Sheila Chandra backed by a 9 piece band playing Kate's arrangements of traditional and new folk/crossover songs. It was shown on BBC 4 in March 2006. Read reviews>>

On April 24th 2004 Kate performed as a guest artist and arranger at Hal Wilner's "Perfect Partners" tribute to Nino Rota at London's Barbican as part of their Only Connect series of concerts. Read reviews>>

For both 2002 and 2003 Kate was selected as one of 12 judges for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize and appeared on national TV discussing her views on the nominees.