Ann Hooley studied with Eli Goren at the Guildhall School of Music where she won several prizes as solo violinist and chamber musician. Subsequent teachers include Orrea Pernel, Yossi Zivoni and Henryk Szeryng.

As a freelance player she has worked with many of the London orchestras and for seven years was leader of the Mercury Ensemble, Ballet Rambert. As well as having a great love for the Classical repertoire Ann has a keen interest in contemporary music and has performed, broadcast and recorded with chamber groups such as Endymion Ensemble, Lontano, Almeida Ensemble and Music Projects, often appearing as guest leader.

Teaching has always been an important aspect of her career. For three years she was Staff Violinist at Southampton University where she taught violin and gave numerous recitals. Later she taught violin and chamber music at Trinity College of Music, London.

Ann has given several highly acclaimed recitals at the Purcell Room and premiered many contemporary works including the UK premieres of Nigel Osborne's "Mbira" and Ruth Crawford-Seeger's Sonata for violin and piano, Minna Keal's "Cantillation" for violin and orchestra, Leonard Salzedo's "Partita" for solo violin and, most recently, his early "Rhapsody" for unaccompanied violin.

She was leader of the Archaeus Quartet from its formation in 1990 until 2019. The group performed widely throughout the UK presenting varied programmes of Classical and twentieth century works as well as several cycles of the complete Beethoven Quartets. The Archaeus  recorded seven critically acclaimed CD's of music by mainly British composers: Minna Keal, Ethel Smyth, Amy Beach, Susan Spain-Dunk, York Bowen, Cyril Scott and the complete quartets of Parry. The fruitful friendship with Leonard Salzedo and premiere of his Seventh Quartet, which had lain dormant for for twenty-five years, resulted in the composition of of three more quartets and the Sonata for Violin and Viola. The Archaeus recording of the Second and Seventh Quartets with his Sonata for Violin and Viola, played by its dedicatees Ann Hooley and Elizabeth Turnbull, was selected as Editors Choice in the Gramophone magazine. A further disc of Salzedo's Quartets numbers One, Five and Ten followed in 2018.

Ann is currently performing the Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas alongside other works for solo violin.

REVIEWS

"gave Ravel's posthumous Sonata with refined elegance"                    The Times

"sensuous and delicate playing by the violinist Ann Hooley"                The Telegraph

of the Shostakovich Sonata: "The many technical and interpretational challenges of this introspective work were overcome in masterly fashion. The impetuous drive, particularly in the second movement revealed the ability to achieve true virtuosity."

"..Miss Hooley demonstrated her command over every nuance of bowing technique and tonal variation"  Musical Opinion

"Conducted by its musical director, Odaline de la Martinez, the EWO revived Sirmen's Third and Fifth Violin Concertos, each one in three compact movements for strings, wind and horns, and full of crisp undeveloped emotion in the manner of the Italian late-baroque. The soloist, Ann Hooley, was not always delicate or tonally pure in execution. Yet she played these works with a strong sense of warm, felt sound, as if picking up signals from the spirit of a composer who also shared a close communion with the soul of the violin."                      The Independent

"Judging by these performances, the Archaeus Quartet are magnificent advocates of Salzedo's work, an opinion obviously shared by the composer himself for it was in response to their premiere of his 7th quartet that he wrote his final three quartets, all specifically written for the Archaeus. The Sonata for Violin and Viola was also written for the first violin and viola players of the Archaeus, Ann Hooley and Elizabeth Turnbull. Although not as strong a work emotionally and structurally as the 7th quartet, Salzedo creates some startlingly rich textures, so much so that I frequently found myself marvelling at the fact that I was listening to only two players. Once again, the final driving Allegro Vivo combines thrilling rhythmic virtuosity with considerable technical demands on the players. Ann Hooley and Elizabeth Turnbull have the measure of it all and turn in an intrepid performance.  Classical Music Web - Christopher Thomas

REPERTOIRE: works performed for violin and piano

Malcolm Arnold      "Five Pieces"

Sally Beamish      "Wild Swans"

Beethoven Sonatas for violin and piano

Bach Sonatas for violin and piano

Bartok Sonata no. 2      Rhapsody no.1                                                                                       

Brahms Sonatas

Berio "Due Pezzi"

Britten "Suite"

Boulanger "D'un Matin de Printemps"

Ruth Crawford-Seeger Sonata - 02.88 UK premier Purcell Room

Debussy Sonata

Delius Sonata no.2

Elgar Sonata

Erb "Three Poems"

Enesco Sonata no.2

Faure Sonata no.2

Feldman "Spring of Chosroes"- UK premiere Purcell Room

Ferguson Sonata no.2

Gibbs Sonata in D minor

Roberto Gerhard "Gemini"      "Duo Concertante"                                                                          

Gershwin/Heifetz "Porgy and Bess"

Ingoldsby "Dialogues"

Ives Sonata no.2

Janacek Sonata     "Dumka"     "Romance"                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Mauricio Kagel "Klangwolf" - UK premiere Purcell Room

Locatelli "Le Tombeau"

Philip Lane "Five Diversions"

Lutoslawski "Recitativo e Arioso"

Mozart Sonatas

Martinu "Five Madrigal Stanzas"      Sonata 1929                                                                          

Nigel Osborne "Mbira" - 31.1.86 London premiere Purcell Room

Poulenc Sonata

Part "Fratres"

Ravel Sonata     Sonata op. posth.    "Tzigane"                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Matyas Scheiber Sonata

Schubert Duo Sonata in A        Sonatinas    "Fantasie"                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Stravinsky "Duo Concertante"      "Suite Italienne"                                                                               

Shostakovich Sonata        "Three Fantastic Dances"                                                                                              

Szymanowski "Three Mythes"    Sonata op.9                                                                                 

Giles Swayne "Duo"

Tartini "Didone Abbandonata"

Turina "El Poema de una Sanluquena"

Vaughan-Williams Sonata

Vivaldi-Busch "Suite"

Walton Sonata

Webern "Four Pieces"

SOLO VIOLIN

Bach Sonatas and Partitas

Biber "Passacaglia"

Bartok Solo Sonata

Bacewicz "Polish Caprice"

Roberto Gerhard "Chaconne"

McCabe "Maze Dances"

Prokofiev Sonata op.115

Leonard Salzedo "Partita" - 20.01.2000 premiere BMIC  "Rhapsody" - 11.11.2022 premiere St Brides London                                      

Giles Swayne "Canto - Master Christopher's Carol"

Douglas Weiland "To a Butterfly"

Ysaye Sonata no.2