about tina...
Tina Hitchens is a flautist and flute teacher based in the Cardiff, South Wales.
Tina's musical life began aged seven when she took violin lessons in school. Flute lessons then followed aged 12, and within four years Tina had passed the Grade 8 examination with Distinction.
After school, Tina studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she gained the B Mus (hons) and M Mus qualifications in flute performance. Whilst studying, Tina received a number of awards including an EMI Sound Foundation scholarship and The Daniel Emlyn Davies Award for outstanding flute-playing. During her postgraduate studies she also held the position of Graduate Assistant to the Head of Woodwind.
Tina held the principal flute position with all of the college's main ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra, Big Band, Wind Orchestra and Millennium Ensemble (contemporary music). Performances with these groups took her to a variety of venues, including Westminster Abbey and Fairfield Hall.
Tina now freelances in the South Wales and South West areas, playing with a variety of groups and giving solo concerts. One group she performs with is the Tate Duo (classical guitar and flute), with whom she appeared at the Eighth International Guitar Festival at Bolivar Hall, as well as playing regularly at South Wales venues including the Wales Millennium Centre and Brecon Cathedral.
Much of Tina's energies are now focused on contemporary music, and she is co-founder of Cardiff New Music Collective, a group dedicated to commissioning and performing new compositions. This relatively new group, formed in 2003, is already a prominent voice in contemporary music in Wales. Tina has performed with the group at a variety of venues, including Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, and the Wales Millennium Centre.
Tina plays on recordings for television and film, and has recorded for Brollyman Productions. She also participates in 'dots.', a group of musicians who compose and perform music for short films. Tina often records with bands too, and has worked with Culprit One on his forthcoming album.
Tina also enjoys orchestral playing, and has appeared with Sinfonia Cymru, The Naxos Orchestra and South Wales Sinfonia. Her musical activities have lead to her giving concerts in a variety of countries in Europe, as well as South Africa and America. She also has a keen interest in pop music, and plays with band Dai the Move, as well as having a successful electronica solo project, 'Isla Jayne', with whom she has received radio play on BBC Radio 1. Tina has also recently joined a 9-piece 'chamber pop' band - Spencer McGarry Season.
