Kate Westbrook is an artist following the
professions of painter and musician. Her musical work centres around
her career as a vocalist, predominantly with her husband, British
composer and bandleader Mike Westbrook's bands. She
also works extensively as librettist and doubles as instrumentalist
(tenor horn and piccolo).
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Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Music
- 3 Painting
- 4 Selected
discography
- 4.1 Kate
Westbrook
- 4.2 with
Mike Westbrook
- 5 Selected
Filmography
- 6 External
links
- 7 Sources
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Biography
Kate Westbrook was born in Guildford, Surrey, England and grew up in the U.S.A. and Canada before
going to Dartington Hall School (which later became Dartington College of
Arts) in Devon. From there she went to Bath
Academy of Art at Corsham and then to Reading
University. Later she lived and worked on the East and West coasts of
America. After travelling in Mexico she returned to England and took up a
part-time teaching post at Leeds College of Art. Kate
Westbrook's musical career began in 1974 when she joined the Mike
Westbrook Brass Band and gave up teaching to concentrate on the dual
career of painter and musician. She has worked in theatre, radio, and
TV. She and her husband now live in Devon,
England.
Music
As an instrumentalist she plays tenor horn
and piccolo,
however her work centres around vocals both as singer and librettist.
Kate Westbrook's wide vocal range embraces jazz, music theatre (she
sang the role of Anna in Bertolt Brecht's The
Seven Deadly Sins with the London Symphony
Orchestra), contemporary music (pieces by Frederic
Rzewski, Philip Clark), opera
(Gioacchino Rossini) and music
hall. She has performed all over Europe and as far afield as the far East and
North America. Her work as lyricist has encompassed everything from
cabaret songs to opera.
In collaboration with her husband, Mike Westbrook, she has generated a
whole series of jazz/cabarets and music-theatre pieces. She adapts and
sings texts in several languages (English, German, French, Italian on a
regular basis - several others when the occasion arises). Other than
her own lyrics and music, her repertoire includes works by William
Blake, Bertolt Brecht/Kurt
Weill, Cole
Porter, Friedrich Hollaender, Federico
García Lorca, Paul Éluard, Edward
Lear, Wilhelm Busch, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, The Beatles and many
others. Other musical collaborations include among others Phil Minton, Lindsay
Cooper, Henry Cow (The Orckestra).
Painting
Kate Westbrook studied fine art at Dartington Hall School
(which later became Dartington College of
Arts) in Devon,
Bath Academy of Art at Corsham
and Reading University. The first
one-man show of her paintings was held at the Santa Barbara Museum of
Art in California, in 1963. Kate Westbrook continues to exhibit her
work in solo and group shows in Britain and abroad. Her work is in
public and private collections. Many recent musical Westbrook projects,
such as Art Wolf and Turner In Uri, have been inspired by the visual
arts.
Selected discography
Kate Westbrook
- The Nijinska Chamber (2006)
- Goodbye Peter Lorre (1991, 2005)
- Cuff Clout (2004)
with Mike Westbrook
- Art Wolf (2005)
- Chanson
Irresponsable (2003)
- Westbrook Rossini (1986)
- Love For Sale (1985)
- The Cortège (1983)
Selected Filmography
- Hotel Amigo (TV, music-theatre piece)
- Good Friday 1663(TV opera)
- Turner in Uri (documentary and concert)
External links
Sources
