Biography
“Music is my passion, and forms an important part of my every-day life. I love playing the piano for relaxation at home and in concerts, playing kora with friends and my teacher Pa Bobo, and singing in the Royal Choral Society in big venues like the Royal Albert Hall which is so special. I’m constantly listening to music at home, on the radio, and on the lookout for new bands and artists. I love going to concerts, gigs, theatre shows, operas and ballets, and try to attend as much live music as I can I encorporate my wider musical pursuits into my lessons.”
Tasha Watson is a professional musician and pianist. She started playing the piano aged 3, inspired by a musical family: her mother played the piano in a jazz band called Fish Out of Water, and supported disabled musicians with her record label Stream Records. Her Dad, a music author, wrote two books entitled Irish Rock and Ambient Century, plus copious articles for professional music magazines across his career. Music was and is a massive part of her life. Her mother taught her piano until grade 3, aged 8, and she was taught by Gareth Davies up to grade 8 level, aged 17. Natasha read music at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and graduated with a first class honours degree in 2014. She focused her time on orchestration, performance and composition, taught by Maria Kravenski, Alexander Ivashkin and Alistair Zaldua.
Natasha diversified her music studies, with her study of African and Asian music with Barley Norton. This took her interests into Mali, Indonesia and North India.
“I love Oumou Sangare, and was lucky enough to see her perform live in 2017. She was electric and I loved dancing to her music. Anoushka Shankar is another of my favourites, and I listened to her music growing up, and for enjoyment. I also saw Toumani and Sidiki Diabate play in the Southbank Centre in 2012, Sidiki’s debut performance, which was amazing to see.”
She studied an Ethnomusicology master’s degree at SOAS University of London 2017-2019. Here, she picked up the kora and immersed herself in West African and Cuban music. Whilst there, she played in the kora ensemble Mande Strings, and majored in kora performance and voice. She graduated in 2019 with distinction.
Natasha’s interests in music also include choral singing. She had a choral scholarship to sing in St. Margaret’s Church from 2011-14, singing in annual cathedral visits around the UK, and she continued to sing with the choir for a few years afterwards. Natasha is now a member of The Royal Choral Society (2016 and 2021-present), and enjoys singing in venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Chelmsford Cathedral.
Natasha also played Indonesian gamelan with Sekar Enggal based at City, University of London from 2016-2022, partaking in concerts in Wales and King’s College Cambridge. Lastly, Natasha is a keen kora player, and has travelled to Senegal and Southern France on music workshops to extend her knowledge and skill on the instrument. She has learnt kora with world famous players and attended many concerts to supplement her skill and understanding.
