Tilly Coulton and Sophia Lim

PROGRAMME OF MUSIC

Programme (to be confirmed)

Biographies

Tilly Coulton is a flute player, improviser, and teacher from Devon, UK. A graduate with distinction from the Royal College of Music (MPerf 2024), and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (BMus(Hons) 2022), her skills range from orchestral playing and solo/chamber recitals to contemporary/experimental music and improvisation. 

Tilly is the recipient of several major awards, including the ABRSM Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award, and John MacGregor Flute Prize, as well as achieving first prize in both the RCS Concerto Competition and RCS Governor’s Recital Prize for Woodwind within the same week. She has played in recitals alongside Tim Carey and Sophia Lim at venues including St Dunstan’s-in-the-West, St Michael’s Highgate, and the Yamaha Music School and had her concerto debut in 2024 performing Michael Daugherty’s Trail of Tears. 

As a freelance orchestral player, Tilly has performed throughout the UK and taken part in professional schemes with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Scottish Opera. She served as principal flute with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in 2022. Recent highlights include Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie at the Royal Festival Hall and John Adams’ Harmonielehre at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.  

A keen supporter of contemporary and experimental music, Tilly is Creative Director and principal flute player of the contemporary ensemble Standard Issue: a group that prioritises inclusivity, accessibility, and bringing music by living composers to new audiences. Previous projects also include Ensemble Modern’s Young Ensemble Academy (2024), Hylozoic/Desires – An Omniscience: an atmos-etheric, transnational, interplanetary, cosmist bird opera, spanning seven continents and the many verses (bass flute) performed at the Finish National Opera (2024), Sound and Music UK Ensemble in Residence (2024), Birmingham Contemporary Music Group’s NEXT Programme (2023-24), Floating Worlds: ”The Seaweed Gatherers” by Daryl Jamieson (composer) and Graham Eatough (theatre director) (2022), and performing free improvisations regularly with the London Improvisers Orchestra and others.

Sophia Lim

Sophia Lim is a Malaysian pianist from Sabah, North Borneo. She had studied under the tutelage of Danny Driver at the Royal College of Music. In Kota Kinabalu, she studied with her mentor, Krzysztof Slomiak. Her experiences learning the erhu and growing up in Sabah enriched her musical insight and versatility through the influence of diverse cultures.

She has made several appearances in the UK, including at the Pallant House Gallery as part of the Pallant Proms, as well as performing at the Mátyás Seiber 120th celebratory concert at the Liszt Institute in London, alongside musicians from the Liszt Academy in Budapest. Sophia also frequently collaborates with flautist Tilly Coulton as a chamber musician. Sophia is the pianist of the Atlas Trio formed in 2025, a clarinet trio focusing on contemporary repertoire.

A keen advocate for new music, Sophia has premiered several new works in the UK. Recent highlights include Amuse Bouche by Nien Chin Chai as part of the Rude Health Festival of New Music, performance at Milton Court Concert Hall with the premiere of Eluned Davies’ new piece from Collaborative Voiceworks. She gave her debut performance of the complete Java Suite by Leopold Godowsky in 2025 and was Ambassador of the Benedetti Foundation for the 2024 cohort