ABOUT ME

               "highlight of the

        afternoon was a compelling and beautifully crafted chamber work by postgraduate fellow of Guildhall and talented composer Geoffa Fells. Her command of dissonant harmonic language, counterpoint and individual techniques combined cleverly with the accompanying visual imagery... she has the potential to be an important voice in the continuing evolution of British Contemporary Music."

Neil March, Composer

I use my multi-media compositional voice and my socially engaged practice to highlight and advocate for the lives of those subject to prejudice, oppression and stigma. I am a PhD researcher at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, investigating how new, multi-media music can include the voices and stories of the most under-heard voices. Using questionnaires, drawings, collaboration and socially engaged practice, I aim to collaborate with survivors of violence and listen to underrepresented voices by developing relatioships with people through music and art. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, I translate difficult and triggering topics into immersive, metaphorical worlds to make discussing them less threatening and easier to understand. Imagination is a key component of my creative voice, as a doorway to limitless possibilities and as the seed of empathy in nurturing understanding for lives that are different from our own.

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Forming a major part of my PhD is my music work at Cherry Garden School for children with severe and complex needs and disabilities. I encourage and validate non-verbal children to communicate and express themselves through music-making, performance and intensive interaction techniques. I also play trumpet for ‘The Messengers’ Band, an inclusive outreach project run by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and St Mungo’s to support people recovering from homelessness. Through group music making, the band members gain confidence, leadership and communication skills as well as an improvement in their wellbeing.