Listen! presents...

Living Floors: cello and double bass duo 

Photo: Matthew Johnson

Living Floors features Riot Ensemble soloists Louise McMonagle (cello) and Marianne Schofield (double bass) in music that stretches across vast landscapes: from Laurence Osborn's 'Living Floors', to the heavily processed electronics of Bekah Sims' 'stone or rot', to improvisation and folk music. Marianne and Louise were both amazed to find so little repertoire for this beautiful combination of cello and double bass, and have begun commissioning and creating a new collection of compositions for this fantastic low line-up by Trish Clowes, Marianne Schofield and Bára Gísladóttir (with support from the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust).

Marianne and Louise have been playing together in Riot Ensemble since 2018, and have given around 250 world and UK premieres by composers from more than 30 countries, including Solstices by G.F. Haas - an 80 minute work performed in total darkness.

Marianne Schofield is in high demand as an exponent of the double bass in contemporary settings, as a chamber musician, as an orchestral player, and as an improviser and arranger. She is committed to presenting new music in an engaging way and, alongside her projects as a founder member of award winning group The Hermes Experiment, she has performed the premieres of many new solo works for double bass.

Marianne's numerous credits include working with Aurora Orchestra, Solem Quartet, Manchester Collective, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and many more. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and University of Cambridge, and is a graduate of the Hallé/RNCM String Leadership Scheme.

Louise McMonagle  thrives on playing repertoire that goes beyond the mainstream, creating programmes including many commissions and premieres. She has given solo performances at Wigmore Hall, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, KM28 Berlin, as well as numerous broadcasts on BBC radio.

In April Louise released her first solo album, Ancient Modernity with Delphian Records. The record features music by living composers who reinvent ancient material, including folk tunes, baroque basslines, Gaelic psalms, and Arabic oud techniques (see video below). Alongside her work with Riot Ensemble, she enjoys performing as a guest with London Contemporary Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, United Strings of Europe and many other ensembles.

Saturday 18th October 2025

Unitarian Hall, Victoria Street, Cambridge CB1 1JW

Doors 7.30pm / music 8pm

Tickets £18,  £9 (18s and under) - plus booking fee - in advance

www.wegottickets.com/listencambridge

£20 on the door (if available)