ABOUT SOHO STRINGS

Soho Strings is for musicians who want to add strings to their projects.

We work with many different musicians, composers and producers - both remotely, in person at our studio or at whichever studio would be best for the project.

We also write and produce our own music.

STORY SO FAR

Soho Strings was created by London based violinist Sophie Ryan - following a curiosity to see where she could take things creatively if she could record and produce strings as well as compose and perform them.

It started very informally with a very basic set up in a small flat in Soho (hence the name) while her boyfriend worked at a restaurant nearby. It has slowly developed from simple remotely recorded tracks to more collaborative projects. A turning point was winning a Sound and Music award in 2018 for a Promo for Sky TV. This led to co-writes and recordings for Universal Music to many other projects - from film scores, adverts, computer & VR soundtracks to many other tracks for song writers and composers.

We now work from a great studio in Soho, where the emphasis is what can be achieved with an individual, creative and intimate approach to composing and recording. Sometimes the projects involve just Sophie but, not a fan of working alone, if she can she will involve some of the amazing group of colleagues and collaborators that has evolved over the years, she will.

We all love of our jobs and especially love throwing ourselves into exciting creative projects. We work professionally, quickly and efficiently - just as we would when being contracted by other people. However - if we want to take time to explore a new sound or technique, or simply experiment a bit, then we’ll happily throw ourselves into it until we get to where we want to be.

SOPHIE RYAN

VIOLINIST - ARRANGER - PRODUCER

Sophie is a graduate of the Royal College of Music, former member of the European Union Chamber Orchestra and has been working as a professional violinist in London for the past 25 years. Her career has always spanned both the classical and commercial worlds. She has freelanced with many of the UK’s symphony and chamber orchestras, recorded in all of London’s major recording studios and has played regularly in London’s West End Theatres.

Sophie has performed alongside a diverse range of artists, and has been lucky enough to share a stage with musicians including: Dame Shirley Bassey, Barbara Streisand, Gregory Porter, Goldie, Michael Buble, Richard Thompson, Ella Eyre, Jessie Ware, John Newman, Beverly Knight, Becky Hill, Candi Staton, Sam Smith, Anna Calvi, Anna Meredith, Mira Calix, Orchestral Qawwali Project, The Brand New Heavies, Nigel Kennedy, Maxim Vengerov, Sir James Galway, Lang Lang and many more.

She now divides her time between working for other people as a violinist and working as a violinist, producer and composer on various Soho Strings Projects. Engineering and production wise - she took a Diploma in Audio production at IMW Studios in London (passing with a double distinction), and then continued to study courses in Composition for Film, Arranging in Contemporary styles and in Media Music at Goldmith’s. She has attended Mix With The Masters seminars and masterclasses with Alan Meyerson and Tom Elmhirst in France, and continues to study and develop her production and engineering skills whenever possible.

PERFORMANCE WORK:

Recent freelance violin work includes:

  • Chamber Orchestras: London Chamber Orchestra - London Mozart Players - Britten Sinfonia - European Union Chamber Orchestra - City of London Sinfonia - Aurora Orchestra

  • Symphony Orchestras: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Philharmonia Orchestra - London Philharmonic Orchestra - City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - London Concert Orchestra

  • Heritage Orchestra & Pete Tong Essential Orchestra: Ibiza Classics Albums & Tours (Pete Tong/Jules Buckley) – 02, Manchester Arena, NEC, V Festival, Destino Pasha (Ibiza), BBC The One Show, The Graham Norton Show

  • Bafta Awards (2022 Dame Shirley Bassey) -

  • Brit Awards (2017 Coldplay & 2015 Sam Smith)

  • Heritage Orchestra - Jane birkin - Goldie - Richard Ashcroft - Anna Calvi - Joy Division Reworked

  • Films with Live Orchestra – Films with Live orchestra (Royal Albert Hall, Barbican, Royal Festival Hall etc)

  • Music Videos for the track ‘Speechless’ from Disney’s 2019 Aladdin and ‘80’s Symphonic’ TV advert

  • Gregory Porter at the Royal Albert Hall

  • Barbra Streisand at the 02

  • Michael Buble at the 02

  • Richard Thompson - Meltdown Festival 2010 (Royal Festival Hall)

  • Faster than Sound: ‘Brainwaves Project’ 2010 with Mira Calix/Anna Meredith/Loop pH

For a more thorough listing of work, please see Sophie’s MAS listing page.

COLLABORATION

Soho Strings has grown into an informal collective of musicians, creatives and engineers who have worked on various projects together

WHY REMOTE RECORDING?

From the beginning, it was really important to us that the remote recording side of Soho Strings was not about being a budget recording option. Of course, it is a sensible option if you are on a budget - there are simply fewer people involved who need to be paid and the overheads are lower. However, from the very beginning we wanted to achieve the highest professional standards from this style of recording.

We have also discovered many other perhaps unexpected advantages to remote recording from our experiences over the past years.

Time and Communication - the fact that we do not have the overheads of a big commercial studio means we have more freedom to experiment and take risks.

Safe Space

Preparation of Difficult scores