Biography
Born on 13 December 1959 in Wells, Somerset, England, Street displays remarkable command of multiple instruments, beginning with the accordion at age eight and extending to saxophones, clarinet and flute, while maintaining broad musical interests. She pursued rigorous conservatory training at Bath University, the Welsh College of Music and Drama, and London’s Guildhall School of Music. Her stage work encompasses productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and she has performed with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, the BBC Philharmonic and the Matrix Ensemble alongside classical baritone Willard White. In 1981/2 she captured the British Virtuoso Champion title on accordion and entered several world championship competitions. Recording credits include sessions with Steve Argüelles, Elvis Costello, the all-female saxophone quartet Fairer Sax, Lammas, Ute Lemper and Mike Westbrook, on both accordion and alto saxophone; with Westbrook she toured the Platterback project. Additional associations encompass work with Martha Lewis, Roy Nathanson’s Fire and the Phil Robson Octet. She started writing music while still at school and, later, as an educator, created beginner-level saxophone pieces that entered the UK Associated Board syllabus. She co-leads the five-saxophone ensemble Saxtet and has fostered the growth of saxophone choirs. Her first album under her own name appeared in 2002, featuring accordion alongside guitarist Fred T. Baker and saxophonist Stan Sulzmann; the track “In The Ballroom With The Rope” had earlier received first prize in the composition contest at the 2001 London Accordion Festival.
Albums
