Adjudicator

Miriam Monaghan

Miriam Monaghan (née Nerval) enjoys a portfolio career as a international recorder player, conductor, composer and teacher.

As a soloist, Miriam has recorded for Disney at Abbey Road on multiple occasions; she was the first recorder player to be profiled in BBC Music Magazine’s Rising Star: Great Artists of Tomorrow feature, and was asked by Classic FM to give a recorder lesson to Top Gear presenter, James May. In 2023, Miriam was interviewed on BBC2 Newsnight discussing the recorder’s vital role in UK music education. Miriam won a City Music Foundation award for soloists in their inaugural year, following instrumental study to postgraduate level at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

As a chamber musician Miriam performs with Palisander recorder quartet, giving concerts in over 17 countries, from Japan to Greece to the tiny Scottish Isle of Eigg! “Palisander – making recorders phenomenally interesting and exciting” – Katie Derham, BBC Radio 3, 2019. The ensemble has won multiple European awards for performance and Arts Council England grants for education projects that have toured the UK since 2016. Palisander’s online videos have been viewed by more than 15 million people, worldwide. Miriam also regularly performs with Eboracum Baroque, with whom she has performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, as a recorder soloist, for several years. In 2025 Miriam recorded a new disc with La Serenissima and Tabea Debus, showcasing lesser known works for two recorders and baroque orchestra, for release this year.

Miriam is a tutor and conductor for the National Youth Recorder Orchestra, as well as a conductor and Musical Advisor to the Society of Recorder Players. Miriam regularly conducts playing days, and tutors for Morley Adult Education College (London) and the Recorder Summer School. Miriam teaches recorder and pre-prep class music at St Paul’s Cathedral School, is the woodwind and class recorder teacher at Connaught House School, and leads the Recorder and Music Makers team for Richmond Music Trust.

A passionate composer and educator, Miriam was Recorder Consulant and Composer for national music foundation Sing Up’s new recorder programme, used in schools nationwide. Miriam’s compositions have been frequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM, WDR (Germany), and France Musique.