Meet some of our players

Andrea began her flute journey at the age of 12 after relocating from Hong Kong to Kent. Despite a busy post-university life which led to her setting aside the flute for over a decade, she never parted with it. In 2020, Andrea reconnected with music by joining Ealing Flutes, where she met many new friends and enjoys participating in concerts in support of the Ealing Food Bank. She is also an active member of the Ealing Wind Orchestra and the Great Western Railway Band. Currently, she studies with Chris Hankin and aspires to achieve the LRSM in the future.

Beyond her musical pursuits, Andrea has a background in Physics and works in the area of Algorithmic Trading for Asset Management.

Takami is from Osaka in Japan. She studied the piano with Jeremy Davis and flute with R. Schuelein and Chris Hankin at the London College of Music. She has also sung at concerts with a local chamber choir in the past. She has been a piano tutor in St. Albans for a long time, teaching for ABRSM Grades, theory exams and accompanying other instrument players. Takami would like to expand her flute repertoire in the future.

She is currently a member of the Ealing Flute Academy and enjoys playing with the other members.

Nanako’s first encounter with music was at kindergarten, where she attended Yamaha Music School, and she began playing the flute at the age of 12 in her native Tokyo. During her school years, she played actively in wind bands, and her affinity for the flute remained strong even after her musical involvement faded during university. It accompanied her to London, though she didn’t play again until 2007, when attending a friend’s daughter’s wind band concert reignited her passion. Encouraged by Chris’s guidance, she pursued performance diplomas, achieving an LRSM in 2021.

She is an HCPC-registered music therapist and plays in a local symphony orchestra.

Chris Reding is a primary school teacher from Ealing. He was taught flute by Christine Hankin and studied recorder with Andrew Collis. He further honed his musical knowledge under the guidance of Clive Brown, Peter Holman, and Arnold Whittall. Chris regularly plays modern flute and piccolo with Hounslow Symphony and occasionally joins Ealing Symphony and the Oxford Chamber Orchestra. He also plays baroque flute and recorder with Richmond Opera.

Beyond school and playing the flute, Chris has cycled from Land's End to John o'Groats. He also enjoys hiking and running, so you might spot him jogging along the canal network!

Ruby began playing the flute at age 11. She completed a BA (Hons) in Music at Brunel University London, where she studied flute with Chris Hankin. Her performance experience includes three and a half years with the Tri-borough Youth Orchestra, where she served as principal second flute from September 2017 to August 2020. During this time, she performed in numerous concerts, most notably the premiere of Charlotte Harding’s Convo at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2019. A member of Ealing Flutes since September 2023, Ruby regularly takes part in diverse musical projects. She played alto flute on the track Xolo’s Death for Octopus8 Studios’ video game Xolo, whose soundtrack was later released on Apple Music. She composed the score for the short film A Click Away (dir. Tanmay Tushar) and has worked as Music Editor for The Hillingdon Herald since February 2022. She has also volunteered in stage management for numerous events since 2018, including the Marylebone Music Festival and Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth concerts at the Royal Festival Hall in July 2019. Outside of music, Ruby completed the NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism in 2024 following two years of training. She is due to complete her MMus at Royal Holloway in September 2025 and is currently composing a flute and cello duet for Royal Holloway’s EAR at PLAY! festival. Looking ahead, she hopes to pursue a PhD in music.

Vicki started playing classical piano and clarinet at 8 years old. At 12 she completed grades then swapped to saxophone and discovered jazz. She studied at London College of Music and achieved BMus Performance and Recording 1:1. Then studied a PGCE at Roehampton uni in secondary music education. She’s just graduated Guildhall School of Music with an MMus in jazz saxophone. She’s been teaching for 8 years both privately and for schools or groups. She loves teaching, especially working with SEN which she first started just before 2020 with a community engagement scheme. She’s currently touring both Uk and abroad, working with multiple bands. She plays theatre shows and enjoys playing all the different instruments, including alto, tenor, Bari and Sol sax, flute, piccolo, alto flute, clarinet, Eb sop clarinet, bass clarinet, recorder and alto recorder. Vicki enjoys a variety of work, including teaching and performing.