Miriam Monaghan

Miriam Monaghan (née Nerval) enjoys a portfolio career as an international recorder player, conductor, composer/arranger 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 former Top Gear presenter James May. In 2023, Miriam performed live and 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 internationally 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. They frequently appear live on BBC Radio 3 and keep a busy concert schedule. Miriam also regularly performs with Eboracum Baroque, with whom she is thrilled to have 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. She has performed as a soloist at several major concert halls, including Cadogan and Wigmore. As a session musician Miriam has recorded for several TV adverts, AAA video games, the Disney Parks and several independent films.

Miriam is a tutor and conductor for the National Youth Recorder Orchestra, as well as a pastoral conductor and Musical Advisor to the Society of Recorder Players. Miriam regularly conducts playing days and tutors for Morley Adult Education College (London), the Recorder Summer School, and Benslow Music. 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.

For over a decade, Miriam’s role in Palisander has included composing and arranging repertoire for the ensemble. Many other arrangements have been performed by the National Youth Recorder Orchestra, SRP branches and at recorder festivals and courses around the UK and Europe. 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. Her educational compositions have been published by Faber. In 2026 she was commissioned to produce ‘The Isle of Wight Recorder Song Book', distributed to 3000 primary-age children in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.

Miriam’s works have been frequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM, WDR (Germany), and France Musique.