Charlie Draper
Charlie Draper
Theremin | Ondes Martenot

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Charlie Draper is an accomplished theremin and ondes Martenot player who provides exceptional bespoke performance and recording services for live events, film, television and more.

Moving between London and Bristol, Charlie has dedicated his career to these instruments since 2005. His performances have captivated audiences at prestigious venues like Wigmore Hall, Oslo Opera House, Abbey Road Studios, and Glastonbury Festival and recently featured on Netflix, Disney+, the BBC, and Classic FM.

Offering tailored services, Charlie regularly provides performances, recordings, music education, composition, transcription, and consultancy on the theremin, ondes Martenot, and early electronic music in general.

Charlie performs with the Radio Science Orchestra, pianist Paul Jackson, and harpist Holly Lowe as Stranger Strings. His recent recordings include work for composers Natalie Holt, Carlos Rafael Rivera, Benjamin Wallfisch, and Christophe Beck.

For bookings and general inquiries, use the contact form. For upcoming performances, visit the events page, or follow on social media.

 
 

Theremin

The theremin is a monophonic space-controlled electronic musical instrument, invented in 1920 by Russian physicist and musician Leon Theremin (1896-1993). The instrument is distinguished by its haunting tone which recalls a stringed instrument or human voice, and by its mode of operation, which involves no physical contact.

Indelibly associated with science fiction and psychological thrillers, the theremin is further capable of evoking angelic purity, animalistic growls, and a range of lesser-heard expressions which are only beginning to be explored by composers.

Charlie has played theremin since 2005, performing works including Schillinger’s “First Airphonic Suite”, Rószsa’s “Spellbound Concerto”, Elfman’s “Mars Attacks!” and Herrmann’s Suite from “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. The instrument has taken him to venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, Oslo’s Opera House, New York’s Public Theatre and Dublin’s National Concert Hall.

 
 

Ondes Martenot

With its swooping tones and battery of unusually-shaped speakers, the ondes Martenot is among the most striking early electronic instruments, patented in 1928 by French cellist and radio engineer Maurice Martenot (1898-1980). The instrument has a moveable keyboard, sliding ribbon controller, and distinctive resonant speakers including a Chinese gong (the métallique) and a 24-stringed lute (the palme) . The evocative tones of the instrument can be reminiscent of a violin, cello, flute, or even a human voice.

Charlie began playing the ondes Martenot in 2018, and has since worked to build a core repertoire of chamber and orchestral music, including Olivier Messiaen’s monumental Turangalîla-Symphonie. The ondes represents a natural transition from the theremin, owing to its similar mechanism of control (which assigns volume and pitch to the left and right hands), and its comparable ability to produce limitless glissando.

 
 

Repertoire

Click on each section to expand. Additional works, score sourcing and hire assistance are available on request. Charlie’s film and television portfolio can be viewed on IMDB.

  • Lera Auerbach Icarus (2006 / 2011)
    Lera Auerbach Symphony No. 1 “Chimera” (2006)
    Danny Elfman Mars Attacks! - Main Title and Introduction (1996)
    Reinhold Gliere Concerto for Coloratura Soprano (1943) †
    Bernard Herrmann The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
    Olivier Messiaen Turangalîla-Symphonie (VI.) (1948) †
    Jim Parker Midsomer Murders (1997)
    Andrei Pashchenko Symphonic Mystery (1924)
    Sergei Rachmaninov Vocalise (1912) †
    Harry Revel Music out of the Moon (1947)
    Miklós Rózsa Spellbound Concerto (1945)
    Miklós Rózsa The Lost Weekend (1945)
    Camille Saint-Saens Le Cygne (1886) †
    Joseph Schillinger First Airphonic Suite (1929)
    Alfred Schnittke Nagasaki Oratorium (1958)
    Howard Shore Ed Wood Suite (1994)
    Dmitri Shostakovich Excerpts from “Odna” (1931)

    additional works on request

  • Elmer Bernstein Ghostbusters: Suite (1984)
    Natalie Holt Loki: Suite (2023)
    Natalie Holt     The Architect (2023)
    Arthur Honegger Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher (1938)
    Maurice Jarre Lawrence of Arabia: Overture & Suite (1962)
    André Jolivet Suite Delphique (1943)
    Olivier Messiaen     Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine (1944, rev. 1990)
    Olivier Messiaen     Turangalîla-Symphonie (1948, rev. 1990)
    Richard Rodney Bennett Enchanted April: Suite (1992)
    Richard Rodney Bennett Ophelia (1987)
    Miklós Rózsa Spellbound Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1984)

    additional works on request

  • Isidor Achron Improvisation (1945)
    Joseph Achron Hebrew Melody (1911) †
    Thierry Besancon Nocturne (2008)
    Gabriel Fauré  Après un rêve (1878) †
    George Gershwin Summertime (1934) †
    Nikolai Medtner Suite-Vocalise (1931) †
    Alex Palmer Sonata-Fantasy (2012)

    Sergei Rachmaninov Vocalise (1915) †

    Sergei Rachmaninov Ne Poy Krasavitsa (1893) †

    Miklós Rózsa Spellbound Concerto (1945)
    Camille Saint-Saëns The Swan (1886) †
    Joseph Schillinger Melody (1929)
    Joseph Schillinger Vocalise No.1 (1928)
    Riccardo Valente Complaint (1934)
    Friedrich Wilckens Dance in the Moon (1933)

    additional works on request

  • Richard Rodney Bennett Nocturne No. 2 (1984)
    Olivier Messiaen Feuillet Inédits (op. post, arr. Loriod)
    Olivier Messiaen Oraison, extract from “Fête des belles eaux, IV. L’Eau” (1936)
    Darius Milhaud Suite pour ondes Martenot et piano (1932)
    Edward Michael Élégie (1961)
    Pierre Vellones Fantaisie (1930)
    Pierre Vellones Deux Pieces pour Columbia (1935)

    additional works on request

  • Ólafur Arnalds Happiness Does Not Wait (2013) †
    Claude Debussy Beau Soir (1880) †
    Claude Debussy Clair de Lune (1890) †
    Henri Duparc L'invitation au voyage (1870) †
    Philip Glass Metamorphosis Two (1989) †
    Edward Michaël A travers un vitrail †
    Maurice Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899) †
    Alex Palmer Fractal (2020)
    Arvo Pärt Spiegel im Spiegel (1978) †
    Heitor Villa-Lobos O canto do cisne negro (1917) †

    additional works on request

  • Percy Grainger Free Music No.1 (1937)
    Percy Grainger Free Music No.2 (1937)
    Percy Grainger Beat-less Music (1937)
    Nicolas Slonimsky Dream Scents (1934)

    additional works on request

† = arrangement / transcription.

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