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Home / Katie Targett-Adams (Medieval & Modern Languages, 1997)

Katie Targett-Adams (Medieval & Modern Languages, 1997)



Katie read Medieval & Modern Languages at Hertford, but felt her true calling in life was as a musician. Now based in Hong Kong, she combines a life of music-making in Asia with working with the Chinese Miss Universe training team, and as an etiquette tutor.

My father gave me the middle name ‘Emma’ after his Cambridge college, Emmanuel; when I wrote to the college asking if my five Scottish Highers would be accepted there, I received a disheartening response.  As the dream of following in my father’s footsteps faded away, Hertford opened the door to my own unique university experience at Oxford, the ‘other one’. I appreciated Hertford’s welcoming attitude to diversity, which was also palpable on day one as a fresher. There is no ‘typical’ Oxford student at Hertford; just real people from all walks of life.

My passion for studying languages didn’t equip me with a clear sense of vocation. My career path became clearer when I was offered the opportunity to sing and play my harp in Washington DC, an invitation I initially decline as I was also preparing for my finals. However, my parents advised me to call back, and the rest is history.

My next break came after graduating, when I was spotted singing and playing at Stirling Castle and was invited to perform in Nanning, China, by an embassy official. I subsequently learned Mandarin, made easy by my Hertford training, and I am now based in Hong Kong. It turns out that there aren’t so many harpists from Scotland singing in Chinese across Asia, and so I found my professional niche, providing a cultural link for ‘East meets West’. I have performed at many governmental, diplomatic and British royal events and given solo concerts to thousands of people in China.

One performance I will always treasure will be the Centenary Celebrations of Hertford Bridge. The college invited me to give a concert before the black tie dinner celebrations. It was a huge privilege to let the echoes of my voice and harp fill the wooden walled room in OB quad, blending memories of a student Oxford with my professional life. The following day’s performance in the marquee ended up with dancing alongside Will Hutton, Hertford tutors, staff, supporters and friends – surreal and wonderful all at the same time.

Recently I added another string to my bow, certainly boosted by my credentials of an Oxford education. Four years ago, I was approached by a television director after a music performance in Shanghai.  She asked me to coach the Miss Universe China candidates in performance skills on the show. Gradually a new career emerged for me and now I am also a fully-fledged British etiquette tutor in China.

Hertfolk

  • A John Harrison (Modern Languages, 1938)

  • Abigail Eardley (English, 2016)

  • Adam Kellett (Geography, 2014)

  • Adrian Briggs (Law, 1975)

  • Alison Young (Jurisprudence, 1993)

  • Anne Sokolich (DPhil Clinical Neuroscience, 2015)

  • Athol Williams (MPhil Political Theory, 2015)

  • Bahi Ghubril (Engineering Science, 1989)

  • Barbara McGowan (Biochemistry, 1984)

  • Brooke Johnson (DPhil Earth Sciences, 2015)

  • Carolyn Hitt (English, 1987)

  • Catherine Redford (Career Development and Outreach Fellow)

  • Chris Brooks (Chemistry, 1962)

  • Cristopher Ballinas Valdés (DPhil Politics, 2003)

  • David Haxell (Head Porter)

  • Emily Rayfield (Biological Sciences, 1993)

  • Eric Martin (Medicine, 1961)

  • Eugenie Reidy (Archaeology and Anthropology, 2001)

  • Ewen Maclean (Physics, 2006)

  • Gautam Patel (Biochemistry, 1999)

  • Grace Newcombe (Music, 2008)

  • Graham Winyard (Medicine, 1965)

  • Holly Redford Jones (PPE, 2013)

  • James Weinberg (History, 2009)

  • Jason Millar (English, 2003)

  • Joy Aston (Biological Sciences, 2012)

  • Julian Whitehead (History, 1963)

  • Jurek Martin (History, 1960)

  • Katie Targett-Adams (Medieval & Modern Languages, 1997)

  • Kerensa Jennings (Modern Languages, 1989)

  • Lawson Lancaster (Japanese, 2010)

  • Lena Thu Phuong Nguyen (Oriental Studies, 2005)

  • Louis-David Lord (DPhil Psychiatry, 2014)

  • Lucy Davenport-Broder (English, 1991)

  • Miranda Reilly (English, 2015)

  • Nick Jefferson (Jurisprudence, 1994)

  • Norman Perrin (Engineering Science, 1948)

  • Olivia Shillabeer (PPE, 2013)

  • Paavan Buddhdev (Computer Science & Philosophy, 2013)

  • Rebecca Mills (Medicine, 2004)

  • Richard Fidler (Economics & Management, 1998)

  • Rob Williams (Jurisprudence, 1983)

  • Sam Bovill (Jurisprudence, 2015)

  • Sandy Oh (PPE, 1990)

  • Sherard Cowper-Coles (Classics, 1973)

  • Steve Frost (Geography, 1995)

  • The Reverend Mia Smith (College Chaplain)

  • Tim Hosgood (Mathematics, 2011)

  • Tom Bashford (Biochemistry, 1998)

  • Wanda Wyporska (Modern History & Languages, 1997)

  • Zoë Lee (Geography, 2004)

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