Holly Taylor-Zuntz was commissioned as part of Lights Up 2021, our programme of online art. Five artists were paid £500 to create new work. Find out more.

How did a book of music find its way from a woman in 19th century Germany, down through the generations, through two world wars and a few glass ceilings, to her great-great-great granddaughter in Oxford?

Don’t Forget Us is a celebration and exploration of female lineage and creativity. Working with visual artist Lydia Markham, I imagine what advice my ancestors would give me and what I would say to them, if I could. Pianist Tim Smith and soprano Megan Strachan help recreate the music that has echoed down the branches of my family tree.

About Holly

Holly Taylor-Zuntz is a singer, actor and theatre maker from Oxford. She is the grandchild of a German-Jewish refugee who settled in Oxford. She likes to use theatre and music to explore female ancestry, history, and community.

While training at Rose Bruford College, Holly set up Planet B Productions, a theatre company creating work around environmental and social justice, which she now runs with Lydia Markham. Their immersive and interactive show Traffik, set in a nail salon, was performed at the Oxford Playhouse as part of the Offbeat Festival. Holly is also the host of the podcast Voices of the Ancestors, which is about Georgian polyphonic songs and the women who sing them.

Holly enjoys helping others discover their creative voice through workshops and private lessons.