Meet the team: Rachel Bertaut

Tell us a little about your day-today role at Askonas Holt?

The good thing about working in this industry is that no two days are the same, so I could be talking to the boss of an orchestra one day and travelling to meet them the next. Regular communication with the artists is key to the role of an Artist Manager, as is keeping on top of emails and making sure you have enough creative headspace left for future planning!

What do you like most about your job?

Building relationships and often having the best seat in the house at concerts.

Favourite live music experience/ musical memory?

It’s hard to narrow down but one of the most memorable was hearing Stockhausen’s Gruppen at the Festival Hall in 2000. Most of my fellow University students were horrified. I was totally captivated. I also feel very privileged to have seen Bernard Haitink many times in concert since joining Askonas Holt, creating lots of lasting musical memories.

Achievement (professional or personal) you’re most proud of?

Other than bringing a new little person into the world it would have to be mastering the London cycle commute!

Best professional advice received?

To listen... and not to assume anything.

Most underrated composer?

Stockhausen. Not to everyone’s taste but his work as an early electronic music pioneer was ground-breaking.

Favourite quote or saying?

You can do anything if you put your mind to it.

And when you’re not at work?

I’m running around after my daughter Kitty and catching up on sleep.

Instruments played/voice?

Piano, violin, voice but my main interest at University was composition.

Favourite food?

Pasta and cheese sauce. A family staple.

Mastermind specialist subject?

Before my daughter was born: new restaurant openings in London. After: nursery rhymes and all associated actions.

Who would you invite to your ideal dinner party, living or dead?

Captain James Cook, Ella Fitzgerald, Michelle Obama, Eddie Izzard, and Raymond Blanc in the kitchen serving some French classics. An odd mix but should be fine after a few glasses of red.

What change would you most like to see take place in classical music?

For classical music to be a part of every child’s education.