interview
Paris
iscalling The lovely Alison Balsom embarks on her first ever solo tour this month. Ella Walker talks to the Royston-born trumpet player about being in control and why music is so vital to learning.
CAMBRIDGE MAGAZINE
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I
sound like a control freak!” blurts trumpet player Alison Balsom, laughing self-deprecatingly.
Form College in Cambridge, and then struck out on her own.
‘PR politeness syndrome’), when Balsom says it, you really do believe her.
The tabloids’ “trumpet crumpet” – she coined (and absolutely owns) the term – has just put her sixth studio album, Paris, to bed.
Training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the Conservatoire de Paris followed, as did sessions with her first classical hero Hardenberger.
The new album has always been the starting point for the tour programme. It is, as the name suggests, filled by pieces threaded with links to Paris, inspired in part by her memories of her time at the Conservatoire. But kitsch it is not.
And the result of all this hard work? In 2001, Balsom became a professional classical trumpeter, has a clutch of Classical Brit Awards, and, most recently, became the first woman to be named Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2013. Her career has been nothing less than glittering. Hell, they even erected a statue in Royston in her honour.
“It is quite daunting actually,” Balsom says on putting the new release out there. “It’s so eclectic and I’m really pushing the envelope in terms of, is this even classical? The sound is very, very different from my previous albums.”
It’s the first record she’s been involved in as a performer and co-producer, working on every stage of production, from choosing the repertoire and making it work for the trumpet, to picking the players and editing until 10pm every night. “Recording was such a small part of it,” says the Royston-born star, proudly. “It’s just been an all-consuming project, but very, very enjoyable; very nourishing, because it’s been so creative in so many different ways.” This is all on top of practising “crazily” for a world premiere in Beijing, followed by a televised prom, prepping for the iTunes Festival and her first ever solo tour. For Balsom to say “it’s all cranking up” is putting it somewhat mildly. No wonder she’s gone a bit control mad. The 35-year-old’s (36 this month) desire to be a soloist stemmed from hearing the Swedish trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger perform when she was just 9 years old. Throwing herself into music while studying at Tannery Drift Primary School, Greneway Middle School and Meridian School, all in Royston, she played in the Royston Town Band, took her A-levels at Hills Road Sixth
coming home
Now the single mum of one is embarking on her first headline solo tour, The Trumpet Sings, stopping at Cambridge Corn Exchange for a bit of a homecoming concert. “I love playing in Cambridge,” she says. “I can’t wait to come back, I think it’s going to be a bit of a tour highlight for me, to be honest.” Genuine, passionate and utterly sincere, Balsom talks very quickly, bubbling with enthusiasm and tumbling over herself giddily to get the words out. So even though artists always say whatever gig you’re talking to them about will be a highlight (aka CAMBRIDGE MAGAZINE
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Her earlier work has covered everything from Italian concertos to specific works for the trumpet by Bach, while her last collection, 2012’s Sound the Trumpet, featured pieces exclusively by Purcell and Handel. “With Handel and Purcell,” she muses, “if I can play the pieces well enough and people don’t like it, then that’s just a taste thing, whatever. But with [Paris] I really, really hope people like it, because it’s crazy putting this piece with this piece; it’s quite risky I suppose.” With the added layer of the tour she explains: “I’m basically trying to show what I think the trumpet can do and say.” Accompanied by a rhythm section, strings and a keys team that know their jazz, the show will bring together pieces by Bach, Debussy, Gershwin, Paizzolla and more. She couldn’t leave out all the
interview
•Alison Balsom: The Trumpet Sings, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Thursday, October 9 at 7.30pm. Tickets £19.50-£32.50 from (01223) 357851 / cornex.co.uk.
classical elements “because that’s what I’m known for”, but be prepared to hear the trumpet take an exciting new direction. “It’s going to be like a journey, so if you go and see a film, you don’t know what you’re going to get, but at the beginning you’re enjoying what you’re seeing, but by the end you think ‘Wow, we’ve come all that way!’ That’s what I’m aiming to do.” But why has it taken her more than 13 years to go out on the road in her own right? “I suppose as a solo artist you tend to get booked for concertos, or someone says come and play a recital and bring your pianist,” Balsom replies thoughtfully. “It’s usually on an invite from a promoter, whereas this is in collaboration with the promoter where we said right, this is what we wanna do, this is where we wanna go. “This is another level of control over your artistic decisions.” And, she adds: “I just think it’s about time. As you say, it’s like why haven’t I done it before?! Ha, ha.” The lure of touring in Britain also had something to do with it. “I travel all over the world, all of the time, so when I’m in the UK it means I’m on holiday, or just practising or at home. But to be in the UK, for me it’s really the most important audience.” When she’s not performing and working on her own music, Balsom is fighting to encourage
youngsters and provide opportunities for them to get involved too. Her passion for the arts being maintained and taught in schools even led to a live TED talk earlier this year.
tuned into charity
“I feel very proud I did it,” she admits. “You can’t use notes and I knew it was being streamed worldwide live, and I had lots of things I really wanted to get across and say. I didn’t want to forget anything so it was tremendously scary but very, very satisfying in the end.” In it she discussed the work of a charity called Brass for Africa, which she’s supported since performing in Gabriel at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2013. After a trip to Uganda where she witnessed the charity’s work first hand, boosting young people’s confidence and self-worth through music, she thought: “This would be a huge opportunity and offer huge exposure for both what I feel about music and how incredibly powerful it can be for young people and children, and an opportunity to expose the charity in a positive away.” Obviously she performed too, “otherwise people would have been like, who? Who’s that?” Balsom has never been afraid of speaking her mind – and is far happier discussing the impact of government cuts of music tuition than about CAMBRIDGE MAGAZINE
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Alison wins female artist of the year award at the Classic BRIT Awards 2011, above, and Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2013, right
being plastered all over the Daily Mail for being – shock horror! – a successful musician AND a rather beautiful woman. “I think it could be potentially disastrous,” she says earnestly. “The musical heritage of this country is one of the things we should be most proud of as a nation. The fact that’s in jeopardy is a travesty because it’s something we’ve taken for granted for such a long time. It’s not only about making good musicians, there’s so much evidence saying children who are learning music and playing an instrument do so much better in all their subjects. “It helps with concentration, with discipline and working with your peers, and it also gives you a tremendous amount of self-esteem and a way of expressing yourself. You can get rid of so much frustration and that feeling when you’ve worked hard at something, you can be really proud of it. “You’re constantly feeling like you’re achieving something, but there’s always more to strive for.”