November/December 2017 HuddersďŹ eld Contemporary Music Festival: 40th edition Discovering Nitin Sawhney A biomechanical universe? Music and humanity
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
Welcome
Above: Deborah Annetts Photo: Mark Thompson
As we make our way towards the end of 2017, so much seems to be in a state of change and flux. The external world can seem very uncertain, and therefore it was with a real sense of delight that I listened to Roderick Williams’ series on BBC Radio 4 The Choral History of Britain. This series has been both erudite and inspiring. We are certainly lucky to have such a strong tradition of wonderful singing rooted in age-old institutions and in our communities, with over two million people meeting every week (more than play amateur football for instance) to sing fabulous music. And it is at this time of year in particular, that so much wonderful music making takes place, involving so many of you as singers, conductors and composers. The ISM has always been at the heart of the choral tradition, supporting all those who make such transcendent music, not just at Christmas time but during the course of the entire year. However, the ISM also has to respond to change and ensure that we are providing the support that all musicians need irrespective of what their tradition might be. I am therefore delighted that we have been working on a series of blogs to celebrate diversity across the music profession, reflecting the fact that, at the ISM, we believe in holding on to all that is the very best and making sure that we are embracing and representing the whole music profession and music making in the fullest sense. That could be said to be a theme of this edition of Music Journal, with coverage of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival held on 17-26 November, and the groundbreaking music of Nitin Sawhney, a musicians’ musician. We also have a thought-provoking piece from The Rev Dr June Boyce-Tillman MBE, who I was lucky enough to share the stage with at the Westminster Education Forum back in July. As a result of that conversation, Rev Boyce-Tillman agreed to write a compelling article for Music Journal which provides plenty of food for thought as we move into the new year.
Front Cover St Paul’s Hall, Huddersfield set for an event at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 2016. Photo: John Bonner
I would also like to thank all of you who have not only renewed your subscription over the last few months but have also shared your thoughts and insights into the ISM and the work that we do. Please do keep your comments coming. They are incredibly valuable. Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity of wishing you all wonderful music making over the festive period. Do let us know what you are up to and we will make sure that we Facebook it.
See feature on pages 10-13
See feature on pages 6-9
2 5
News & campaigns Business advice
6 10
Discovering Nitin Sawhney Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival: 40th edition A biomechanical universe? Music and humanity
15 19 27 32 32
News from our members News from our corporate members Local event listings Classified advertising
Volume 84 / Number 4 Published by: The Incorporated Society of Musicians 4–5 Inverness Mews, London W2 3JQ T: 020 7221 3499 E: membership@ism.org W: ism.org Incorporated Society of Musicians is a limited company registered in England No. 36882. Registered Office as address above. Editor: Deborah Annetts Sub-editor and Production: Kim Davenport Gee
Inset images: Nitin Sawhney Photo: Suki Dhanda
Contents
deborah@ism.org
All ISM publications are copyright
Design: cogdesign.com Typography: marcmarazzi.com Advertising: Cabbell Publishing Ltd, T. 020 3603 7940 E. jane@cabbell.co.uk Editorial and advertising copy date: 1 December for January/ February issue Price: £7 per copy Subscription: £35 per year Circulation: 8,000 named recipients Views expressed in MJ are not necessarily those of the ISM. The publication of any advertisement does not imply endorsement of the advertiser or the product advertised.
Printed by Optichrome, Woking GU21 5HX ISSN 0951 5135
The Rev Dr June Boyce-Tillman See feature on pages 15-17
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
News & campaigns New copyright directive delayed New European rules which include plans to improve transparency of royalty payments and ensure fair remuneration in contracts for authors (including composers) and performers have been delayed in the European Parliament.
Henry Vann, Head of External Affairs, ISM
ISM backs Surrey Performing Arts Library
Surrey Performing Arts Library is one of the two largest music libraries in the UK, hosting an extensive range of orchestra, choir and drama sets, scores, books, CDs and DVDs which are available to musicians and There are some concerns that large internet companies ensembles. It is a valuable asset, but the future of the library is under threat from a consultation on are lobbying against plans to enforce copyright protections across the internet. It is now expected that proposals which include an option to close the library altogether. the vote on the Directive at the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) won’t take place until late November 2017. The ISM, working alongside our colleagues at Making If you are a composer, writer of new music or performer and want to add your voice in support of copyright, get in touch with Henry Vann, Head of External Affairs at henry.vann@ism.org
Campaign for flexible travel post-Brexit for musicians and artists gathers pace
Music and supporting the submission of the Friends of Surrey Performing Arts Library (FOSPAL), have opposed the plans for full closure.
Triumph for pianist James Carrabino
The appeals lodged against ISM member James Carrabino by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, have been dropped and the notice has been withdrawn. The appeals, brought by the Royal The campaign to secure flexible travel or ‘ease of Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, were against movement’ for musicians and artists and all those the decision made in 2016 to allow Carrabino, a working in the creative sector post-Brexit is gathering Young Musician of the Year finalist, to play the piano, pace, with 20 organisations, including the Conservatoires following noise complaints from one neighbour. UK student network, One Dance UK, COG Design, Association of British Orchestras and The Royal Central Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the ISM whose legal team represented James said: ‘This is a success School of Speech and Drama, getting involved with the campaign which is led by a-n (a body representing story for the Carrabino family, and excellent news for all musicians who may find themselves in a similar 21,000 visual artists) and the ISM. situation in the future. We are delighted to have To find out how you can receive updates, get involved played our part as the professional body for musicians in the Government’s consultation efforts, and download in supporting and championing musicians’ rights.’ logos to use, simply visit freemovecreate.org and encourage friends and fellow musicians to do likewise.
Budding bloggers – we want to hear from you! Have you got a burning issue you wish to share with the music industry? Are you fundraising for a special cause? Or do you simply want to share your experiences? To contribute a blog post, simply email francesca.treadaway@ism.org for our guidelines. We look forward to reading your posts.
ism.org/blog
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Legal and tax helpline – new number The telephone number for the ISM’s legal and tax helpline has changed from 01206 368994 to: 01275 376 038 Call this 24-hour helpline for telephone-based advice on anything legal, including matters unconnected with your work as a musician or music professional. Also call this number during working hours (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) for free expert advice on any tax or NI issue.
ISM celebrates Black History Month The ISM is celebrating Black History Month with a series of blogs from prominent black musicians. Chi-chi Nwanoku, Philip Herbert, Nadine Benjamin and Errollyn Wallen will be writing about their experiences in the profession and answering questions on what has changed and what still needs to be improved. There are also contributions from the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor society, celebrating the life of the 19th century composer, as well as grime artist Clive Campbell talking about the burgeoning genre and its cultural impact on communities of colour and beyond.
EBacc campaign update and new report from the Education Policy Institute
impact it is having on the uptake of GCSEs in creative, artistic and technical subjects were raised in the House of Commons and then put through a two-hour debate in the House of Lords. Almost every single member of the House of Lords that spoke during the debate was opposed to the EBacc in its current form. The Education Policy Institute has launched a report titled Entries to arts subjects at Key Stage 4 which shows uptake of arts subjects at the lowest it has been in a decade.
To get involved in the campaign, visit baccforthefuture.com
The report’s findings directly refute the DfE’s view that the EBacc doesn’t harm the uptake of creative subjects.
Royal title for Birmingham Conservatoire Birmingham Conservatoire has been granted a royal title by the Queen. The institution joins a select number of conservatoires granted royal recognition, and the music and drama academy will be renamed the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Bacc for the Future, the campaign to reform or stop the EBacc, now has over 30,000 individual supporters. This is a phenomenal achievement and is in large part This news comes as the conservatoire’s new £57 due to your efforts on this campaign. Please do urge million home opens its doors to new students. your family members, friends and colleagues to sign up and support the campaign: baccforthefuture.com Henry Vann, Head of External Affairs, ISM The lack of evidence behind the EBacc and the harmful 020 7313 9327, henry.vann@ism.org
The ISM Trust Primary Music Toolkit The ISM Trust, supported by the Schools Music Association (SMA), has published a free online resource for primary school music teachers. The Primary Music Toolkit, written by music education expert Dr Alison Daubney, is a concise six-part guide which aims to help specialist and non-specialist primary music teachers further their knowledge and self-assurance in the classroom. It is packed with practical help and strategies to give teachers the confidence to lead inspiring musical experiences and bring the primary music curriculum to life. The toolkit is free to access and download from the ISM Trust website: ismtrust.org/primary-toolkit
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
PPL – a focus on Classical Ben Hogwood, PPL Classical Repertoire Manager, writes: From London to Birmingham and beyond, the last few months have been packed full of activity with the classical community. My role, as Classical Repertoire Manager at PPL, sees me deal with classical music on a daily basis – whether it is the performers who make it, the rightsholders who release it, or the managers and administrators who are so important behind the scenes. Ben Hogwood, PPL Classical Repertoire Manager
I recently had the pleasure of taking part in the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire careers fair, following my visit with a colleague in PPL’s Member Services team to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra that same day. Invited and chaired by Julian Lloyd Webber, I took part on a panel entitled What’s Next? which helped to explain and demystify the role of PPL and the support we can give to aspiring and working musicians, vocal groups and orchestral players.
more about the work we do in collecting money from the UK, as well as internationally, to ensure performers get paid where their music is played publicly or broadcast on TV or radio. Last year, PPL collected a record-breaking figure of £212.1 million and paid over 92,000 performers and record companies. October also saw us co-host a Composers’ Seminar with PRS for Music to ensure composers are equipped with need-to-know information about the industry. Understanding the business of music can be critical to success and so I – and my colleagues at PPL – strive to get out and about to meet with the music community as much as we can. We continue to work closely with record companies too, attending the BPI’s Classical Committee every quarter to hear from label representatives on how the genre is growing and evolving.
After 16 years in the role, classical continues to be an exciting sector to be part of and I look forward to working with PPL to support it for years to come. From educating the emerging talent to celebrating If you have any questions about how we can support the established talent, PPL was proud to sponsor the your career, just drop us a line at memberservices@ 40th anniversary of the Gramophone Classical Music ppluk.com or join the ISM Trust webinar on Thursday Awards in September. Along with our partners at 16 November, 1-2pm. To register for this free webinar PRS for Music, we co-sponsored a Special Achievement go to bit.ly/PPL-introduction. Award received by the composer, producer and founder of NMC Recordings, Colin Matthews OBE. It was A classically-trained musician himself, Ben Hogwood a fantastic event – ‘The Oscars of classical music’ has been at PPL for 16 years and has advised many as one guest enthused – which also saw Classic FM performers and labels. Ben also works as a freelance receive a Special Anniversary Award, recognising classical music journalist in his spare time and runs his 25 years of supporting classical music on the airwaves. own website containing classical news and reviews. Bringing things closer to home, I was delighted to welcome so many classical performers to PPL for our classical ‘In Session’ event, An Overture to PPL. This free tutorial brought together PPL’s members, and non-members, from the classical sector to learn
Give the gift of ISM membership this Christmas Give the musicians in your life the security and peace of mind that comes with being part of a professional body. Buy your musician colleague, student, family member or friend a year of ISM full membership for £176 or a year of graduate membership for just £78 (if they graduated from their first degree-level qualification in music in the last ten years). Or why not buy your pupils ISM student membership when they go off to university or conservatoire? Student membership is just £15 a year. To order your gift and find out more, go to ism.org/join. If you have any questions about gift membership, please call us on 020 7221 3499 or email membership@ism.org. Please note: to be eligible for ISM membership the recipient of the gift must satisfy our entry criteria.
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
Business advice Fees for music tuition and accompanying – please take part Our new survey of rates paid for music tuition and accompanying is now available online. Your participation is important because the more music teachers who complete the survey then the more authoritative the survey results will be as an indicator of what you have been charging. So please help us to help you by completing the questionnaire. You will find the questionnaire at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ISMfees2017 The password is ISMfees2017 The survey is open until 20 November and we will publish the survey results in January.
The ESS has prompted some businesses to review how they tax their workers and we are monitoring how this affects ISM members. If you are concerned or affected by this, we can advise you on your position and on how to reduce the risk of being caught by these tax rules. As an ISM member you also benefit from legal expenses insurance which covers disputes arising from a compliance check by HMRC relating to IR35.
Tax return 2016-17 If you have not already submitted a paper tax return for the 2016-17 tax year, you will need to submit your self-assessment form electronically and pay any tax due no later than 31 January 2018.
If you have not already registered for self-assessment, make sure you do this in good time, because it can take several days for your registration to be complete. IR35 – what is it and how may Once you have registered, you will then need to it affect you? complete the self-assessment online form and give IR35 refers to tax legislation introduced in 2000 designed details of all your work – employed as well as selfemployed – and any business expenses in order for to combat tax avoidance by workers supplying their your tax and National Insurance to be calculated. The services to clients via an intermediary, such as a online form will calculate the tax due based on your limited company, but who would be an employee profits (i.e. your income minus any legitimate business if they had contracted directly with the client rather expenses). than through their intermediary. The term ‘IR35’ is simply a shorthand way of referring to the legislation. Visit the Members’ Area of our website for advice and
Tax round-up
Workers supplying services through such intermediaries are sometimes considered by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to be ‘disguised employees’. If such workers are caught by the provisions of IR35, they have to pay income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on earnings paid to their intermediary company as if they were employed. Therefore, where IR35 applies, it will significantly reduce net income.
guidance in our tax and accountancy section (ism.org/ advice-centre/tax-accountancy). For further information about how to register and file your self-assessment tax return, the Government’s money and tax web pages are a good place to start: see gov.uk/log-in-file-self-assessment-tax-return John Robinson, Head of Operations, ISM
In order to help determine the issue of status for tax purposes, HMRC made available in March 2017 a new online employment status service (ESS). By answering a number of questions about an engagement, the ESS will determine the tax status of a worker. This online test applies both where the work is carried out through an intermediary and where a worker is directly engaged as a sole trader, meaning that even a self-employed contractor could end up taxed as if employed.
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
Discovering Nitin Sawhney British-Indian composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Nitin Sawhney is arguably one of the most versatile artists of our generation. Francesca Treadaway of the ISM ďŹ nds out more about his life and career in music.
I had to be honest with Nitin. I had spent a lot of time reading about him, listening to his music and ZDWFKLQJ LQWHUYLHZV RQ <RX7XEH WR JHW D Ă DYRXU RI what to expect, but I still didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to begin.
Nitin Sawhney with Francesca Treadaway, the ISMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Communications Manager
0\ VWUXJJOH WR Ă&#x20AC;QG D VWDUWLQJ SRLQW LV QRW XQIRXQGHG Nitinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career spans nearly 29 years, in which time KH KDV UHOHDVHG VWXGLR DOEXPV VFRUHG RYHU Ă&#x20AC;OPV as well as many international TV programmes, ads, cinema trailers, video games and theatre and dance productions, and performed and scored ZLWK LQWHUQDWLRQDO RUFKHVWUDV WR VLOHQW Ă&#x20AC;OPV +H KDV ZRQ RYHU DZDUGV IRU KLV ZRUN +H VROG RXW both his BBC Prom and Electric Prom, and has collaborated with a wide variety of artists including Paul McCartney, Sting, Joss Stone and many more, and on various Robert Miles projects including 0LOHVB*XUWX DQG 2UJDQLN +LV RZQ ZRUN KDV been remixed by 4hero, Talvin Singh, MJ Cole and 4XDQWLF +H DOVR KDG KLV RZQ %%& 5DGLR VHULHV Nitin Sawhney Spins the Globe. If that wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough, he is also an accomplished Ă DPHQFR JXLWDULVW SLDQLVW DQG '- I comment on the sheer amount of work Nitin has been involved in. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am quite a practical person in terms of subconsciously planning. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not like â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can relax nowâ&#x20AC;?, I have always looked aheadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Nitin explains. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I always thought you were as good as the last thing you have done, and even then, you have to start from scratch again. After a while you ORRN EDFN DQG WKLQN ´DFWXDOO\ WKDW¡V D ORW RI VWXͿ¾ ¡ 1LWLQ UHIHUV WR KLPVHOI DV D Ă&#x20AC;OP FRPSRVHU DQG SURGXFHU +H KDV EHHQ FDOOHG Âś5HQDLVVDQFH PDQ¡ â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pioneeringâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;groundbreakingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by the press. But never a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;portfolio musicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, I discover. A new experience for the man who seems to be involved in most areas of the music industry.
Left: Nitin Sawhney Photo: Suki Dhanda
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I have never heard myself being called a portfolio musicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Nitin laughs. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Renaissance man, polymath, never portfolio musician â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Nitin was born into a creative family â&#x20AC;&#x201C; his mother was a bharatanatyam dancer (Indian classical dance) and his grandmother was a harmonium player and a singer who was broadcast on Indian radio. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been reacquainting myself with the fact that my dad was a really good painter, and my mum used to make wicker baskets, etc â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they were really into creativityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Nitin explains. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;But up until I was 11, I thought my dad was a great sitar player. There was this picture up of him in the house looking very authoritative in the way he was KROGLQJ WKH LQVWUXPHQW +H KDG EURXJKW LW KRPH IURP ,QGLD 6R , DVNHG KLP ´+RZ GR \RX SOD\ LW"Âľ and he said â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know!â&#x20AC;?. Quite mad really.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Âś, WKLQN , KDG WKLV SODFHER HÍżHFW RI WKLQNLQJ , FDPH from a lineage of great classical musicians!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 1LWLQ KDG SLDQR OHVVRQV IURP WKH DJH RI Ă&#x20AC;YH WDNLQJ JUDGH ZKHQ KH ZDV +H SURJUHVVHG WKURXJK the Youth Orchestras and played in a jazz quartet DW VFKRRO +H ZDV DOVR OHDUQLQJ Ă DPHQFR JXLWDU LQVSLUHG E\ KLV GDG SOD\LQJ Ă DPHQFR JXLWDULVW Phillip John Leeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s album in the house. Nitin found out that Phillip was teaching in Kensington Olympia and travelled to have lessons with him. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I was also in a punk band, funk band, rock band â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I was in all kinds of things. I played tabla as well and a bit of sitarâ&#x20AC;Ś to make up for my dadâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Nitin laughs. As a child, Nitin never had any awareness of being unusual in his love of music. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I was quite passionate about all music. It was quite easy to apply the theory learnt through piano playing to guitar playing. I got into jazz young â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I started improvising on Bachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Two-Part Inventions and Continued overleaf Ă&#x2C6;
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OHDUQW EOXHV VFDOHV , OLVWHQHG WR 0LOHV 'DYLV DQG Ravi Shankar from a young age. My dad loved a lot of Cuban music and my mum was predominantly into Indian classical,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Nitin explains. +H FRQWLQXHV Âś, XVHG WR IDOO DVOHHS OLVWHQLQJ WR WKH Top 30 on Radio Caroline (a pirate radio station that never became legal) and became acquainted with ORWV RI GLÍżHUHQW W\SHV RI PXVLF WKDW SHRSOH ZRXOG send in.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Âś, KDG D ORW RI GLÍżHUHQW LQĂ XHQFHV DOO WKH WLPH ¡ Before devoting himself to music full-time, Nitin EULHĂ \ VWXGLHG ODZ EHIRUH WUDLQLQJ DV DQ DFFRXQWDQW A lack of role models â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in particular, Asian musicians who made a living out of composing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; changed his focus temporarily. But a chance opportunity with the James Taylor Quartet saw Nitin walking out of his job as Finance Controller in D KRWHO +H KDV QHYHU ORRNHG EDFN Âś2QFH \RX ZDON RÍż WKDW SUHFLSLFH WKHUH¡V QR JRLQJ EDFN , GLG WKLQN that I could go back if it went wrong, but it never occurred to me to do that. Finally, I had taken the plunge and it was very exciting. You want to go further. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not much to entice you back from that world once youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in it.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; +LVWRULFDOO\ 1LWLQ¡V ZRUN KDV EHHQ DV DQ DOEXP DUWLVW DQG Ă&#x20AC;OP FRPSRVHU EXW GLÍżHUHQW VWUDQGV RI work and interests blossomed into theatre and dance work at Sadlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wells. Collaboration has been key to the development of his career, and Nitinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advice to those wanting to follow in his footsteps is to be open to collaboration. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Be open to learning, always,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Nitin explains. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Never have the impression you know how to do everything. I have skills that I have learnt over WKH \HDUV LQ GLÍżHUHQW ZD\V EXW LI , ZDON LQWR D SURMHFW , HPSW\ P\ PLQG DQG WKLQN ´+RZ GR ZH DSSURDFK WKLV"Âľ DQG ´+RZ GR ZH EXLOG D PXVLFDO
Right: Nitin performing songs from his album Dystopian Dream at Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world-famous club, Heaven Photo: Pete Gardner
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YRFDEXODU\ WKDW LV VSHFLĂ&#x20AC;F WR WKLV SURMHFW"Âľ When you do this with many people, you learn from them and that helps you get into other ways of thinking and styles. Be open-minded â&#x20AC;&#x201C; music isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a place for insecurity, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a place of exploration and self-discovery.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; With such a vast body of work spanning many artforms over nearly three decades, I probe Nitin about his creative processes and how they might have changed. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;If you are making your own album, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about soulsearching; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what you are passionate about at that time and what you need to say or express and turning that into sound. If you are working with D GLUHFWRU RI D Ă&#x20AC;OP \RX DUH WU\LQJ WR UHDOLVH WKHLU vision â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so you have to work with their psychology DQG WKH QDUUDWLYH RI WKH Ă&#x20AC;OP ¡ 1LWLQ KDV VFRUHG RYHU Ă&#x20AC;OPV LQFOXGLQJ WKH recently released Breathe, starring Claire Foy and $QGUHZ *DUĂ&#x20AC;HOG ZKLFK LV $QG\ 6HUNLV¡ GLUHFWRULDO debut. Nitin is currently scoring again for Andy 6HUNLV IRU WKH :DUQHU %URV¡ Ă&#x20AC;OP Jungle Book, due for release in 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;You have to use every part of your brain to make a Ă&#x20AC;OP VFRUH ¡ 1LWLQ WHOOV PH Âś2UFKHVWUDWLRQ LV GLÍżHUHQW to sitting down and expressing something on the guitar or piano. My question when composing IRU Ă&#x20AC;OP LV ´:KDW DP , DGGLQJ"Âľ $P , OLWHUDOO\ underlining what is already happening, or have I created something that could be related to VRPHWKLQJ WKDW KDSSHQV ODWHU"¡ &RPSRVLQJ PXVLF IRU Ă&#x20AC;OP LQ WKH SDVW 1LWLQ WHOOV me, started with a process called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;spottingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which is a meeting between director and composer where ERWK ZDWFK WKH Ă&#x20AC;OP WRJHWKHU VR WKH FRPSRVHU FDQ create musical concepts.
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nowadays I read the script before shooting starts and then I would watch rough footage,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Nitin H[SODLQV IXUWKHU ¶, ZRXOG WKHQ GUDJ WKH Ã&#x20AC;OP WR Logic and mock up some cues â&#x20AC;&#x201C; once they are approved, I would transfer the lot to Sibelius, re-notate and get it ready for recording.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
Earlier this year, Nitin received the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Award-wise, this was my greatest achievement, especially when seeing the names that preceded mineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but winning awards (he turned down an OBE in 2007) is not how he measures his success.
Given his impressive number of studio albums, I ask Nitin if he ever felt pressure to put music out. +H UHSOLHV ¶, GRQ·W HYHU NQRZ LI , ZLOO PDNH DQRWKHU album â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I only make them if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got something to say.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am not a goal-orientated person. I enjoy processesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Nitin explains to me. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;My greatest achievement LV SUREDEO\ OHDUQLQJ WR XVH P\ Ã&#x20AC;QJHUV LQVWHDG RI my whole hands on the piano, because that told me that this was something I was always going to want to do.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
A high-pressure job Nitin recalls â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and what he says is perhaps his biggest achievement musically â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is when he was commissioned to write music for BBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Human Planet. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I had to write for eight episodes, which is 50 minutesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; worth of music per week. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an album of orchestral music per week for eight weeks. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a serious marathon. To write it, record it and to make it work for broadcast under ridiculous pressure from producers and directors ² ZKR ZDQWHG GLÍ¿HUHQW WKLQJV ² DQG WR PDNH LW D VXFFHVV ZDV GLÎ&#x20AC;FXOW 7KH IDFW LW ZDV VXFK D IDQWDVWLF series is what kept me going.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
Above: Nitin on stage at The Globe Theatre Photo: Pete Le May
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had incredible moments â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve conducted the LSO to a sold-out audience, playing my own music WR D +LWFKFRFN PRYLH 3OD\LQJ DW WKH 5R\DO $OEHUW +DOO DQG WKH %DUELFDQ WR VROG RXW DXGLHQFHV ZLWK my own band and having my own BBC Prom and Electric Prom (and I might be the only one who has had one of each). I want to pinch myself sometimes because at the end of the day, I am a guitarist/ piano player who kind of wandered in lots of GLÍ¿HUHQW GLUHFWLRQV · â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see being a musician as a job, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an honour and privilege every day.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Francesca Treadaway, Communications Manager, ISM
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
HuddersďŹ eld Contemporary Music Festival: 40th edition HuddersďŹ eld Contemporary Music Festival is the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest international festival of new and experimental music, providing a platform for composers and performers on both a national and international scale. Francesca Treadaway of the ISM catches up with Graham McKenzie, Artistic Director & Chief Executive, ahead of the festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 40th edition.
Graham McKenzie, Artisitc Director & Chief Executive of HuddersďŹ eld Contemporary Music Festival
+XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG &RQWHPSRUDU\ 0XVLF )HVWLYDO +&0) LV %ULWDLQ¡V OHDGLQJ DQQXDO FRQWHPSRUDU\ and new music festival, renowned for its quality and innovation. It takes place over 10 days and consists of approximately 50 events â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including concerts, music theatre, multi-media events, talks DQG Ă&#x20AC;OP ,WV DLP WKH WHDP VD\V LV ÂśWR SURYLGH OLIH changing and unique artistic experiences to as wide an audience as possible; to be a platform for new music and related contemporary art forms in Britain; to enthuse existing audiences and draw in new ones through adventurous programming and informed, stylish presentation, and to be an active cultural partner within the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. And the Festival has aspired to do this for nearly four decades. This year marks the 40th edition of +&0) ZKLFK GXULQJ WKDW WLPH KDV SUHVHQWHG more than 380 world premieres, 810 UK premieres and has provided a platform for composers and performers on both a national and international scale. All the great iconic composers of the 20th century â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Stockhausen, Boulez, Cage, 0HVVDLHQ ² FDPH WR +XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG
Left: Sandglasses for four cellos, live electronics and the installation of video, light and tulle by the Lithuanian composer JusteË&#x2122; JanulyteË&#x2122; was premiered at the HuddersďŹ eld Contemporary Music Festival in 2010.
Âś, DP VXUH \HDUV DJR ZKHQ +&0) VWDUWHG DV a weekend event, no one could have imagined it would grow into the festival it is nowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, says Graham McKenzie, who has been the Festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $UWLVWLF 'LUHFWRU IRU WKH SDVW \HDUV +&0) UHFHQWO\ FHOHEUDWHG WKH JRRG QHZV WKDW LW will again be part of Arts Council Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (ACE) National Portfolio of Organisations with funding guaranteed up to 2022.
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In this milestone year, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re especially grateful to have received the news that our core funding from ACE has been secured for the coming four years.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; But the future of the Festival is not just about IXQGLQJ LW¡V DOVR DERXW LQIUDVWUXFWXUH Âś, DP XVLQJ the 40th edition to talk to a lot of people about their expectations of how the Festival might evolve over the next four decades â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in terms of artists, audiences DQG FUXFLDOO\ ZKDW LW PLJKW WDNH IRU +XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG to continue hosting this festival â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in terms of venues, hotels, services and transport.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The Festival was founded in 1978 by Professor 5LFKDUG 6WHLQLW] XVLQJ WKH 0XVLF 'HSDUWPHQW RI +XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG 3RO\WHFKQLF QRZ WKH 8QLYHUVLW\ RI +XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG DV D VSULQJERDUG IRU DQ LQLWLDO weekend mini-festival. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The York Early Music Festival had begun in 1977 and there was a feeling that came from The Arts Council at the time that said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it be good to have a contemporary music festival WR EDODQFH WKLV"¾¡ *UDKDP H[SODLQV 5LFKDUG ZKR WKHQ ZHQW RQ WR EH 'LUHFWRU RI WKH Festival for 25 years, stepped to the fore and arranged for the new music festival to take place LQ +XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG :KDW VWDUWHG DV D ZHHNHQG event grew to a 10-day festival in the late 1980s. The remit was to commission and promote contemporary, new and experimental music, a founding principle which still holds true today, with the current Festival presenting some of the most avant-garde music in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contemporary music scene.
Photo: Paul Greenwood
Continued overleaf Ă&#x2C6;
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
All photos of HuddersďŹ eld Contemporary Music Festival, courtesy of hcmf. Photo above: John Bonner
2I WKH )HVWLYDO KH DGGV â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This year we decided to celebrate the 40th edition rather than next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 40th anniversary because I want us to concentrate on looking forward to the next 40 years rather than looking back.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I ask Graham how the Festival commissions its pieces. Âś:KHQ , EHFDPH 'LUHFWRU RI +&0) , ZDQWHG WR XVH WKH )HVWLYDO¡V LQWHUQDWLRQDO SURĂ&#x20AC;OH WR FUHDWH more opportunities for British composers and to establish networks and contacts for them to develop their work furtherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Graham explains. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Festival has always been very well connected with European music networks and I think partnership is very important. When it comes to international composers in particular the Festival frequently co-commissions with European and international festival partners. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;But I wanted to move away from an over-reliance RQ SUHVHQWLQJ RQH RÍż ZRUOG SUHPLHUHV DW DQ\ FRVW DQG FRQFHQWUDWH LQVWHDG RQ HQVXULQJ WKDW +&0) commissioned and co-commissioned work has a FRQWLQXLQJ OLIH ¡ +H FLWHV D SHUVRQDO SDVW KLJKOLJKW â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Extended Play by sound artist Janek Schaefer. Âś+&0) KRVWHG WKH ZRUOG SUHPLHUH DQG WKH Festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s partnership networks have ensured that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still being played now. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also won several sonic arts awards.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; This year, the Festival has commissioned 11 new works and has programmed 80 UK premieres. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We open the Festival with a new work by James 'LOORQ ² WKDW¡V D FR FRPPLVVLRQ ZLWK WKUHH RWKHU festivals and Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Red Note Ensemble â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and a UK premiere by Brian Ferneyhoughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Graham tells PH Âś7KHUH DUH DOVR +&0) GHEXW DSSHDUDQFHV E\ several rising young British composers. A highlight is a performance by Laura Jayne Bowler; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve commissioned her to write a new piece for the $XVWULDQ (QVHPEOH 3+$&( ¡
12
In the past, the Festival has regularly featured a composer-in-residence, including ISM Lifetime $ZDUG ZLQQHU -RQDWKDQ +DUYH\ WKH 1RUZHJLDQ Maja Ratkje and Berlin-based British composer Rebecca Saunders, but this year, Graham tells me, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;we chose not to have a composer-in-residence â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I felt that for the 40th edition the Festival itself should become the principal focusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Graham is conscious when he is programming the Festival to include a balance between both male and female composers. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We made a statement in our recent Arts Council submission that we would work towards achieving gender equality in our SURJUDPPLQJ RYHU WKH IRXU \HDUV 7KDW¡V WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW time we have made a bold statement like that. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I also look at the relative weighting given to women composers in the overall Festival programme. Clearly, if I programme 15 three-minute piano solos from a range of female composers, it might tick a box but it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t represent equality in terms of real SURĂ&#x20AC;OH DQG LPSRUWDQFH â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Young ensembles also need to be aware of these issues when commissioning work. We all have a job to do in ensuring gender equality.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Graham tells me that the Festival is using its learning and participation activities to explore the UHDVRQV WKDW \RXQJ ZRPHQ Ă&#x20AC;QG WKH PXVLF LQGXVWU\ ÂśD GLÎ&#x20AC;FXOW FDUHHU FKRLFH¡ And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just gender equality that Graham is concerned about, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about access as well, ensuring there is no socio-economic barrier to the Festival. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We are looking more and more at how to make the Festival more accessible to a wider audience. We have HCMF Shorts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we programme 15 short concerts on the Monday â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which are free and open to all. About 2,000 people come during the course RI WKH GD\ :H¡YH EHHQ WULDOOLQJ GLÍżHUHQW WLFNHW schemes as well â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a ÂŁ4 ticket scheme for 17-29-yearolds and ÂŁ1 tickets are also available to under-16s.
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
On â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Free Mondayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and elsewhere in the Festival there is a tremendous programme of free events happening this year.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; $QG WKH VWUDWHJ\ LV ZRUNLQJ Âś RI WKH DXGLHQFH ODVW \HDU ZHUH SHRSOH DWWHQGLQJ IRU WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW WLPH ¡ says Graham. +H DOVR WHOOV PH KRZ KH LV VWUXFN E\ WKH ZLGH range of communities represented at the Festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s learning and participation events around +XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG Âś%XW WKHUH LVQ¡W QHFHVVDULO\ WKDW VDPH representation at some of our formal concerts.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We need to understand what the barriers might be. We often talk about â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;new audiencesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in contemporary and classical music. What people often mean is that â&#x20AC;&#x153;we want a new audience that behaves like the old audienceâ&#x20AC;?, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the key barriers. The passive relationship between audience and performers in Western culture is alien to other cultures where attending a music event is seen as more of a shared experience and celebration. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We are working on new forms of presentation of contemporary music in our programming, which will allow a broader range of responses. It is important that the Festival has a greater, more meaningful and lasting contact with the FRPPXQLWLHV WKDW OLYH DURXQG +XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG ¡ Coming back to this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Festival, Graham tells PH LW ZLOO QRW EH D QRVWDOJLF DÍżDLU (QGLQJ RXU conversation, he tells me, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;While I am delighted to assure that the celebrations will include new works by composers long associated with the Festival, the emphasis as always will be to discover the new, and to challenge and widen the boundaries DQG GHĂ&#x20AC;QLWLRQV RI FRQWHPSRUDU\ QHZ DQG experimental musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.
HCMF 2017: ISM picks Karin Hellqvist Sunday 19 November, 7pm, Phipps Hall. ÂŁ12/9 6ZHGLVK YLROLQLVW .DULQ +HOOTYLVW FRQWLQXHV KHU FROODERUDWLRQ with composers Malin Bang, Ylva Lund Bergner and Natasha Barrett, presenting brand new works exploring the lurking fear of where our current geological age (Anthropocene) will eventually lead us; the contrasting meanings of purity and corruption; and a sonic, spatial-musical indulgence orbiting the super-massive black hole Sagittarius A* in the centre of the Milky Way.
London Sinfonietta and Irvine Arditti Wednesday 22 November, 7.30pm, St Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hall. ÂŁ17/14 Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost contemporary music ensemble the London Sinfonietta joins forces with world renowned violinist Irvine $UGLWWL WR SUHVHQW WKH 8. SUHPLHUH RI ,60 PHPEHU +LOGD Paredesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acclaimed violin concerto Senales. Resident in London since 1979, and increasingly in demand around the world, 3DUHGHV LV Ă&#x20AC;UPO\ UHFRJQLVHG DV RQH RI WKH OHDGLQJ 0H[LFDQ composers of her generation. While her work is rooted in the contemporary European music tradition, the politics of her Latin American homeland is never far away from the surface. 3DUDGHV VSHDNV RQ 1RYHPEHU LQ WKH )HVWLYDO¡V &RÍżHH ZLWK WKH &RPSRVHU KWWS KFPI FR XN HYHQW FRÍżHH ZLWK WKH composer-hilda-paredes) series about politics and art.
Kit Downes Saturday 25 November, 12pm, St Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hall. ÂŁ12/9 Obsidian LV D FROOHFWLRQ RI ,60 PHPEHU .LW 'RZQHV¡ VROR RUJDQ works from the eponymous album soon to be released on ECM Records. It is a musical response to volcanicity, slow processes that cause extreme reactions. A mixture of written and semiscored/semi-improvised pieces, it focuses on the nuances and unique features of both smaller chamber organs local to rural 6XÍżRON DV ZHOO DV ODUJHU JUDQGHU LQVWUXPHQWV IURP ELJJHU FLWLHV around the UK. It is both a study of extended techniques from instruments sometimes in states of disrepair, and a connection and adaptation of the improvised tradition of the instrument, exploring themes of duration, vibration and mechanics.
)RU WKH IXOO +&0) SURJUDPPH JR WR KFPI FR XN Francesca Treadaway, Communications Manager, ISM
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
A biomechanical universe? Music and humanity The Rev Dr June Boyce-Tillman MBE, who recently spoke at the Westminster Education Forum regarding the future of music education, writes about music educationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s importance in humanity.
The Rev Dr June Boyce-Tillman MBE
Quantum physics is showing us that vibration is the A Phenomenography of VWXÍ¿ RI WKH XQLYHUVH 7KLV PDNHV WKH XQGHUVWDQGLQJ the Music Experience of music a central part of our grasp of the world. This means that all aspects of the musical experience The plans for the EBacc run the risk of obliterating large parts of human experience and enculturating need to feature in educational curricula to engage the whole of the students. This phenomenographic children into the cosmos as simply a machine. map (Boyce-Tillman 2016) shows all the domains â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In the usual course, I was sent to school, but possibly WKDW QHHG DGGUHVVLQJ P\ VXÍ¿HULQJ ZDV XQXVXDO 7KH QRQ FLYLOL]HG LQ PH ZDV VHQVLWLYH LW KDG D JUHDW WKLUVW IRU FRORXU IRU PXVLF IRU WKH â&#x20AC;¢ Materials â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the instruments, the body and the technical aspects involved in producing PRYHPHQW RI OLIH « 2XU FLW\ EXLOW HGXFDWLRQ WRRN QR sound as well as the acoustics of the space KHHG RI WKDW OLYLQJ IDFW ,W KDG LWV OXJJDJH YDQ ZDLWLQJ IRU EUDQGHG EDOHV RI PDUNHWDEOH UHVXOWV · â&#x20AC;¢ Expression â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the feelingful aspects of the (Tagore and Elmhirst 1961 p 53) experience including those within the sounds Without philosophy/theology, there is nowhere to ask the fundamental questions about life; without the arts, they will not experience the depth and complexity of human emotional, spiritual and SK\VLFDO H[SHULHQFH ¶,Q DUW RU PXVLF RU OLWHUDWXUH WKHUH LV D IUHHGRP RI JLYLQJ DQG UHFHLYLQJ D VSDFH LQ ZKLFK JLYHU DQG UHFHLYHU DUH WKHPVHOYHV WUDQVFHQGHG DQG ZKLFK PDNHV WKH FUHDWLYH H[SHULHQFH WKH JXDUDQWRU RI RXU SURSHU KXPDQ VWDWXUH · (Steiner 1989 p49) 0XVLF SOD\V D VLJQLÃ&#x20AC;FDQW SDUW LQ WKH GHYHORSPHQW of our humanity. Music brings people together, enables self-expression, aids reconciliation, HQFRXUDJHV UHVSHFW IRU GLÍ¿HUHQFH EULQJV PLQG DQG body together and helps resilience. Students can be introduced to these possibilities from their earliest years. All people need to acquire musical skills and understanding or they will be deprived of an important source of personal and cultural power.
(intrinsic) and those locked onto the sounds E\ VLJQLÃ&#x20AC;FDQW OLIH H[SHULHQFHV H[WULQVLF â&#x20AC;¢
Construction â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the way music is put together â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what is repeated, what is changed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; keys, forms, notation, oral forms and shapes, rhythms and so on
â&#x20AC;¢
Values â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the context of musicking and its cultural meaning
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Spirituality/liminality ² D GLͿHUHQW way of knowing where time and space RSHUDWH GLͿHUHQWO\
Continued overleaf Ã&#x2C6;
15
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
A Phenomenography of music (Boyce-Tillman 2016)
I followed up a performance of a choral work by semi-structured interviews with children, teachers and parents to see how far the ecological intentions in my Values had been realised. $ \HDU ROG ER\ UHVSRQGHG
SPIRITUALITY
VALUES
MATERIALS
¶,W ZDV OLNH SHDFH RQ HDUWK (YHU\RQH GLG WKHLU RZQ WKLQJ EXW LW DOO ÀWWHG WRJHWKHU · An empathetic 10-year old girl said that she sings the setting of an African prayer every night. I had told them about the community in Gugulethu ZKHUH , KDG IRXQG WKH SUD\HU 6KH VDLG
CONSTRUCTION
EXPRESSION
¶, IHOW FORVH WR WKH SHRSOH LQ $IULFD ZKRVH SUD\HU ZH VDQJ 1RZ , FRQWLQXH WR VLQJ LW DQG WKLQN RI WKHP · The musical experience is one of encounter and is an RSSRUWXQLW\ IRU OHDUQLQJ WR JLYH GLͿHUHQFH GLJQLW\
The use of music in reconciliation Current curricula
Alice Miller (1987) saw violence transformed by Sometimes current trends in music education have creativity. The presence of composing/improvising in the current curriculum enables students to learn lost touch with the whole of the experience, by concentrating on the domains of Materials (learning this skill. There was one school near me, which had IDOOHQ DSDUW LQ HYHU\ ZD\ 'LVFLSOLQH KDG EURNHQ an instrument) and Construction (learning how to down. A new head was appointed to turn the read music) and by limiting the Value systems in school around. One of her two strategies was to the interest of cultural heritage and the perceived give the dissident ringleaders drumming lessons. QHHGV RI VRFLHW\ 'LVFXVVLRQ RI KRZ VWXGHQWV IHHO They now became the leaders of the school’s in musicking and the values they use in choosing musicking rather than of its rebellion. Their and using music in their lives will enable students violence was channelled and contained by music. WR XVH PXVLFNLQJ HͿHFWLYHO\ LQ WKHLU SURFHVVHV RI wellbeing. The consequences of the narrowing At Winchester University, we did an amazing of the curriculum have been the lowering of the project called music lessons on prescription (Walker morale of teachers, particularly those committed and Boyce-Tillman 2002), the aim of which was to to creative work. In creating, we need to be clear examine the role of music lessons in the treatment about what we want to express, as well as the programme for children diagnosed as having processes of encapsulating it in musical forms and FKURQLF DQ[LHW\ 2QH SXSLO ZDV RͿ DOO KLV DQWL styles. Artistic subjects have become marginalised, depressants and running his own rock group after especially where there has been a concentration on WKUHH PRQWKV RI GUXPPLQJ OHVVRQV +H KDG EHHQ linear models of musical development, rather than out of school and on medication for two years. more holistic approaches, including integrating it with other subject areas. This does not mean Creativity – the need for hope and MXVWLI\LQJ PXVLF E\ LWV HͿHFWV RQ PDWKHPDWLFDO DQG ordering literacy learning, but acknowledging that there are Teaching composing for GCSE has produced some aspects of the musical experience best integrated amazing moments. The mother of a very bright into the wider curriculum, but others that need girl was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. particular and special musical attention, probably She started by writing a piano trio called Winter. by music specialists. It was a bleak piece full of sadness and emptiness. Two years on, when her mother had died, we Music as connecting were deciding which of her pieces we would enter Anthony Storr (1983) in his book Music and the Mind for the exam. She listened to her piece and said says that music is the one apparently useless activity insightfully, ‘I don’t like it but it says what I wanted that every culture has. Its capacity to bring together it to say.’ I was so glad that GCSE music could help SHRSOH HͿHFWLYHO\ DQG IRUP FRPPXQLW\ DQVZHUV a young person deal with her grief. We see similar this question. We see this in the history of the phenomena in works such as Mozart’s Dissonance church, school assemblies and in football matches. Quartet DQG 6PHWDQD·V ÀUVW WZR TXDUWHWV HQWLWOHG What has been sung in school assemblies has varied )URP 0\ /LIH (Robertson 1996 no pages). over my teaching career; but it is the process of singing that builds the school community.
16
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
Music as embodied emotion
Summary
The relationship of singing and wellbeing is well documented. When we sing, we need to take control of the breath entering and leaving our body as well as engaging mind and emotions in the process. We have spent some time in education democratising music and breaking the spell of only a few people being musical. But there are still two DHVWKHWLFV RSHUDWLQJ
So the processes of music enable a deepening of our humanity. They can transform the self and recreate society (Boyce-Tillman 2000). By not RͿHULQJ HYHU\RQH WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR HQWHU WKH SURFHVVHV RI PXVLFNLQJ ZH FXW WKHP RͿ IURP DQ important tool in the process of being human. They need to be initiated into the full range of the PXVLFDO H[SHULHQFH ² ZKLFK DͿHFWV DQG SRWHQWLDOO\ transforms the totality of a person.
¶7KH FODVVLFDO SHUVSHFWLYH HPSKDVLVLQJ SHUIRUPDQFH SHUIHFWLRQ DQG YLUWXRVLW\ ² WKH VWDQGDUG RU ´WDSURRWµ aesthetic that has been recognised in music education VLQFH LWV LQFHSWLRQ LQ WKH PLG V 7KH VHFRQG LV DQ DHVWKHWLF IRU VLQJLQJ ZKLFK VWUHVVHV FRPPXQLW\ EXLOGLQJ GLYHUVLW\ JURXS FROODERUDWLRQ DQG UHODWLRQVKLS · (Pascale 2005 p166) There is an everyday creativity in humming and singing. These have often been stopped by misplaced music education â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whether in the form of examinations or well-meaning schoolteachers telling people to open their mouths and let no sound come out (Morgan and Boyce-Tillman 2016).
The Rev Dr June Boyce-Tillman MBE FRSA FHEA, Professor of Applied Music; Artistic Convenor for the Centre for the Arts as Wellbeing; Convenor of the Tavener Centre for the study of music and spirituality; Extraordinary Professor at North-West University, South Africa University of Winchester, Winchester SO22 4NR Tel: 01962 827281 Email: June.Boyce-Tillman@winchester.ac.uk Web: juneboycetillman.wordpress.com
Singing can also empower, in a special way, those REFERENCES ZKR KDYH GLÎ&#x20AC;FXOW\ LQ OHDUQLQJ ,Q D VFKRRO IRU %R\FH 7LOOPDQ -XQH &RQVWUXFWLQJ PXVLFDO KHDOLQJ children with special needs, the head teacher The wounds that sing, Jessica Kingsley, London. saw music as a real possibility for his pupils. A %R\FH 7LOOPDQ -XQH ([SHULHQFLQJ 0XVLF UHVWRULQJ WKH Winchester student got the pupils into rock groups. Spiritual; Music as Wellbeing, Peter Lang, Oxford. 7KH GUHDGHG 2)67(' FULWLTXHG KLP IRU GRLQJ WRR Clarke, Isabel (2008), Madness, Mystery and the Survival of God, much music and not adhering to the minutiae of the 5RSOH\ 2 %RRNV OLWHUDF\ KRXU +H VXJJHVWHG WKDW WKH\ PLJKW WU\ WR 'H %RWWRQ $ODLQ 5HOLJLRQ IRU $WKHLVWV $ 1RQ EHOLHYHU·V keep his pupils sitting down long enough to carry *XLGH WR WKH 8VHV RI 5HOLJLRQ /RQGRQ DQG 1HZ <RUN +DPLVK LW RXW ¶%XW ORRN· KH VDLG VLQJOLQJ RXW WKUHH JLUOV +DPLOWRQ â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;These have learned to read in two weeks in order Miller, Alice (1987), For your own good â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Roots of Violence to learn the songs they want to sing as a pop group!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; LQ &KLOG UHDULQJ /RQGRQ 9LUDJR It seems to me that we have lost touch with why Morgan, Sarah and Boyce-Tillman, June (2016), A River rather people learn to read. It is not a skill in its own right. WKDQ D 5RDG 7KH FRPPXQLW\ FKRLU DV VSLULWXDO H[SHULHQFH :H OHDUQ LW WR Ã&#x20AC;QG VRPHWKLQJ ZH DUH LQWHUHVWHG LQ OLNH 2[IRUG %HUQ %UXVVHOV )UDQNIXUW DP 0DLQ 1< 9LHQQD Peter Lang. these girls. Put them together and pupils will learn.
Music and wonder Music can take us to a place of wonder that is transformative. This liminal/ transliminal space is described by psychologists, such as Isabel Clarke (2008) as transformative. This has led contemporary philosophers to see music as embodying the spiritual wisdom of our society. Music invites us to make meaning but does not dictate what the PHDQLQJ VKRXOG EH 'H %RWWRQ DUJXHV WKDW we no longer need a set of religious or doctrinal EHOLHIV LQ D *RG RI DQ\ NLQG +RZHYHU KH VXJJHVWV that people in this modern age should not feel embarrassed about re-appropriating, for the secular realm, those â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;consoling, subtle or just charming religious rituals that inspire, such as gratitude, beautiful spaces, pilgrimages and singingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, 'H %RWWRQ SS ² DOO RI ZKLFK KH VD\V can nourish the spirit and soul.
3DVFDOH /RXLVH 'LVSHOOLQJ WKH 0\WK RI 7KH 1RQ 6LQJHU â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Embracing Two Aesthetics for Singing, Philosophy of Music Education Review 13.2 pp165-175. 5REHUWVRQ 3DXO 0XVLF DQG WKH 0LQG /RQGRQ &KDQQHO Four Television. 6WHLQHU *HRUJH 5HDO 3UHVHQFHV /RQGRQ )DEHU DQG )DEHU 6WRUU $QWKRQ\ 0XVLF DQG WKH 0LQG /RQGRQ +DUSHU&ROOLQV Tagore, Rabindranath and Elmhirst L.K. (1961), Rabindranath 7DJRUH 3LRQHHU LQ (GXFDWLRQ (VVD\V DQG H[FKDQJHV EHWZHHQ 5DELQGUDQDWK 7DJRUH DQG / . (OPKLUVW /RQGRQ -RKQ 0XUUD\ Walker, Jan and Boyce-Tillman, June (2002), Music Lessons on SUHVFULSWLRQ" 7KH LPSDFW RI PXVLF OHVVRQV IRU FKLOGUHQ ZLWK FKURQLF DQ[LHW\ SUREOHPV +HDOWK (GXFDWLRQ ² 7KH $UWV DQG +HDOWK 9RO 1R SS
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS We welcome your brief news (max. 150 words) and good photographs. Please email mj@ism.org. The next deadline for copy is 1 December for January/February issue.
All Borough New Music concerts are held at St George the Martyr Church, Borough High Street, SE1 1JA (just opposite Borough tube) on Tuesdays at 1pm, and admission is free. Each concert lasts around 50 minutes. Light refreshments are served after every concert. Concerts this season include collaborations with Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, the 2021 Concert Series, World Toy Piano Week, Bastard Assignments, the Windup Penguin Theatre Company, and London Ear Festival. Each Series includes four or five concerts: one featuring a performer; another a composer; one focusing on an instrument; and one ‘pot luck’ – where anything goes! boroughnewmusic.co.uk
Above: Adrian Finnerty with Rosie Howie of Bright Red Publishing, at Stirling University.
National 5 Music Study Guide Adrian Finnerty, a member based in South West Scotland, is pleased to announce the publication of his new book National 5 Music Study Guide for the new music curriculum in Scotland. It was launched at the SAME (Scottish Association for Music Education) conference at Stirling University in September. Produced by Bright Red Publishing, the book covers all aspects of the National 5 Music coursework through topics such as the The Music of Scotland, World Music, Vocal Music, Instruments of the Orchestra, Baroque Music, Classical Music, Romantic Music, Impressionist Music and Minimalist Music. The book includes a wide range of listening and composing activities, covering the music concepts required for the question paper, as well
as detailed advice on the submission of the composing assignment and preparing for the performance exam. The publication is also fully supported online by the free BrightRED Digital Zone with extra links, online listening tests, quizzes and other learning activities. adrianfinnerty.co.uk
Penelope Roskell’s London piano courses Penelope Roskell, an international concert pianist and Professor of Piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, has taught at undergraduate and postgraduate level for 40 years. She is the only piano teacher in England recommended for referrals for physical tension and injuries by the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine.
Borough New Music
On 3-5 November 2017 and again on 19-21 October 2018, Penelope will Clare Simmonds, Artistic Director of direct an intensive course for advanced Borough New Music writes: Borough pianists (professional, students or New Music is delighted to announce its amateur), including work on repertoire, next season of eight series of concerts, technique and healthy piano playing, from Series 2 starting in October 2017, with an end-of-course concert. to Series 9 in June 2018. Altogether A further workshop for those who are there will be 34 concerts, featuring 49 performers, the works of 122 living interested in learning more about Penelope’s approach to piano playing composers including 37 premieres. Continued overleaf È
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
and teaching, and in investigating and discussing new methods of technique will run on 16-17 June 2018, and a specialist workshop for pianists with small hands will be held on 3 February 2019. All courses are held in North London. For further details, including fees, visit peneloperoskell.co.uk
Celebrating Austr alian Music
presents
Musicof
Oz
The music of Au ralia in the heart of Lostnd on
ber 4 Novem Friday 2 0pm 7.3 ge’s St Geor are Squ r e v o n a H £20 tickets at ce
lebratingaustrali
anmusic.com
Carl Hickman Birmingham-based Carl Hickman has now been a member of the ISM for 60 years.
At the premiere in Darwin, Age of Wonders was performed in its entirety for the first time.
The double CD also contains readings of Darwin by the late Robert Tear, made at one of the premieres at the Having been a church organist since Wigmore Hall, poems of Ruth Padel the age of 10, Carl went to study at the Birmingham School of Music, housed in which were also written for the those days in the Birmingham & Midland Darwin 200 celebration, and a number of other interviews. Institute buildings in Paradise Circus. He went on to study piano with Edith michaelstimpson.co.uk Vogel and remained with her until her death. In addition to the works of the Welcome to Hampshire Classical and Romantic masters, he studied with her the complete works The Rev Dr June Boyce-Tillman of the Second Viennese School plus writes: Welcome to Hampshire was Egon Wellesz. He gave many recitals a celebratory, 350-performer event of 20th century music and received to welcome The Very Revd Catherine much encouragement from Professor Ogle, the new Dean of Winchester Peter Dickinson. Cathedral. The concert featured music John Joubert was commissioned to write his second piano sonata for him – receiving its first performance at the Barber Institute. He gave several performances with Margaret Handforth of Schoenberg’s The book of the hanging gardens. He also gave the first performance outside of London of Bliss’s Triptych receiving high praise from the composer for his interpretation. Over six decades of ISM membership, Carl has served on committees for his local group and for the Solo Performers Section.
from around the county including folk tunes and tales. It included the Southampton City Orchestra, the Singing for Wellbeing choir, a school for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, Hampshire schools, community choirs, Winchester University choirs and soloists, a young singer-songwriter who is visually impaired and has learning difficulties and a dance performance and composition by a group of young adults with learning difficulties.
A study day on Music and Spirituality, planned for the Tavener Centre, will Australian composer-pianist Wendy take place at Winchester University on Michael Stimpson Hiscocks will be launching her latest 10 November with a special evensong CD, a Naxos release of the songs of new release using his music in the cathedral. Arthur Benjamin and Edgar Bainton Stone Records has released a new CD of Future plans include a three-day festival with mezzo Susan Bickley and tenor works by composer Michael Stimpson. in 2019. Christopher Gillett, at a recital in St Contact Holly.Pye@winchester.ac.uk George’s Hanover Square on Friday 24 Age of Wonders was written to mark November at 7.30pm. The event called the 200th anniversary of the birth of Obituaries Music of Oz is presented by Celebrating Charles Darwin, and the entire work Australian Music (CAM), a ten-year was recorded by the Philharmonia With regret, we report the deaths of: initiative with Wendy as Artistic Orchestra, conductor Stuart Stratford, Ivor Cox of Powys Director. Other performers joining with violinist Maya Iwabuchi and Wendy on the night will be Madeleine pianist Tom Poster. Elisabeth Parry of Wanborough Mitchell (violin), Tom Winpenny Beginning as a piece for violin and Sylvia Ord of Norwich (organ) and Coral Lancaster (cello) in a piano, The Man Who Walked With showcase of Australian music that also Henslow, the work evolves to a includes Robert Burrell, Percy Grainger, string quartet, The Beagle, then to Wendy Hiscocks, Peter Sculthorpe, string orchestra, An Entangled Bank, Carl Vine and Malcolm Williamson. and completes as a piece for full Visit celebratingaustralianmusic.com orchestra, Transmutations, originally to subscribe to CAM’s free e-news, to commissioned by the Darwin buy online tickets and to join Friends Symphony Orchestra in Australia. of CAM.
Music of Oz
20
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PICTURE PERFECT Boris Giltburg left Russia when he was five years old, but his connections to Russian culture run deep. He adores playing Rachmaninov and Shostakovich and has received rave reviews for best-selling recordings of their music. Away from the piano, he is no less passionate about photography, finding inspiration in the images and philosophical musings of Ansel Adams. Owen Mortimer reports
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results – in a good way. It’s actually closer the experience of giving a live concert than making a solo recording.’ Recording ‘Rach 2’ is something of a milestone for any pianist, but it’s also a bold step: the bulging catalogue for this work features literally dozens of versions going back to Rachmaninov himself, with other renowned interpreters down the years including Ashkenazy, Hough, Kapell, Moiseiwitch, Richter and Zimerman. Their legacy creates a huge weight of expectation, but Giltburg says he isn’t fazed by the competition: ‘When you go on stage you confront each piece of music on its own terms, not so much because of what others are doing.’ Giltburg is an avid reader and his interpretation of the concerto has also been informed by immersing himself in Rachmaninov’s letters. ‘By doing this you get a strong feeling for Rachmaninov as a person: his very subtle, gentle humour, and his unbendable correctness towards others. On the one hand he expresses a complete belief in what he was doing, while at other times he was uncertain, lacking self-assuredness. For example, just after the premiere of the Second Concerto he complained that he had ruined the first movement because people would think the opening theme was only an introduction.’ The genesis of the Second Concerto is also significant for Giltburg, though he is careful not to overstate the importance of Rachmaninov’s recovery from depression. ‘It is all too easy to model an interpretation
of the Second Concerto on Rachmaninov’s own biography: moving from pain and struggle to dreamy escapism and finally triumph. But I’m not sure Rachmaninov himself conceived such a clear programme. It’s true that he didn’t write anything for three years and underwent hypnosis with Dr Nikolai Dahl, but when musical ideas began to come to him again it was quite spontaneous. He said he had many more ideas than he needed for one concerto.’ The power of this music, believes Giltburg, is in its combination of instant emotional appeal and intricate craftsmanship: ‘Both as an interpreter and as a listener, Rachmaninov’s music never fails to touch me. It goes straight to the heart and guts, sometimes even bypassing the brain. Yet when you look at the scores, the precision and detail is incredible. He took utmost care with articulation, so that even the tiniest change in the music is never arbitrary – right down to differentiating between short staccato and long staccato. It’s really inspiring to see how deeply he considered such issues.’
International Piano September/October 2017
Revolutionary trends in Russian music at the turn of the 20th century
SHEET MUSIC TURTLE DOVE POLKA BY FRANZ BEHR SEE PAGE 55
Ă
Vladimir Ashkenazy at 80
Was the right winner picked for this year’s Cliburn Competition? September/October 2017 International Piano
REVIEWS
RUSSIAN MASTER
FINAL RECKONING
I
N 1989 GILTBURG MOVED TO Israel, where he studied with Arie Vardi between 1995 and 2007. Prior to this, he received lessons from his mother, who came from a family of pianists stretching back three generations. Her influence, deeply rooted in Russian Jewish traditions, has had an abiding influence on his cultural and artistic outlook. ‘I left Russia
RED OCTOBER
INSIDE
SASHA GUSOV
B
ORIS GILTBURG BRINGS FOCUS and precision to everything he touches. Intense, thoughtful and rigorous, his manner is restless, almost nervy. He seems animated by an electric current that runs constantly through his body. ‘I’m addicted to Shostakovich but my love for Rachmaninov is on a different level,’ he tells me. ‘One day I would like to play his complete piano works. I really cannot get enough of Rachmaninov.’ This autumn sees the release of Giltburg’s second Rachmaninov disc on the Naxos label. His previous album – described by IP as ‘richly nuanced’ – featured the Étudestableaux Op 39 and Moments musicaux Op 16. The new recording completes his survey of the Études-tableaux, coupling Op 33 with the composer’s perennially popular Piano Concerto No 2. ‘Instead of pairing Rachmaninov’s Second and Third Concertos, we decided to split them over two CDs and pair them with solo works,’ explains Giltburg. ‘I also didn’t want to put both cycles of the Études-tableaux on a single disc, but instead decided to pair Op 39 with the earlier Moments musicaux. I think this provides a little bit of contrast.’ In the Second Concerto, Giltburg is joined by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Carlos Miguel Prieto. Compared with making solo recordings, where a lot of freedom is possible in terms of time for doing re-takes, Giltburg says he found working with the orchestra much more pressured. ‘In the end I found that this pressure could bring about intense
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BORIS
GILTBURG Incisive interpreter
Bach Six French Suites BWV 812-17 Vladimir Ashkenazy (pf) DECCA 483 2150, 83 mins zz
Bach’s Goldberg Variations and its predecessors, including works by Byrd, Sweelinck and Bull Kit Armstrong (pf) Recorded live at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, C Major 741608 (DVD) / 741704 (Blu-ray), 126 mins zzzzz
Beethoven Pia Op 15; No 2 in Yevgeny Sudb Osmo Vänskä BIS-2078 SACD, zzzzz
Coming directly into competition with Murray Perahia’s recent two-CD DG recording of the French Suites, Vladimir Ashkenazy offers all six Suites on one super-long disc. This is the one advantage of this account. Ashkenazy begins as he means to go on: there is little sense of magic to the Allemande of the Suite No 1; similarly, his rather harsh way with the Courante coupled with his characteristically brittle tone does the music no favours. The Sarabande fares much better, interior and considered; but while Ashkenazy obviously aims to accord the Gigue dignity, it merely sounds fractured. While the Allemande of the Suite in C minor bodes well, the ensuing Courante is awkward. Sarabandes in general fare best, that of No 3 offering a fine sense of intimacy. But the general rule is that where Perahia enthrals and finds constant magic, Ashkenazy plods. The first three Suites were recorded in 2016; the final three a year later, both in Potton Hall. While there are fewer incidences of technical deficiencies in the latter, there remains a nagging feeling of misalignment between composer and interpreter. The best performance comes with the Allemande of Suite No 5, pellucid and assured, while the Allemande of the final Suite reassures us that Ashkenazy can on occasion bring rapidity, accuracy and style together. Ashkenazy’s playing might conceivably (generously?) be viewed as deconstructionist: a stripping away of artist intervention to reveal the ‘pure’ Bach. But the result is uninvolving and at times, given that finger frailty, awkward. Gone is the compelling resonance of Perahia, or the assurance of Hewitt (Hyperion). Sadly, Ashkenazy offers Bach of little appeal.
Mentored by Alfred Brendel, polymath British-Korean Kit Armstrong gives an intriguing programme that includes musical background to Bach’s masterpiece. If only C Major’s booklet notes were more expansive. Armstrong has a luminous tone and the ability to project lines with the utmost clarity. There appears to be a deep resonance, too, between Armstrong and the offerings by Byrd, Sweelinck and Bull. When Byrd’s Hugh Ashton’s Ground, as in the Bach, returns to its theme at its close, our experience of that theme is transformed. The Sweelinck pieces, both sets of variations, combine linear cleanliness with an implied religiosity bordering on severity (a severity that returns in the Ouverture midway through the Goldbergs). Armstrong has the ability to reduce his sound to the merest whisper while retaining projection; intellect is completely in the service of the music. Small wonder Brendel took him as a rare pupil (the film Set the Piano Stool on Fire tracks their relationship). The fluency of Bull’s 30 Walsingham Variations is as remarkable as Armstrong’s grasp of this music’s stately nature. All of which provides the perfect setting for the Goldbergs. The Aria unfolds absolutely naturally, while the immediately following music reveals Armstrong’s rock-solid rhythm. Armstrong’s mastery of tone, his ability to project the most tender expression and his long-range vision contribute to a stunning performance. Armstrong’s technique is impeccable, entirely devoted to Bach’s magnificent edifice. Armstrong’s style in this music stands at the opposite pole to the Ashkenazy reviewed above: the discomfort of the latter replaced by the radiance and omniscience of the former. Both DVD and Blu-ray capture Armstrong’s Steinway in superb sound; camera work is generally non-interventionist.
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
Our new members
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
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Wiltshire Mary Chelu MusBManch James Purvis BACoventry Sarah Scutt
Josef Feiven Sebastian Wyss
Brighton Nicolae Boico Luís Pimenta
Bristol Elinor Cooper
Kent Lancaster George Hinson
London – North Mario Ahijado Ciara Fagan Regina Freire Yushan Li Noah Max Veronika Rettich Alexandra Whittingham Raymond Wui Man Yiu
London – South East Louise Chappell Clare Durgan Olivia Fraser Jane Hammond Rachael Lawrence MMusGuildhall Dasol Lee Inès Murer Chiara Naldi Hakeem Montague Ana Estefanía Rodríguez Morán Owen Snider Nedelina Zheleva
London – South West Johanna Chambers Jordan Farrugia Joseph Howson Renee Kennedy Fabricio Mattos Stuart Orme James Rhoads Keith Stears
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
London – West
Nottingham
West Yorkshire
Roberts Balanas Felicity Cowell Patrick John Frame BAHons Yvonne Ile Alfonso Pisanelli Sophya Polevaya BMus (Hons) DipABRS Christopher Quaid David Thomas
Lexie Collins Gary Glover ARCM Mikolai Szybkowski
Jack Hespe Daniel Walters
Manchester Alla Petrichei Alex Smith
North of England Daniel Wigham
North Wales Elen Wyn Keen
North Yorkshire James Botcher
Northern Ireland Laura Hegarty
Oxford Matthew Russ
Scotland – North East Ryan Forrester Rebecca Mercer Melanie Simpson Shona Mackay Amelia Mitchell
Southampton Cameron Booth
South Wales Bryony Rawstron
Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Alice Brown
Wiltshire
Friends London – South East
St Albans Fred Payne
Annette Goulton
Josephine West
e Letters after your nam
are automatically As a member of ISM you er your name: MISM entitled to use letters aft SMISM (Student Member (Member of the ISM) or been in continuous of the ISM). If you have or more, you gain membership for 15 years status. Download the FISM (Fellow of the ISM) members’ area of appropriate logo from the ur website, personal our website to add to yo g materials. stationery and marketin e member logo. We also have a corporat ld, silver or bronze If you are a platinum, go would like to display corporate member and or in your publications, the logo on your website 0 7221 3499 or please contact us on 02 membership@ism.org.
Help Musicians UK is Britain’s leading independent music charity. Since 1921, we have provided critical help, support and opportunities to empower musicians at all stages of their lives. If you share our vision of a world where music thrives, please help us to help musicians! Order from our new range of Christmas cards at shop.helpmusicians.org.uk or call 020 7239 9114 for a catalogue. All profits will go directly to musicians in need. You can also make a donation directly via helpmusicians.org.uk.
PIANOFORTE TUNERS’ ASSOCIATION
Do you: Need a piano tuner? Need advice about purchasing a piano? Want to join the Association? Want to become a piano tuner? Visit www.pianotuner.org.uk or contact the Secretary on 0845 602 8796 The Association provides the music profession and general public with a first class professional service in which they trust.
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
NEWS FROM OUR CORPORATE MEMBERS We welcome your brief news (max. 200 words for Platinum and Gold members, max. 150 words for Silver members) and good photographs. Please email mj@ism.org. The next deadline for copy is 1 December for January/February issue.
Royal Welsh College of Music Impulse Music Consultants & Drama Sarah Rodgers writes: Some years Following Principal Hilary Boulding’s move to become President of Trinity College, Oxford, Professor George Caird has been appointed as interim Principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. George Caird has combined a career as an oboist with his work in education and over a period of 40 years has emerged as one of the most highly respected voices in advocacy for the creative and performing arts. The College also welcomes Nicholas Carpenter as Head of Woodwind Performance. Nick’s professional background as an orchestral and chamber musician, combined with his extensive experience in conservatoire training, places him in a unique position to develop the outstanding work of Meyrick Alexander at the college. The College also welcomes back Adrian Partington as Head of Choral Conducting. Adrian was a central figure in the development of the college’s widely respected MA in Choral Conducting.
Right: Professor George Caird
ago when I was Chairman of the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain, as an organisation representing composers we deemed it essential to be able to give our members advice on how to charge for commissions. This document was updated annually and called Commission Fee Guidelines. It provided a spectrum of per-hourly rates across a broad range of genres and was widely used by composers, publishers and the profession at large. An intervention by the Office of Fair Trading curtailed the ability to publish such guidelines, claiming that such practices were anti-competitive. Despite robust representations from a number of music profession bodies, the OFT ruling prevailed. The ISM has certainly provided a silver lining to this gloomy episode by supporting its members with annual surveys of fees across music teaching, accompanying, performing and composing. At Impulse, as a business, we have been able to continue to publish our own rates. Our rate card is based on the original Composers’ Guild template and we make it freely available to composers and commissioners of new music to support this important profession. You can find the rate card under the resources section of our website at impulse-music.co.uk/resources/ professional-fees-rates/
Len Rhodes Music lenrhodesmusic.com has an established downloadable music catalogue of arrangements for piano solo, piano duet, and piano trio (for six hands), as well as organ solos. Also available are unique arrangements for strings, woodwinds, brass, contemporary hymn tunes, choir, and ensemble. This year’s Advent and Christmas selections open up a new world of interpretation. Each of the familiar melodies are very clear, but all benefit from new and contemporary chords… unique interpretations of well-known Christmas music. Len Rhodes has arranged 14 favourite Christmas titles, all immediately available through download. These interpretations are influenced by a number of composers including Debussy, Satie, Elgar and Rachmaninoff. Equally interesting is The First Noel – which opens and closes with a chord progression from Quadrophenia! Len Rhodes Music also publishes reference books including Perfect Pitch for You, Teaching Composition in the Private Music Studio, and the remarkable A New Dictionary of Composers, which lists over 3,500 composers in both chronological, and alphabetical order; a vital reference and also a valued resource for ‘trivia night’! ISM members always receive a 15% discount – please quote ‘ISM2017’ at check out. lenrhodesmusic.com
Continued overleaf È
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
We are very grateful to all our corporate members for their support. PLATINUM CORPORATE MEMBERS
ABRSM
GOLD CORPORATE MEMBERS
NMC Recordings
ALFA Education Ltd Birmingham Conservatoire Classic FM
Bath and North East Somerset Music Hub Goldsmiths, University of London Kawai
Lark Insurance
Leeds College of Music London College of Music
Make Music Swindon
Park Lane Group
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Impulse Music Consultants Len Rhodes Music
Rhinegold Publishing
Music Mark
The Royal Central School Of Speech & Drama
Oxford University Press
National Preparatory School Orchestras Paritor Ltd Portsmouth Music Hub
The Royal Philharmonic Society
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trybooking.co.uk
Trinity College London University of Huddersfield Wigmore Hall Victoria College Exams Voice Workshop
For further information about our different levels of corporate membership and a full list of over 160 corporate members, Yamaha Music Europe visit ism.org
Also on 23 September UWL/LCM alumna Alice Auer hosted the launch for her first EP, Close to You, at the On 23-24 September LCM’s Associate Troubadour, Earl’s Court, London. Professor of Music Technology, The release was recorded and mixed Justin Paterson, staged a major by LCM’s Associate Professor Andrew installation at the Victoria and Albert Bourbon in its largest recording space, Museum’s Digital Design Weekend, Lawrence Hall. The album is available part of London Design Festival. Justin partnered Professor Rob Toulson of the for listening and purchase via all University of Westminster, and the artist major online services. Daisy the Dark, to present Get Inside The University of West London’s the Music. A giant 70” touchscreen with biggest news, however, is its stunning custom-built visual interface enabled rise up the most respected university visitors to tap different areas and ranking table. The new Times and seamlessly switch between 36 versions Sunday Times Good University Guide of the same song in real time, whilst it 2018 places UWL 56th nationally, a leap played, triggering visual animations. of 28 places from last year, confirming The versions ranged across pop, rock, its status as top modern university jazz, unplugged, acoustic and electro.
London College of Music
Drums for Schools
in London (including top in London for Music) and 8th modern university in the UK.
Middlesex University Internationally-renowned musicians Madeleine Mitchell and Nigel Clayton opened Middlesex University Music’s Concerts and Colloquia series in October with a special preview of music from Madeleine’s new album Violin Muse. The Aquinas Trio will also be performing as part of the weekly series. BA Music composition students hear their music performed by the Allegri String Quartet and the London Firebird Orchestra.
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
Right: Middlesex University students perform in the beautiful setting of St Pancras Church, London NW1 as part of the Concerts and Colloquia series of music events
Over the summer a number of Music Business and Arts Management students attended the Summer Jam Croatia Conference for Young Entrepreneurs; in October students attended the Association of Independent Festivals’ Congress in Cardiff, to debate industry challenges and opportunities. Rehearsals are underway for the University Singers’ Ensemble’s J S Bach and jazz-themed concert, planned for the quirky Red Hedgehog music room, Highgate. BA Jazz students perform at the Spice of Life Bar in November, as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2017. mdx.ac.uk
The Guildhall School
Right: Guildhall School jazz musicians performing at Milton Court Concert Hall Photo: Paul Cochrane
Masters Vocal student James Newby won Glyndebourne’s John Christie Award 2017 and was named an Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Rising Star 2017/18, alongside Artist Diploma tenor James Way, and alumni Charlotte Beament, Ciara Hendrick and Dingle Yandell. Alumni David Ireland and Elgan Llyr Thomas were appointed as English National Opera Harewood Artists 2017/18, while alumna Catherine Backhouse and piano accompaniment student Patrick Milne were announced as Scottish Opera Emerging Artists 2017/18.
The Guildhall School has launched the Guildhall Studio Orchestra, the first of its kind at a UK conservatoire. Genre-fluid, multi-disciplinary and progressive, it places Guildhall musicians next to the highest level of professionals in a side-by-side setup, with commissioned repertoire from some of the best arrangers working today, led by Head of Jazz Malcolm Edmonstone. In October the first concert brought the ensemble together with Guildhall alumnus Dave Concerts from Scratch/ Arch, Musical Director for BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, and it performs its next The Really Big Chorus concert with award-winning singerMarianne Barton writes: NYCGB pianist Liane Carroll on 10 January at supremo Ben Parry leads our Milton Court Concert Hall. fourth Scratch® Youth Messiah on 12 November (2pm at the Royal Albert Hall) featuring around 1,500 young singers. Ideal for younger audiences, being slightly shorter than the usual Messiah, our version includes all the best tunes, with child/family discounts available from the RAH Box Office: 020 7589 8212. RAH concerts in 2018 include The Armed Man with Brian Kay (20 May) marking the centenary of the end of WW1; and, 50 years since he sang Pie Jesu on the famous Willcocks recording, Bob Chilcott conducts Fauré’s Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise (8 July).
his Requiem at midnight in Vienna’s Stephansdom, 4 December 2018. Directed by Gerald Wirth (conductor, Vienna Boy’s Choir) this trip is already attracting great interest. More information: trbc.co.uk.
Association of British Choral Directors (abcd) abcd has a number of events coming up! First up is an Interactive Choral Day on 4 November, in partnership with the British Voice Association. With sessions on technique, acoustics and community choirs, presenters are Amy Bebbington, Karen Gibson, David Howard, Jo McNally and Dominic Ellis-Peckham. The day takes place at the Gresham Centre in London. Following this is I Wanna Make You Sing! on 18 November, led by Em Whitfield Brooks. Based around her book of the same title, this day is for anyone involved in community choirs, whether singers or choir leaders. We’ll be in the beautiful Octagon Building of Queen Mary University, our partner for this event. If you’re a boy in Years 6-10 who loves to sing, Cambiata North West is now open for applications. Workshops take place from November to February, finishing with a concert! Visit abcd.org.uk/events for more information and booking.
Overseas, we offer a unique opportunity for singers to pay homage to Mozart at the moment of his death by singing Continued overleaf È
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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
The Worshipful Company of Musicians
Below: A performance of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf given by eight Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Yeomen and 90 schoolchildren at the Barbican Hall
British Voice Association
Voice Workshop
Singing has been in the spotlight this Autumn at the BVA. Our September conference for singing teachers, Growing a singer: resourcing, nurturing, troubleshooting covered a number of key current issues. Along with presentations by a diverse group of leading practitioners, the weekend included a masterclass with celebrated teacher Janice Chapman.
Voice Workshop Ltd is pleased to announce the launch of the new Michael Lewin, Junior Warden writes: MA Professional Practice (Voice Under the banner of The Future of Pedagogy) accredited by University Music the Company has set up a of Wales (Trinity St David). This new new fund to underpin its Yeomen qualification will be staffed by programme and support such events leading voice pedagogy specialists as the performance in the Barbican including Dr Jenevora Williams, Hall of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Dr Jane Oakland, ENT specialist Natalie Wolf given by eight Yeomen and Watson, Professor David Howard, 90 schoolchildren. It has similarly Christina Shewell, Ken Bozeman and organised two dialogues at the This issue goes to print just ahead Dr Ron Morris. Students will study core Mansion House on ‘The Digital of our Interactive Choral Day on 4 elements of vocal pedagogy and will Revolution’ and ‘The City of London’s November in London, delivered in engage in independent, supervised Centre for Music’. collaboration with the Association research projects. We are delighted to of British Choral Directors. Aimed at Among the recipients of Company celebrate the achievements of alumni choral leaders, conductors and singers, awards and scholarships across such as Sophie Garner who launched the day will provide hands-on learning diverse musical genres were this her song writing project with the opportunities in a range of sessions year’s winner of the Prince’s Prize, National Youth Choir and Kate Cubely cellist Jamal Aliyev, and Leo Geyer, who about the voice and directing voices. who was shortlisted for the BVA Voice Speakers include Amy Bebbington, won the Lord Mayor’s Composition research Van Lawrence Prize. Dominic Packham, David Howard Prize. The Company also announced and Jo McNally. its inaugural New Elizabethan Award WKMT for classical guitarists and lutenists, On 21 January 2018, we present details of which may be viewed along Chain Reaction, a cross-discipline WKMT London Music Festival will be with many other Company activities, held on 18 November at Pushkin House conference exploring a developing including its digitised archives, on Fitzrovia, London – the sixth edition of area in holistic voice therapy. wcom.org.uk this great performance opportunity BVA events are open to nonfor students of all levels and ages For its highest awards the Company members. For details, plus a range and professionals. The festival is honoured Kenneth Sillito (Cobbett of free downloadable voice care organized in three blocks, two for Medal), Peter Ind ( Jazz Lifetime information resources, visit children and one for adults, and is Award), Carl Davis (Honorary britishvoiceassociation.org.uk followed by a professional concert. Fellowship) and Teresa Cahill and It is professionally recorded using Donald Maxwell (Santley Awards). bespoke piano microphones, the best lighting and high definition cameras. Integrating resources from The London Piano Studio and WKMT, Pianistaid. com is a recording contest providing pianists from all around the world and the UK in particular with recording, performance and teaching opportunities. London established pianists are invited to join pianistaid. com and participate in this piano competition meant to provide the winner with a two/three hour recording session at The London Piano Recording Studio at WKMT Kensington. Sign up to pianistaid.com (If you are already a member follow the instructions at http://pianistaid.com/contest/) wkmt.co.uk
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NEW
ARSM The Associate of the Royal Schools of Music (ARSM) is a new post-Grade 8 diploma that’s all about performance. This exciting exam: • is an opportunity to demonstrate performance skills • gives purpose and direction to post-Grade 8 learning • can help bridge the gap between Grade 8 and DipABRSM
Candidates perform a 30-minute programme, bringing together their musical skill, knowledge and understanding.
If successful, you can add letters after your name!
Taken by thousands of students around the world. Find out more at www.abrsm.org/newdiploma
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
LOCAL EVENT LISTINGS Full listings can be found on our website: ism.org
Sunday 12 November
Saturday 18 November
Saturday 25 November
North London Pupils’ concert
Sheffield Autumn concert
West London Lecture recital
2.30pm, The Cooper Hall, Hall School, 3 Crossfield Road, NW3 4NU Members are invited to put forward pupils to play or sing. Both children and adults are welcome to perform, whether individually, in duets, or in larger ensembles. An accompanist will be provided if required but must be requested in advance. Cost: £5 adults, £2 children. There is no charge for performers and teachers presenting pupils. Contact: Sara Medina, 020 8883 2082
2.30pm, Shirley House, 31 Psalter Lane, Sheffield, S11 8YL A concert for pupils of all ages. All instruments and grades are welcome but please provide your own accompanist if you require one. If you would like to enter your pupil/s, please contact Pearl Woodward by Monday 6 November. Cost: £2 adults, 50p children, performers and ISM members are free. Contact: Pearl Woodward, 0114 266 0399, pearlwoodward@btinternet.com
6pm, 8 Ellingham Road, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 9PR A lecture recital given by ISM member Gary Branch, on the harpsichord, square piano and fortepiano. Please contact Ivor by Friday 17 November if you would like to attend. Tickets: £15 adults, £5 under-18s Contact: Ivor Flint, ivor.flint@virgin.net
Lea Valley Pupils’ concert 2.30pm, St John’s Centre, St John’s Walk, off Market Street, Old Harlow, Essex CM17 0AJ Members are invited to put forward pupils of Grade 3 and above. If you would like to enter your pupil/s, please contact Carolyn Richards by Sunday 5 November. Cost: £4 members & concessions, £6 non-members Contact: Carolyn Richards, 01245 440004, 07768 086123, ismleavalley@ntlworld.com
Classified advertising PROOFREADER AND COPY-EDITOR. Vanessa Richards MA, PGCE, MISM offers a professional proofreading service for dissertations, websites, music compositions etc. Fully trained and a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. www.vanessa-richards. com info@vanessarichards.com
We are currently looking for members to act as ISM Representatives for the following local groups: Croydon, Bristol, Wiltshire and South West London This opportunity is perfectly suited to members who enjoy planning or organising events and meeting other members in their local area. For more information or an application form please call 020 7313 9323 or email membership@ism.org.
How to Book: Please send advertisement copy with payment (cheques payable to the ‘Incorporated Society of Musicians’ or T: 020 7221 3499 with credit card details) to the ISM, 4–5 Inverness Mews, London W2 3JQ or email mj@ism.org by 1 December for January/February issue.
BASSOONS several. 07974 STUDENT CELLOS, mostly 412269. German, various sizes, from £100. Tel. 07974 412269. TAX AND ACCOUNTING SERVICES. Tax and MUSIC COPYING SERVICE. accounting noise Quality printed music interfering with your produced at reasonable melody? Then let us help prices. For further details you tweak the tune of contact David Turner, your song. At PAC, we are computer based music specialist accountants copyist, at 23 Overbrook, on property business, Hythe, Southampton company’s year-end SO45 5BE, Tel: 02380 accounts, tax planning 848146, email: dfturner@ ANXIOUS ABOUT and advice. Whatever waitrose.com PERFORMING? Worried your tax music, you can about exams? Don’t feel rely on us to change your MUSIC ARRANGING like you can cope with the melodic contour – for the AND COPYING SERVICE. Bespoke arrangements pressures of teaching? better. For no obligation and professional Hypnotherapy can help. advice, call 020 3657 typesetting service. Please call Jan to arrange 5696 or email team@ your free confidential practicaladviceconsulting. Contact Melanie Thorne: 01848 200117; email: Initial Consultation. 01793 co.uk. Visit us on www. 331450. 0750 1066 717. practicaladviceconsulting. info@sempremusic.co.uk; www.sempremusic.co.uk. co.uk
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VARIOUS BRASS, WOODWIND & STRINGED instruments for sale and/or rental. Tel: 07974 412269. MUSIC IN THE SUN, Residential courses in SW France for teachers or their pupils. Also available for private hire. More info www.soletude.org JAMES HEWITT COMPOSITIONS, including Ave Maria (unaccompanied choir), Fragmentations (violin, clarinet, piano), the solo violin virtuoso pieces Chaconne and Bulgarian Etude and more, are available on tutti.co.uk. Further details: www. jameshewittmusic.co.uk
Private and Trade 50p per word, minimum £5. Advertisements from ISM members are half-price (ie, 25p per word, minimum £2.50). Name, address and contact details must be paid for if included. Box numbers £2 extra. Prices include VAT. A series of six or more identical insertions qualifies for 10% discount.
SPINNETT WITTMAYER (German) 4 octaves, C-D, light walnut. VGC needs tuning, hence £495 for a quick sale. Tel 07974 412269. COR ANGLAIS: B&H. Blackwood, Conservatoire, Low E, Serviced. £1095 ONO. 07974 412269. DOUBLE BASS PAESOLD concert model 590. Excellent condition cost £3k plus in 1997, £995 ONO 01747 828552. PERFORMANCE NERVES? Anxiety? Call Rosemary Wiseman Tel. 020 8958 8083 www. rosemarywiseman.com
FRENCH HORNS, Several from £150. 01747 828552. VIOLA 16” /40.25cms. Colin Irving 1986. £10,000 ono. Telephone 07798 906393. MUSIC TYPESETTING: Competitive rates. Contact Michael on 0208 288 1380 or mjregan47@mail.com for details. PROOF READING: Dissertations, essays etc. Musical subjects a specialty. Contact 0208 288 1380 or mjregan47@ mail.com NEW EARLY KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS for sale. Visit www.harpgear.net for details.
Discrete Control Panel
SK-EX Concert Grand Piano Sample
Responsive Hammer III Action
Top Panel Speaker
Enjoy Your Practising With A CN37 Digital Piano Visit your local Kawai dealer to experience the CN37 first hand. Available in a choice of Satin Black, Satin White, and Satin Rosewood finishes.
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