Music Journal May-June 2014 by ISM Musicians

May/June 2014 Borka – ETO’s opera for younger audiences ABRSM celebrates its 125th anniversary PPL– know your rights

p Developing Musical Talent Every year Trinity College London supports teachers and students all over the world with a wide range of assessments, professional development programmes and repertoire books for music education. New syllabuses for Piano, Woodwind, Jazz Woodwind, Brass and Singing will be available in July 2014. Electronic Keyboard and Organ syllabuses will be available in September 2014 and the Guitar and Strings syllabuses will be extended for a year and reprinted for 2015.

Classical music assessments Rock & Pop music assessments Whole class and small group music assessments Professional development Musical Theatre and Performance Arts assessments Arts Award and Artsmark

To find out more visit

www.trinitycollege.co.uk/music /TrinityCollegeLondon

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Welcome

Right: Deborah Annetts Photo: Mark Thompson

With the summer months upon us, many of you will be connected in some way to the exam process. Whether you are a teacher preparing your pupils for GCSE, A-levels or degrees, or a student working hard to demonstrate your musicianship, the summer months can be a stressful time. And with so much change taking place in the classroom whether from the introduction of the National Curriculum in September 2014 to the reform of Music GCSE, there is a lot for the classroom teacher to keep up with. With this is mind, the ISM, in partnership with other leading organisations will be launching top class guidance materials for classroom teachers so that they have a head start on understanding the implications of the National Curriculum. Alongside these, we will be running three one-day sessions in May and June which focus on progression, curriculum and assessment in the classroom. Go to page 5 to find out more. The musician’s life can be stressful, no matter which part of the profession you are engaged in. The National Theatre has served redundancy notices on the musicians who accompany the play War Horse. Taped music already accounts for much of what the audience hears but in future, there will be no live music at all. As Richard Morrison said in The Times, to sack musicians of such a hugely successful play which has become a global phenomenon looks ‘mean spirited’. We can only agree. And we continue to be concerned that there has still been no announcement by the Government in relation to the funding of Music Education Hubs for 2015-16. And we now understand that the Government wants local authorities to stop funding music services. If this proposal becomes a reality then the National Plan for Music Education will be derailed. We cannot let this happen.

Front Cover English Touring Opera’s production of Borka the Goose with No Feathers Photo: Robert Workman

Please enjoy the features in this issue from ABRSM in its 125th anniversary year, on Borka – Russell Hepplewhite’s latest commission for ETO’s younger audiences – and from PPL, the organisation which licenses recorded music played in public and distributes the fees as royalties to its members. In the next edition we will have full coverage of our Conference at Birmingham Conservatoire, curated by our President, Richard Hallam MBE and a report of the Society’s first Members’ Day.

Contents 2

News & campaigns

Professional development

Legal help

Business advice

125 years of ABRSM

Borka the Goose with No Feathers

PPL celebrates 80 years

News from our members

Classified Advertising

News from our corporate members

Local events – reports

Local events – listings

Ask me a question

Volume 81 / Number 1 Published by: The Incorporated Society of Musicians 4–5 Inverness Mews, London W2 3JQ T: 020 7221 3499 E: membership@ism.org W: www.ism.org Editor: Deborah Annetts Sub-editor and Production: Kim Davenport Gee All ISM publications are copyright Printed by Optichrome, Maybury Road, Woking GU21 5HX ISSN 0951 5135

Design: Cog Design www.cogdesign.com Advertising: Cabbell Publishing Ltd, Wimbledon Studios 1 Deer Park Road London SW19 3TL T. 020 3603 7943 E. jane@cabbell.co.uk Editorial copy date: 2 June for July/August issue Advertising copy date: 2 June for July/August issue Price: £6 per copy Subscription: £30 per year Circulation: 6,700 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.

deborah@ism.org

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

News & campaigns Professor Barry Ife is new ISM President Professor Barry Ife CBE FKC HonFRAM FRCM and Principal of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama became our new President at the AGM in London on 24 April.

Above: New ISM President Professor Barry Ife

‘I am looking forward to working with the members and officers of the ISM to promote the importance of music in society, the interests of musicians and the importance of music education in the UK.’

Professor Barry Ife became Principal of the Guildhall School in September 2004 and over the last decade he has repositioned the School within the higher education sector, strengthened strategic partnerships with a range of performing arts organisations such as the Barbican Centre, London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Opera House and achieved recognition for Guildhall’s music outreach and opera programmes through two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes (2005 and 2007). The Guildhall School is now the UK’s single largest provider of music education to under 18s and Professor Ife’s long-held ambition to build additional facilities at Milton Court has become a reality. The new building, which opened in September 2013, houses state-of-the-art performance venues, rehearsal and teaching spaces and is one of many highlights in his career to date. Professor Barry Ife comments: ‘I am looking forward to working with the members and officers of the ISM to promote the importance of music in society, the interests of musicians and the importance of music education in the UK.’

The Schools Music Association (SMA) is to become part of the ISM as of 1 July 2014. Together we are guaranteeing a strong voice for the music education profession at national level. By working together we will continue to ensure that full professional support and representation is available to those working in music education. Following the merger, the ISM organisation, name and normal operations will continue unaltered. Those music education professionals who are currently SMA members will become part of the ISM and will be known as ‘ISM-SMA’ members. The SMA name will live on through a number of services that will continue post-merger. The merger is the result of a considered process within the SMA, which has been consulting its members on possible futures for the organisation since 2012. SMA members indicated an overwhelming preference to explore merger with the ISM in November 2012, and at their AGM on 26 October 2013 voted unanimously for the association to merge with the larger ISM, the UK’s professional body for musicians.

Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive, ISM, said: ‘We are delighted that the members of the SMA voted Deborah Annetts, the ISM’s Chief Executive, overwhelmingly in favour of merging with the ISM. comments: ‘I am absolutely delighted that Barry The essential work we carry out representing the rights will be our new president from April 2014. I have no of music educators will be enhanced by this merger, doubt that he will be an inspirational and dedicated and we look forward to welcoming our new members President, further enhancing the reputation of the ISM. with open arms.’ Having been at the helm of one of the most prestigious Jay Deeble, Chairman, SMA, said: ‘After 76 years of music schools for a decade, Barry’s deep insight into working to help children and their teachers make the challenges facing professional musicians today is music together, we are looking forward to the next 76, second to none. His dedication to nurturing talent, his working as a vibrant part of the ISM. We shall continue strategic vision and record of getting things done make to provide an essential network for music teachers, him a perfect fit with the ISM.’ serving as a vital link between those working with Jeremy Jackman, choral director, composer and arranger, and formerly a counter tenor of the King’s Singers, is now the ISM’s President-Elect and will take up the role of President in April 2015.

Schools Music Association votes to become part of the ISM

young people and the policy makers at local, regional and national level.’ Reaction from the profession has been wholly positive, with comments published on Twitter from Jonathan Savage (Reader in Education at the Institute of

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

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Education and Manchester Metropolitan Univeristy) describing the merger as ‘an excellent move for both organisations’, Rhinegold Publishing’s Music Education Expo account calling it ‘Great news for #musiced [music education]’, and exam board ABRSM hailing ‘a united voice for the music education professional’.

Education that it supports music education and is fully behind the National Plan for Music Education. ‘Last week we celebrated as music was included in the Government’s GCSE reforms, but this week, we find that the Government is backing additional cuts to the music education budget worth millions. ‘The National Plan for Music Education supported by the Department for Education, was a visionary strategy for music education in England. This consultation, urging local authorities to stop funding music services, risks derailing this flagship Government initiative.’

ISM steps up Protect Music Education campaign

In the face of continuing uncertainty and confusion surrounding the funding for music education, the ISM We now need every musician to back the campaign has stepped up the Protect Music Education campaign. and spread the word – you can sign up, and let us know why music education matters to you at The National Plan for Music Education in England, in protectmusiceducation.org place since 2011, created music education hubs and set out the Government’s commitment to funding the hubs for three years to 2014/2015. Now, in a Good news on GCSE reform fresh blow to music educators, local authorities are being urged by the Department for Education in a new On Wednesday 9 April 2014 the Department for consultation to cut their funding for music services Education announced that music will be included in – a key partner in many music education hubs from the next tranche of GCSE reform. This is good news 2015/2016. and is the result of a great deal of work being done In an announcement at our annual conference on Wednesday 16 April, Chief Executive Deborah Annetts warned the music profession about a new threat proposed by this Government consultation saying: ‘Following the confusion caused by the EBacc and other mixed messages around the value the Government places on music education, we now need an unequivocal commitment from the Department for

by ISM members and other music educators. Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the ISM, said: ‘We welcome today’s announcement by the Department for Education that music will be included in the next tranche of reformed GCSEs. The ISM started work on reviewing GCSE Music in January 2013 by setting up an expert panel of ISM music education

Leaving a gift to your Society will help us continue to protect the music profession These are difficult times. The care and support, legal advice, and professional development we provide to our members has never been more important or indeed more appreciated. Our campaigning work to safeguard your profession has never been more vital. We need to make sure that the Society will be able to carry out its important work on behalf of members and the music profession for many years to come. We need your help to continue to promote and protect the art of music and to support musicians. So please think about leaving a gift to your Society. You can find out more at ism.org/giving or call Natalia on 020 7313 9318.

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

specialists and it was their work which kick-started the overhaul of GCSE Music. We are delighted that this work – now with the involvement of the Music Education Council, the umbrella body for music education, and other stakeholders – is going to come to fruition in 2016.’

Live Music Act loophole exposed

‘The artistic merits of such a decision at the National Theatre must also be called into question. I strongly urge the National Theatre to reconsider this approach and avoid damaging music in this way.’

Camden Council has started using a licensing loophole in the Live Music Act to regulate performances in public places. This means that professional musicians playing in public could be committing a criminal offence if they don’t have a licence, completely undermining the principles of the Live Music Act which the ISM successfully supported through Parliament.

The Music for Life project goes to Parliament The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education heard about key research into lifelong learning on 2 April 2014 in the Houses of Parliament. The Institute of Education’s Professor Sue Hallam and Dr Andrea Creech reported on their research on the Music For Life project which demonstrated the impact that participation in creative musical activities has in the lives of older people. It became clear from the research that working with older people provided an opportunity for professional musicians to expand their portfolio of work. However problems with access and willingness of carers to engage with musicians were widespread.

services for older people to enhance the wellbeing and sense of independence of those in later life by creating more opportunities for music making. For professional musicians, working with older people is a great new opportunity too.’ The ISM provides secretariat support to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education.

National Theatre stops using live musicians ISM calls for National Theatre to set a better example The National Theatre has announced that it will stop using live musicians in productions of War Horse, instead using pre-recorded music. We have written to the head of the National Theatre asking him to reconsider the decision. Theatres are important employers of professional musicians and the example the National Theatre is setting could have serious implications for music across the UK. Deborah Annetts has written to the National Theatre about this proposal and has publicly called on the Theatre to restore its professional musicians. She said: ‘This decision – made by our National Theatre – will send out the completely wrong message and will have a devastating impact on the livelihoods of professional musicians working in theatres across the UK. The artistic merits of such a decision at the National Theatre must also be called into question. I strongly urge the National Theatre to reconsider this approach and avoid damaging music in this way.’

Following on from the meeting Baroness Ilora Finlay, Secretary and Treasurer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education, said: ‘The unique and positive impact music participation has on the lives of older people is well evidenced. This presents a fantastic opportunity for all those involved in the

ISM membership survey 2014 We’d like to hear what you think of your ISM membership through our full Membership Survey 2014. Our doors are always open and phones always on, but this survey is an excellent way for you to tell us your thoughts in detail. The ISM is now the largest it has ever been and has grown rapidly in the last few years, so we need to hear from all of you about your experience with us, whether or not you’ve been a member for seven days or over 70 years (and yes, some have!) What you tell us will help us to provide the best for you in the future. There is a prize draw for all those who take part: one member, selected at random, will receive their next year’s ISM membership for FREE! The deadline to complete the survey is 31 May 2014. Take part at ism.org/survey2014, or call us on 020 7221 3499 to request a paper copy. David Smith, Head of Marketing ism.org/survey2014

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Professional Development ‘Ally explained the thinking behind the new National Curriculum so that our teachers could make sense of the expectations and content in preparation for September 2014. Our school colleagues were given guidance in using the new support materials to help inform practice and pedagogy. Ally is knowledgeable and extremely well informed. The session presented a thorough introduction to the new Music National Curriculum with extra focus on progression and assessment’ Alita Mills, Director, Southampton Music Service

A guide to progression, curriculum and assessment One day seminar led by Dr Alison Daubney, 9.30am – 4pm 12 May and 16 May at ISM, 4-5 Inverness Mews, London W2 3JQ (primary school teachers) 5 June at The Forge, 3-7 Delancey Street, London, NW1 7NL (secondary school teachers) These essential one-day sessions have been designed to guide classroom teachers through the challenges currently affecting music education and teaching in the classroom. We would also encourage music hub and service leaders to attend as these invaluable sessions will help you to develop your own INSET days. As part of the session, new resources and guidance documents will be on hand for you to take away to utilise for future lesson planning. Led by music education consultant, Dr Alison Daubney you will learn how to:

Webinars This year, we launched a new service for members – free monthly webinars designed to give you practical and useful advice that is essential for your work as a music professional. These webinars cover a wide range of topics, from contracts and legal rights to fees, recording and health tips. They offer the opportunity for members to ask questions live. For those who are not able to join us, a recorded version of the live webinars will be available on our website at a later date.

Our next two webinars are: Essential Business Skills: Setting your tuition fees Tuesday 27 May, 1pm–2pm This will cover issues around setting your rates for music tuition. It will be led by Caroline Aldred, our Business Support Officer. Caroline will explore how you can use our fees survey results and other information to decide on your own fees.

• challenge your perceptions of a ‘musical education’ To book your place on this webinar go to and how this can be delivered http://bit.ly/ISMfeesWebinar • learn how to plan for musical progression across BAPAM: Health Tips for Musicians the school curriculum, building upon young Tuesday 13 June, 1pm–2pm people’s musical learning from inside and outside the classroom We’re delighted to be partnering on this webinar with BAPAM, who deliver specialist health support for • consider different curriculum models and how performing artists. Presented by physiotherapist and music can be successfully learnt in different ways performing arts’ health specialist Drusilla Redman, this • explore ways to design and implement an webinar will discuss posture and seating, anatomically inspirational music curriculum across your school challenging instruments and how to manage them, • explore ways to use assessment meaningfully the importance of physical warm ups, mental practice, to promote pupil learning. healthy eating and hydration. To book (£15 members, £25 non-members) or for To book your place on this webinar go to more information, please email ceri.wood@ism.org http://bit.ly/ISMBAPAMwebinar or call 020 7221 3499. If there are topics you would like us to cover in our webinars, please get in touch with Rebecca Gleave at rebecca.gleave@ism.org, who would be delighted to hear from you.

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Legal help Management contracts

Above: David Abrahams

‘I joined the ISM on the advice of my accountant, as the cheapest way to insure against a tax inspection. However, recently I had cause to use the legal help that the ISM offer. The last few months would have been even more traumatic had I not had David Abrahams supporting me through the inevitable course of events made necessary because of an allegation similar to that which musicians and music teachers are becoming more vulnerable and prone. His experience and legal knowledge, mixed with humour and understanding were a lifeline. Thank you, so much’ Antonia Del Mar

5. Who is handling the money? Many management contracts specify that the manager should set up and operate a designated Young performers setting out on their careers often account for the performer’s income. Obviously this come to us for advice about management contracts. Here are some of the key points you need to consider requires the performer to have complete trust in their manager. Performers may feel more comfortable when looking at a management contract: appointing an accountant to deal with the money 1. Always seek professional advice You should never sign a management contract without – but, of course, this is a further expense which the performer will have to cover. seeking professional advice. A management contract is likely to have significant long-term implications and 6. How long will you have to continue paying commission after the contract is terminated? it is essential that you don’t sign anything that could It used to be commonplace for managers to continue harm your long-term interests. ISM members should always contact the ISM legal team before signing any to charge commission on recordings made while the management agreement was in place for as contract. long as the performer continued to receive income 2. How long does the contract last? from those recordings. This meant that commission Some managers try to tie performers to long-term might be paid to a manager many years after the contracts with no possibility of terminating the management agreement had ended. It is now more contract early if things don’t work out. In our view a much better arrangement is to provide for the contract common for managers to accept that commission should not be paid for an indefinite period. So, for to be reviewed after two or three years, giving the example, a manager might continue to get 20% opportunity for the performer or manager to pull out commission for five years after termination, reducing of the contract if they do not wish to continue or if to 10% for a further five years but with no commission defined goals or objectives have not been achieved. being payable at all ten years after the agreement is 3. How much commission should the terminated. manager get? 20% is a typical commission rate payable to a manager 7. Manager’s power to enter contracts It is usual for management agreements to provide but this can sometimes be negotiated down (or up!) that the manager can agree on the performer’s according to the particular circumstances of the deal. behalf to short-term contracts (such as one-off live 4. Calculating commission and dealing appearances). However, we would advise performers with expenses not to grant managers the power to agree long-term Commission is typically calculated on gross earnings, contracts on their behalf. Long-term contracts should although certain expenses incurred by the performer always be signed by the performer, having first taken (such as expenses associated with live performances) appropriate legal advice. may be deducted before the commission is calculated. Management contracts usually also provide for the David Abrahams, Head of Legal, ISM performer to reimburse the manager in relation to some management expenses. These expenses will be in addition to any commission payable so it is very important to ensure that any clauses relating to expenses are absolutely clear and fairly drafted. Some contracts guarantee the performer a minimum income, at least for the first few years. Only once the performer has achieved that minimum income will the manager be able to claim commission and expenses.

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Business advice Reviewing your tuition fees At this time of year many of you will be reviewing your tuition fees ahead of the start of the next academic year. It is always good practice to review your rates annually. This does not mean that you have to raise them every year. Our fees surveys suggest that most teachers raise their fees only once every two or three years. Here we offer some advice. Take into account the general level of fees in your area. You can look at the results of our annual fees surveys published on our website. It is also worthwhile doing some local networking to find out what your competitors are charging. You might want to allow for: • general price inflation since the survey date • the general economic situation and its impact upon demand for music tuition and • where your particular locality sits within the overall fee ranges. One key issue at present is that our survey results indicate that music teachers have shared in the general fall in real earnings in recent years. Because the general range of tuition fees is usually wide, you then need to decide where you yourself fit into the general range of fees. You should allow for: • your skills and qualifications • your teaching experience and

Allow for all the time you spend (not only actual teaching time but also time spent on preparation, administration, travel and so on) and all your overheads (eg studio/room hire, professional fees, insurance, instrument repair).

Negotiating tuition fees Although, in practice, many schools specify a uniform rate to be charged by all their visiting music teachers this should not stop you from being proactive in seeking a higher fee if you feel that the school is setting a below-par rate. Review your rates annually, taking into account our survey results, to check you are not falling behind the pack. If you think your school rates are too low, don’t be afraid to raise this with the school authorities. You could do this as a group representing the VMTs as a whole. Alternatively, your Head of Music might be prepared to negotiate a fairer rate for you. It is never easy to ask parents or adult pupils for a high fee or fee increase, especially as you will probably have built up a good personal relationship with them. You should: • keep things on a business-like footing, starting with a signed teaching contract, which sets out (amongst other items) the initial teaching rate and provisions for future increases in fees • give plenty of notice if you intend increasing your rate

• point to our survey results as an indicator of what • how much you want/need to attract new pupils: qualified music teachers such as yourself have (in other words, if you already have a waiting list been charging in the recent past and you may consider a rather higher rate than someone • if applicable, explain that you charge more than who is wanting to expand their teaching practice). some other teachers in your area because you are If you are self-employed, it is a good idea to build into more qualified/experienced than they are. your fees some allowance for holiday periods, possible periods off work due to illness and your personal retirement planning. You would be justified in charging a higher rate than employed instrumental teachers because they have the benefits of paid holiday and sick pay and usually have pension contributions paid on their behalf by their employer. In addition, they benefit from statutory employment rights, such as maternity pay and protection from unfair dismissal.

For more information about setting fees, go to the ‘Fees’ section of the ‘Advice & documents’ area of our website, in particular the article ‘Fees for music tuition: our tips for setting your rates’. To see the full list of our online advice pages go to www.ism.org/advice/contents Caroline Aldred, Business Support Officer, ISM

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125 years of ABRSM As ABRSM celebrates its 125th anniversary, Rhian Morgan talks to the organisation’s Chief Executive, Leslie East. It’s many moons since Leslie East took his Grade 2 piano exam. But his memory of the experience is not of enjoying a ﬁrst encounter with Mozart or struggling through the sightreading; it’s of the examiner smoking his pipe, throughout the exam!

Above: Leslie East, Chief Executive, ABRSM

All photos courtesy of ABRSM

possible resources for music teachers and students. What we stand for and believe in hasn’t changed but the way we deliver it has.’

Setting the standards

A good pianist and accompanist and a musicologist specialising in early 20th century British music, Leslie modestly describes himself as ‘a musical jack of all trades’. He has a strong career in music publishing behind him, more than a decade as Director of Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and, alongside his role at the top of the exam board of the Royal Schools of Music, he enjoys ‘We’ve come a long way,’ says Leslie from his bright choral conducting – including ABRSM’s own staff and cheerful office in central London. The building choir – ensuring that he is kept on his toes. It’s quite a task but Leslie believes his predecessors in Portland Place was constructed at around the would be pleased with what is going on at same time that ABRSM was founded in 1889. With ABRSM today. around 160 staff working here now, this is the calm centre of an organisation which each year ‘Our exams have always been about assessing runs more than 650,000 exams and assessments the whole musician,’ he explains. ‘Performance is in no fewer than 93 countries. Its walls are lined at the heart but our assessments are based on the with modern images of cheery children with their ethos that the development of technical, aural and instruments while in the basement exam certificates sight-reading skills is essential to high performance – stretching back decades – remind visitors of long- standards. past eras when the likes of Sir Arthur Sullivan and ‘Without the requirement to work on these Sir John Stainer sat on ‘the Board’ and the future elements, there’s a danger they might be neglected. King Edward VII was so involved as President that The result would be a lowering of standards in annual meetings of the new examining body were performance and for some students, possible held at his home. disillusionment with their lack of progress.’ ‘While we’re making changes and offering new The importance of step-by-step progress was resources all the time, we remain absolutely highlighted by the choral composer Sir Hubert committed to the ideals of the founding fathers,’ Parry himself, when he outlined the founding says Leslie. ‘That means supporting high-quality principles and aims of ABRSM 125 years ago: music-making, learning and development ‘For the most part the objects which approve themselves to us are not so much the award of wellthroughout the world, and producing the best It’s unimaginable today – smoking was banned during exams 30 or so years ago – but as ABRSM celebrates its 125th birthday, the emphasis now is very much more on the success of the exam experience in its entirety, for teacher, pupil and parent, from making an entry through to receiving a certificate.

Continued overleaf

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

deserved certificates but to give people something definite to work for; to counteract the tendency to sipping and sampling which so often defeats the aspirations of gifted beings, and also to give people opportunities to be intimately acquainted with the finest kinds of musical art, and to maintain standards of interpretation and an attitude of thoroughness in connection with music which will enable it to be most fruitful,’ wrote Parry. 125 years on, teachers and parents may still be fretting about a lack of attention span in their charges – that ‘tendency to sipping and sampling’ as Parry put it – but Leslie is confident that say, covering all the Grade 5 piano scales or preparing for undergraduate standard Grade 8 music theory, ensures that a charge of dumbing down can never be levelled at ABRSM.

Supporting teachers and learners Yet the way students prepare for exams is most deﬁnitely changing. One-to-one instrumental lessons are no longer the norm and there is frequently not the time for teachers to cover all components of the exam in lessons. So ABRSM is looking to support teachers through the provision of high quality, innovative digital and printed resources and face-to-face events.

It’s a strategy that has led to the development of award-winning apps such as Aural Trainer, which has been downloaded in 88 countries and is frequently in the top 30 education apps in the UK, the popular Speedshifter practice tool and On Your

Marks, an interactive resource that allows you to watch and assess an exam and compare results with those of ABRSM’s Chief Examiner. More recently has come the launch of Melody Writer, an astonishingly sophisticated resource which can support composition skills and preparation for that all-important Grade 5 music theory exam. And as the organisation looks to respond to the continuing shifts in the music education landscape and effectively engage and support independent teachers and learners, it is hoped the appointment of Aileen Douthwaite to the newly-created post of Relationships Executive will help ABRSM understand what’s happening in Hubs and Music Services across the UK. Now ten years old, ABRSM’s Music Medals for young learners, could also see further developments in the way pupils take their assessments, while from September, ABRSM will serve as an awarding body for the new Certificate for Music Educators qualification.

Inspiring musical achievement As an independent charity ABRSM supports the wider community through outreach projects and sponsorship, although most of its ﬁnancial surplus goes to its trustees, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where it also provides scholarships for gifted students.

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

‘Practically every student who attends one of these institutions will end up teaching in some form or other,’ says Leslie. ‘Not without self-interest, we are encouraging a new approach towards pedagogy in these conservatoires. This will help students to develop as teachers, which will, in turn, beneﬁt the pupils who take our exams.’

‘When I look around, I see an enterprising organisation providing a product that raises teaching standards, an organisation in which everyone involved is united by an absolute passion for music and learning. I see an organisation set up to support people in their music making and progression. We’re proud of the fact that ABRSM has stayed steadfast in its mission – few organisations can claim that over a 125-year history.’

Yes, ABRSM exams are a well-trodden path but they are not without their competitors and candidates do, in many areas, have a choice of Rhian Morgan, First Call Media Ltd which exam board to use. Indeed, Leslie’s wife is a singing teacher who uses both ABRSM and Trinity exams so plenty of feedback and comparison for the boss there. So taking all this into account, is ABRSM 00 Leslie, 125 years after its foundation, convinced that T: 020 7636 54 m.ac.uk rs ab @ ABRSM has still got it right? E: abrsm .org W: www.abrsm ‘Well in recent UK surveys 85% of candidates have brsm told us that their exam was a positive experience twitter.com/a /abrsm om .c and more than 80% say they deﬁnitely want to facebook take another exam’ he comments, ‘while 90% of respondents who entered an exam candidate were likely to recommend ABRSM to a friend, teaching colleague or family member.’ The statistics of satisfaction speak for themselves yet Leslie is determined to continue pushing boundaries and increasing ABRSM’s oﬀerings in order to inspire teachers and students in years to come.

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Borka the Goose with No Feathers After Laika the Spacedog became the first ever children’s opera to be crowned ‘Best Production’ by the International Jury at the Armel Opera Festival in Hungary, composer Russell Hepplewhite tells us about his latest commission from English Touring Opera for younger audiences. Can opera really work for kids?

All images: English Touring Opera’s production of Borka the Goose with No Feathers in March 2014 Photos: Robert Workman

There aren't many operas composed exclusively for an audience of infants. The assumption that young ears can't tolerate an hour or more of through-sung music arguably puts the majority of opera companies oﬀ, and any still interested have an uphill battle to convince critics that opera for children isn't just an exercise in dumbing down this most highly-regarded of art forms. But then again English Touring Opera (ETO) aren't like most opera companies – they have been commissioning and successfully staging pieces for young audiences for several years now; and their new piece Borka, the Goose with No Feathers, for which I have composed the music, is one of two new operas for young people currently being performed alongside the ETO spring tour.

So you've written opera for kids before, and still come back for more? I should confess rather a headstart when it comes to composing these pieces, (this being my third such commission from ETO) and yet they haven't got any easier to write. One question I get asked frequently is whether or not when composing for a young audience I compose any diﬀerently – the implication being that I must have to soften up my musical language for children. My answer is that I make no musical concessions at all since children hate being patronized – if anything I have to 'up my game' because they are the most demanding of crowds. They have this unnerving habit of showing you exactly how they feel about your work – something I learnt during The Feathered Ogre, my ﬁrst piece for ETO. I thought an audience

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

of six-year-olds would adore my most tender of tunes – the one which took me weeks to sculpt, but when it was met on more than one occasion with something of the fidget-factor I knew I'd missed the target. On the other hand the neo-classical duet about snotty handkerchiefs, and the mad-cap canon about countless fluffy sheep could always be relied upon to win them back over. There are plenty of other challenges in creating these productions too – the piece must be performable without conductor; the set has to fit into the back of a van; and the cast of singers have to be able to construct it in record-breaking time in any number of different performance venues from school hall to studio theatre or in the case of our last opera Laika the Spacedog – the vast stages of major European opera houses. In fact performance venue is absolutely key to ETO productions – Borka will visit a number of public venues like Snape Maltings and Kew Gardens during its trip round the country, but the majority of performances actually take place in schools. Essentially ETO takes opera to children rather than hoping their well-informed parents will bring them to the opera. When the production pitches up in a regular school hall in Cornwall for example the space is transformed from the normal venue for school assemblies to the marshy wetlands of the East Coast of England, and the excitement when the children enter for the performance is palpable.

And you want to write an opera about a goose because...? It's absurd really, so why did I take on the challenge to compose the latest ETO opera for children – one in which the central character just happens to be a goose who doesn't utter a single word from start to ﬁnish? Well I won't pretend I didn't have

reservations, but one reason is because the goose in question just happened to be 'Borka,' whose adventures we follow in the stunningly illustrated and much lauded storybook from the 1960's by John Burningham. (Incidentally we cheated a little and gave her just a few poignant lines to sing – it is an opera after all!) Another reason comes in the form of Tim Yealland, the Artistic Associate at ETO who masterminds the entire operation from writing the libretto to directing the show and plenty more besides. He passionately believes in this kind of work which means not only am I gifted effortlessly poetic lyrics, but I can expect exactly the same level of commitment from the ETO singers and musicians as if they were performing The Magic Flute. And finally, to be the first to introduce opera to so many is a privilege. To put it another way – how many living composers have the chance to connect with thousands of totally fresh ears?

The idea for Borka came from the extraordinary Jude Munden who regularly designs for ETO, and I can see why she wanted to transform Burningham's fanciful illustrations into a threedimensional world of reedbeds, sunsets, tugboats and of course Kew Gardens where the story ends. The knowledge that the children would be captivated by her design was certainly reassuring as I began composing the score, but didn't allay my fears about whether or not we could make an opera from such a short book. Tim and Jude were convinced from the oﬀ that the only way to bring the piece to life was with a great many puppets. And so were born three larger than life geese (one of whom can actually ﬂy) one enormous hound, six hatching chicks, and several marsh-dwelling birds – it's ambitious to say the least! But of course puppets don't tend to sing very well so Tim had the idea that the singers would manipulate a puppet

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Right: Borka composer, Russell Hepplewhite

while also playing that character, so the audience get the double pleasure of watching exquisite puppets at the same time as the expressions of the singer. Judging on previous experience I knew ETO would throw me some unusual combination of instruments with which to match the visual design, but even I didn't expect such a weird (and mostly wonderful) combination of viola, bassoon and percussion. Initially apprehensive about writing for this grouping I soon realised that yet again this was an opportunity to go where others largely haven't gone – and whether an audience love or hate my music I hope they will at least enjoy the variety of diﬀerent colours and textures I have worked into the orchestration.

But shouldn't an opera for children be educational? Our last piece Laika the Spacedog was thematically linked to aspects of the national curriculum such as the planets, space, and forces; but rather than educationally 'hijack' the piece we simply focussed on telling the extraordinary true story about the ﬁrst dog sent into space. The context and setting of the opera (the Russian Cosmodrome in the 1950's) provided any educational reference points we needed because an emotionally involving tale would have been impossible without signiﬁcant explanations of the science and history behind the story. But to make sure the children get the most out of one of ETO's operas all schools who book the show are sent a detailed teachers pack outlining numerous activities that classes can do leading up to the performance of the show. These might include art projects or science experiments; but they always include a couple of songs which are then placed at key points in the opera, helping bring the children ever closer to the action. This does of course present yet another musical challenge for me – to write something singable

and enjoyable for children to learn, while retaining the musical integrity of the opera. To overcome this we make sure not to step out of the story in order to include the children in the singing; in Laika for example the audience unwittingly played the role of a chorus of scientists so that when the scene changed to the Cosmodrome and they joined in with the science scenes it all retained dramatic sense. With Borka if the piece can be said to be educational it is only really concerned with the children appreciating the key theme of social acceptance and inclusion; a theme worthy of any Britten opera making it more than enough for a ﬁve-year-old to learn about in an afternoon!

Will Borka be your last opera for children? Definitely not! ETO are absolutely committed to adding to their growing canon of opera for children, and I am fortunate to have one more commission to compose their most ambitious piece to date – Shackleton's Cat for the spring tour next year. I also have plans in place for operatic and musical theatre works for adult audiences which will be great to get started on, but the chance to write pieces for children has been extraordinary. Ultimately if composing them has taught me anything it is that the guidelines I set myself must be the same as if I were writing a piece for adults – be musically interesting and tell a good story with honesty; if these two are in place the rest of my job often takes care of itself. Of course one also hopes that this brief introduction to contemporary music and theatre will have a longer-lasting impact on these young audiences, and maybe it does, but if the children simply come away having been thoroughly entertained and the fidget-factor never wiggles its way into the afternoon then at least we will have made this important first contact with opera a highly positive one. Russell Hepplewhite, composer For more information on ETO's Education programme visit the company's website at www.englishtouringopera.org.uk

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

PPL celebrates 80 years Peter Leathem, CEO of music licensing organisation PPL, reflects on the growing importance of the organisation, as the company marks its 80th anniversary. PPL is the not-for-proﬁt Collective Management Organisation (CMO) responsible for the licensing of recorded music in broadcast, online and in public performance (music played in shops, bars, gyms, etc) on behalf of its 75,000 record company and performer members. We are free to join and not-for-proﬁt which means that everything that we collect (less costs) is given back to our membership which includes major record labels, globally successful performers and record producers, as well as many independent labels and session musicians ranging from orchestral players to percussionists and singers.

The history of PPL – what we are and what we do The company was formed in 1934 by the record companies EMI and Decca following a ground breaking case, the prior year, involving a coﬀee shop in Bristol that had been playing recorded music to its customers without the permission of the copyright holder. The judge agreed, establishing this as an important legal principle, leading to EMI and Decca forming Phonographic Performance Ltd, as it was then known, to carry out this important licensing role and opened its oﬃces in London. All photos courtesy of PPL

There has been much technological, social and legal advancement since PPL was formed in the

1930s. The Copyright Act of 1956 led to PPL's role expanding to cover the licensing of broadcasters that played recorded music. The popularity and growth of radio in the 1960s and 70s, when the ﬁrst commercial stations were set up in the UK, led to burgeoning PPL revenues, with further copyright law changes in 1988 underlining PPL's licensing position.

In 1996, performers for the ﬁrst time were given the rights to receive what is known as 'equitable remuneration' where, when, recordings of their performances were played in public or broadcast, they could receive income directly. This led to the establishment of two separate performer organisations PAMRA and AURA, who then subsequently merged, following OFT approval, with PPL in 2006.

The future of copyright and PPL This year marks PPL’s 80th anniversary and, in the last few years particularly, we have seen the growing importance of performance rights as a revenue stream. According to the global trade body IFPI (the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), performance rights grew 19% in 2013 as the recorded music industry evolves from a business premised on manufacture and distribution of a physical product to one of recording and licensing.

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As a licensing organisation, therefore, we recognise that copyright is fundamental to the livelihoods of the thousands of individuals and organisations that seek to make a living from their creativity adding to the country’s expansive repertoire of music, ﬁlm, literature and design that contributes so much to both the culture and economy of the UK. With the ongoing shift in consumer behaviour around usage and digital set to accelerate, we recognise that the protection of IP remains imperative and that maximising royalties for our members, as the industry continues to evolve, is of paramount importance.

From collecting £1 million in our ﬁrst full decade of business (through the 1940s) to over £170 million a year in 2012, PPL is managing more rights for more members as revenues continually increase. Our International Service is dedicated to the active collection of overseas revenues via agreements with other CMOs around the world. This means that internationally mandated PPL members can receive monies when their repertoire is used in those countries. We currently have 68 agreements with CMOs in 34 countries, including the USA, as well as most European countries through to the Asian and South American continents with deals in Japan and Brazil – the latter being one of the fastest growing countries in regard to performance rights. The company also has Qualiﬁed Intermediary (QI) status meaning that royalties collected from the US need not be subjected to US withholding tax of 30%. PPL’s international payments, made on a quarterly basis, make a very important contribution to the UK’s recorded music industry.

As one of only three net exporters of music in the world (along with the US and Sweden), the global strength of UK music is widely recognised and is, in turn, becoming an increasingly significant piece, from both an economic and jobs perspective, of the wider UK creative sector. The organisation’s continuing investment in new IT systems, staff training and better processes have helped to make music licensing more comprehensive and efficient, helping to increase the revenues that the company is able to distribute. There are over 300 TV channels and approximately 600 radio stations (commercial, BBC, hospital, community etc) with PPL licences and we also licence over 300,000 public performance sites (shops, bars, gyms, etc).Therefore it is imperative that we have the technology in place to enable us to process this information in the most efficient way possible. This continued investment has also resulted in more accurate distribution of the revenue collected across PPL’s membership, allowing us to match over 3.6 billion of seconds of usage reported by our licensees to the 6.2 million recordings in our repertoire database. The company’s advanced repertoire database and online portal myPPL provides members the opportunity to have direct access to payment information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing for increased accuracy and enhanced payment potential.

Performers’ voices – are you being heard? In the past few years, we have also worked to increase performer representation on the PPL main Board and Performer Board to represent the needs of both record companies and performers more eﬀectively. This took eﬀect at our most recent Annual Performer Meeting in 2013, where we

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

saw performer, songwriter and producer Crispin Hunt get elected alongside performer and song writer Mark Kelly taking the total number of PPL Performer Directors to ﬁve. The needs of our members is at the heart of everything that we do, and we look forward to being able to serve them with even greater eﬀectiveness and clarity throughout our 80th year and beyond, as the industry evolves. PPL is actively involved in working with and educating its performer community on how they can better maximise their royalties, attending numerous events during the course of the year.

How to join If you are a musician who has performed on a recorded piece of music and/or if you hold the rights in any tracks that have been broadcast, you may well be entitled to royalties from PPL. 1. First of all, make sure that you are registered with us. We are free to join and our members receive 100% of the money that we collect for them (less running costs).

2. Sign up to our International service – which is also free to join – so if your track is played in a different country, you'll still earn the money you deserve. If you receive international payments Equally, on the licensing side, PPL has dedicated from us, you could be earning up to 30% more Business Relationship Executives (BREs) that from the US. We are the first music licensing attend many business and industry events in the company to be given Qualified Intermediary regions, raising awareness of the many benefits that (QI) status by the US tax authorities. This means playing recorded music can bring to business, whist that the money we collect for you will not have promoting the need for a licence – ensuring that to be subject to US withholding tax. those who invest their time and talent in making 3. Make a claim – if you, as a performer, find recorded music are paid fairly for their work. a recording in our database on which you PPL BRE Tracey-Anne Baskerville explained: performed and which does not have you listed, ’As the government continues to acknowledge you are eligible to submit a claim for your our world-leading music industry and its vital royalties. If your claim is accepted, you could contribution to the UK’s growth and prosperity, receive up to six years’ worth of royalties. and as performance rights continue to become 4. Make sure you provide correct bank details a major income stream for musicians, there is a – if any of these details are incorrect, we will growing understanding of the value of music withhold payments until the details are within the business community, which in turn updated. helps us explain the role music licensing plays in supporting the wider creative economy.’ Peter Leathem, Chief Executive, PPL PPL member Tony Moore, a singer, songwriter and To find out more about how you can maximise Director of Music at The Bedford, Balham said: your royalties both in the UK and internationally, ‘Having worked with thousands of performers visit: www.ppluk.com / @ppluk #becauseitsyours. over many years, I feel it’s important to recognise that creativity, and the joy that it can bring to others. It’s organisations like PPL that make sure those performers are paid fairly for their work.’

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

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 2 June for July/August issue.

Raising money for your Members Fund

Above: Ruth Woolley Far right: Graham Barber

Congratulations and our thanks to member Ruth Woolley, Woolley who has been running to raise money for the ISM Members Fund. Ruth completed her first ever marathon in London on 13 April. She has told us that it was an exhilarating experience, if exhausting. There is still time for you to sponsor Ruth in this great initiative. You can do this online at www.bmycharity.com/ violarama or send a cheque (made out to the ISM Benevolent Fund and marked ‘marathon sponsorship’ on the back) to the Head of Members Fund Operations at 4-5 Inverness Mews, London W2 3JQ.

accorded to a layman, and is ‘granted to those outstanding for distinguished achievements and zeal’. Ronald studied organ with Ralph Downes and Nicholas Danby, and harpsichord with Ruth Dyson at the Royal College of Music from 196770, and won the National Organ Competition in 1972.

He was presented with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross or ‘Cross of Honour’ by Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen on behalf of His Holiness. This is the highest honour that can be

On Spring Bank Holiday Monday (26 May) at 11am, Graham Barber will give the world premiere of Sinbad: Fantasy on Omani popular

Ronald has also held the civic post of City Carilloneur for the last 36 years and has given several thousand recitals on the magnificent 48 bell carillon in the Town Church of St Nicholas in the centre of Aberdeen.

Suzuki Piano Approach

Stephen Power will direct an Introduction to the Suzuki Piano Approach: first stages, at the Cambridge Suzuki Young Musicians Summer Workshop, (28 July–1 August), for teachers, or advanced level music students interested in training as Suzuki Piano Teachers. This course Ronald Leith honoured forms an introduction of itself without Ronald Leith from north east Scotland any qualification, but can also serve was recently honoured by His Holiness, as the start of a longer-term course, Pope Francis, for his 40 years service in (following auditions), leading to the RC Diocese of Aberdeen as Organist qualification as a Suzuki Teacher under the European Suzuki Association. and Director of Music of St Mary’s Cathedral, and as accompanist to the At the Summer School this year there RC Diocesan Choir. will be an opportunity to observe

Right: Ronald Leith

Premiere of Hakim’s Sinbad

songs for organ by Naji Hakim at St Bartholomew’s Church, Armley (plus works by Franck and Dupré). Formerly organist at the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur and then, in succession to Messiaen, at La Sainte-Trinité in Paris, Beirut-born Hakim is recognised as one of the most significant organist-composers of his generation. The commission is funded by Leeds City Council through its Leeds Inspired scheme and celebrates the Grand Départ from Leeds of the Tour de France 2014 on 5 July.

coaching of beginning repertoire, through to the Concerto for four keyboards by Bach, at West Road Concert hall. A CSYM commission for two piano duo pieces will have its premier at the final Concert, with the composer Charlotte Bray present.

Professor Barber will give a second performance on Sunday 29 June at the same venue at 5pm (plus works by Franck and Widor), preceded by a masterclass on French repertoire for young Yorkshire organists at 2.30pm. Admission to all events is free.

For further information contact Stephen Power info@suzukpianocambridge.org.uk or see www.suzukipianocambridge.org.uk

www.grahambarber.org.uk

Continued overleaf

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Timothy Reynish

Above: Galos Piano Trio

Right: Nataša Lipovšek

Far right: Richard Stephens

Galos Piano Trio The Galos Piano Trio is a fresh new ensemble of musicians who are passionate about the piano trio music they play. They are committed to keeping great British music alive, by championing the works of Bridge, Armstrong Gibbs, Ireland, Stanford and others. Having relished sea-faring careers as guest artists for some of the world’s most luxurious cruise lines, the trio are now eager to share their musical ideas and discoveries with audiences at home. Felicity BroomeSkelton, violin, Heidi Parsons, cello, and James Longford, piano, all perform with various groups and orchestras as well as giving recitals together across the UK. Their next performance will be at 12.30 on 23 May at Chelmsford Cathedral Essex. www.galos-trio.com

Bertalot blog

Above: Dr John Bertalot

Dr John Bertalot Bertalot, who has led choral workshops on four continents during his professional career as Organist of Blackburn Cathedral, UK, and Director of Music of Trinity Episcopal Church, Princeton, NJ, has included 36 articles on immediately practical choir training in his blog. Already it has received nearly 12,000 hits! He is currently adding articles on Number Symbolism in the works of J S Bach. And there’s much more! Do have a look. Bertalot.org

Celebrating his 76th year, Timothy Reynish takes to the road again for concerts in Portugal, Germany and USA, and two concerts during a seven week residency at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where he will also give conducting classes. Most of the repertoire will be of his commissions for wind orchestra including works by Richard Rodney Bennett, Guy Woolfenden, Adam Gorb, Tim Jackson, Kenneth Hesketh and Christopher Marshall. He conducts the US Coast Guard Band in the seventh volume in his series of International Repertoire for winds, now available from Amazon and Mark Custom records.

New Wimbledon piano masterclass

If you, or a musical group you are part of, are interested in joining the growing number who have already benefitted from TFT and in becoming part of a remarkable success story (soon to be published to help a greater number), please do not hesitate to get in touch with Rosemary on 07714 275662. www.RosemaryWiseman.com

English Music Festival 2014 Once again ISM members are featured in some of this year’s Eighth English Music Festival based in Dorchester-onThames Abbey, Radley College and All Saints’ Church, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire on 23–26 May. Tim Daniell is once more stage managing events and is pleased to note a fascinating recital by Duncan Honeybourne entitled Forgotten Romantics and featuring piano music by Cooke, Rosenthal and Gurney. Tom Higgins will be the piano accompanist later that day in a song recital called A Life on the Ocean Wave – songs by Dibdin. The final concert of the Festival is conducted by Ben Palmer in which The Orchestra of St Paul’s performs Rawsthorne, Bainton, Lloyd Webber and Bliss amongst others.

Nataša Lipovšek has announced a week of piano masterclasses in Wimbledon between 16–23 August 2014, culminating in a public concert given by the participants www.englishmusicfestival.org.uk at St Mark’s Church. This exciting new event for young pianists (minimum Grade 5 standard) up to age 23 is ideal Organist’s 500km yomp for examination and performance to Ypres preparation, with practical help in developing all-round technique and enjoyment. Please apply by 19 May. For more details on how to apply and to buy concert tickets, please visit Nataša‘s website. www.natasalipovsek.com.

Stage fright or nerves? Do you, or anyone you know of, suffer from musical stage fright or pre-exam nerves? For over a decade Rosemary Wiseman has been successfully working in a unique way with musicians to help improve their performance using a tapping technique, Thought Field Therapy TFT.

Commencing on 27 July, Richard Stephens, Assistant Organist at Crediton Parish Church will walk the 500 kilometres from Crediton (Devon) to Ypres (Belgium) carrying poppy tributes to pay respects at the war grave of former organist Harold Organ and others fallen in WWI, and he will lay a wreath at the Menin Gate on Sunday 10 August. Mr Organ left designs for the fine Harrison & Harrison

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

organ which were fulfilled under his successor Cyril Church. Richard hopes that his walk will help to raise the substantial funds needed for repairs to the iconic building which is home to this historic organ whilst paying respects to WWI casualties. Crediton is the birthplace of St Boniface, the site of the first cathedral in Devon and seat of the Bishop of Crediton. Please sponsor Richard by going to his fundraising page at https:// mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/ richardstephens1.

Frank Stiles at 90

Above: Frank Stiles Photo courtesy of Louise Lansdown

Frank Stiles Stiles, who was 90 in April, was awarded honorary membership of the British Viola Society on 18 March, for his long services to the viola as a player and composer. The informal gathering and ceremony took place at the Birmingham Conservatoire between the viola recital by

Thomas Reibl and his masterclass for Conservatoire students. Louise Lansdown, President of The British Viola Society presented Frank with the BVS Certificate. Takashi Kikuchi performed the first and last of Frank’s Four pieces for viola and a number of the viola players present performed Happy Birthday!

instrument. Easier parts are written for the less able if necessary.

The Uckfield Community Orchestra

For more information, please contact me on 01342 823099.

Young and old play happily together, and all gain beneficial orchestral experience in ‘togetherness’, dynamics, intonation and general musicianship. We have a great deal of fun and our concerts have attracted increasingly wide interest.

Sundari Heller, conductor of the The Obituaries Uckfield Community Orchestra, writes: The UCO was set up seven years ago for With regret, we report the deaths of: players of any age and under Grade 5. Sheila Aitken of Wallsend, Tyne and Our members are aged nine and over, Wear (former Chairman of ISM North playing alongside pensioners, and give of England) two concerts (for charity) annually. We have played Purcell, Vivaldi, Bernstein, Vaughan Williams – some original, some arranged. We started with nine players and now have 24, and no-one is turned away if they play a suitable

Jennifer Barton of Surrey Carolyn Morrison-Fowler of Tunbridge Wells Wanda Radford of South Devon John Shirley-Quirk CBE of Bath

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Our new members

We offer a warm welcome to the following members who joined before 31 March Full members

Birmingham Jennifer Argent BMusBirm Elizabeth Goble Clare Morrall BMusBirm

Bournemouth Michelle Nova

Brighton Jane Smith BEdHonsLeeds MALond Mark Withers

Bristol Louise Jeffery BAHons Andreas Moutsioulis BMus(IonianUni) PGDip(IonianUni) DipMunConThessaloniki PGDipMozarteumSalzburg

Cambridge Lewis Aitcheson BAMiddx Juliet Brien GMusRNCM Anne Bury LRSM Sebastian Gee BMusUWL Sophie Kirk BADurham Sarah Rosewell BAEAnglia Karen Semken BAAngliaPolyUniv

Channel Islands Lydia Pugh BMusHonsLiverpool

Cheltenham Michael Castle LTCL BABirm PGCE James Quinn BAHonsBathSpa MMusBathSpa Ruth Spargo BMusRNCM MMusRNCM

Devon & Cornwall Jade Gall BAPlymouth Roxanne Llewellyn-Porter BMusTCM

Eastbourne & Hastings Rachel Fallon

Gillian Hayward ALCM LTCL Margot J Miller BAHonsSurrey LLCM PGCertMusLCM Timothy Rogers BMus LLCM

Guildford Leonie Anderson BAHonsBristol Maureen Farley MA GTCL LTCL PGCE

Hereford & Worcester Paul Morris BALancaster

Kent Joyce Hulton-Scott LRAM

Lancaster Helena Morwood BACambridge ARCM

Lea Valley Ian Scott

Leicester Richard Dacey GRSM FRCO LRAM ARCM Chantelle Williams BScHons(Open) MA(Open) Elspeth Williams Carmen Wilson AMusTCL

Liverpool Steve Gilbert MASalford

London – North Ed Alton BAYork Alison Blunt BAHonsBirm ABSM Yoon Chung BMusBristol PGDip(RNCM) PPRNCM Alec Harper BMusHonsGSMD George Hayburn GRSM ARCM Eriko Ishihara AdvCertGSMD Boxuan Li BMusLCM PGDipLCM Mariana Nina BMusLisbon MMusCasteloBranco Laura O’Gorman GRSM LRAM

London – South East Leoma Dyke BMusMelbourne Ana Ivanova MMusGuildhall Elizabeth Littlewood GGSMD Michiko Takahashi Chris Woodham BMusHons

London – South West Matthew E Allsop BAHonsGlas Stella Calver LLCM LTCL PGCE CertMusEd(TCL) Marianne Canning BMusCityUniv Robert Cope BMusHonsRNCM MALond Marion Friend Robert Gibbs ARMCM PerfDip(RCM) Mary Lewis BA Kathleen Linton-Ford PGDipTrinityLaban Corinne Spencer PGDip(RAM) BMusWales Lachezar Stankov MMusTLC Seila Tammisola BMus Frances Wilson LTCL

Danny Norbury BMusRNCM Steven Robinson MMusManch DPhil

Mid-Wales Hannah Clay BMusHonsLeeds

Northern Ireland Gail Evans BMusUlster Heather Loughridge Michaela Mervyn BMusBelfast PGCE Patricia Rogers

Nottingham Adele Glaser CertT(ABRSM) BALeicester Amy Harker BAYork Peter Siepmann LRSM ARCO

Oxford Cheryl Agnew-Bass GRNCM John Bass PCRAM LRAM Mark Green GBSM Piers Snell BMusManch

Portsmouth Andrew Hall BALeeds

London – West

Reading

Marta Jedruszko-Kumpiniewska MMus ipMus (IgnacyJanPaderewski) Nicholas Little BABristol Hannah Moodie BAHonNott Russel Smith BA(UEL) Vesselina Tchakarova BMusKent

Christopher Goodwin ARCO DipCHD ARMCM LRAM Christopher Morris MMusLond Carla Rees Naomi Sinclair Peter West BMusTCM

Manchester Gavin Barras BMusManch Anna Brigham MMusRNCM Imogen Coe BMusHonsRNCM Clare Jackson BMusSheff PGCE Francis Mundangepfupfu

Scotland – Highlands & Islands Barbara Swetina BMus(Mozarteum)

Scotland – North East Elizabeth Meiklejohn LTCL DipRSAM PGCE

Scotland – South East Rocio Banyuls BMusHonsNapier AdvDipStAndrews Fiona Sharp BMusCityUniv Annika Suhr BMusEdin

Scotland – South West Alexandra Cowal BMusLancaster HND Elspeth Mackay BMusHons(CityUniv/GSMD)

Sheffield Jacqueline Lee Mark Rothman BMusBirm

South Wales Darius Gray BMusHonsWales

Southampton Annastasia Radford BMusHonsRWCMD Charles Russell-Sealey Victoria Trevithick BAHons(Open)

St Albans Jonathan Grogan BMusTrinityLaban Alice Haylock BAHonsHuddersfield Janna Huneke BScCityUniv LGSM

Suffolk David Abbott Janet Brook LTCL FTCL GradDipMus Corrina Dolso FTCL Cheryl Jessop BMusBirm Helen Sharp PGDipAdvRCM

Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Kayleigh Skinner BMusSurrey

West Yorkshire Victoria Prudames BMusHuddersfield

Wiltshire Clare Robinson-Woledge BMusCardiff

Student members

Birmingham Sophie Gray Luke Newby

Channel Islands Emma Jane Weldon

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Our new members (continued) Guildford

London – South West

Harry Whalley

Jack Hancher Enyuan Khong Giulio Poggia Alessandro Sotgiu

Lea Valley Anastasiia Golovina

London – North Nedyalka Dimitrova Gabriela Georgieva Joanna Klimaszewska Michael Poll Mircea Stefan Gogoncea Vijay Prakash James Safiruddin

Philippa Reid-Foster

London – West

North Yorkshire

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Dominic Smith

Corporate members

Sonia Oliveira

Portsmouth Claudia Martin

Scotland – South East Paul Boyd

A professional development course for singing teachers of all levels and experience

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Emily Bragg Rachel Lancaster

Lancaster Alison Adam

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Manchester

Friends

Sheffield South Wales

Scott Chapman Antanas Makstutis Ada Witczyk

London – South East

Scotland – South West

Bath and North East Somerset Music Hub Rainer Dolz 01225 395388 music@bathnes.gov.uk Birmingham City University Martin Fautley 0121 331 5000 www.bcu.ac.uk

Onestage Specialist Concert Tours Sonia Yardley 0208 568 5486 tourenquiries@onestage. co.uk www.onestage.co.uk Paritor Ltd Simon Dutton 01395 445092 info@paritor.co.uk www.paritor.com

As a member of ISM, you can add our logo to your stationery or website. ber You can download our fellow, mem the from ctly dire s and student logo org. members’ area of our website, ism.

7-13 August 2014

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Tel: 01462 420748 Registered Charity No. 313755 www.benslow-musical-instrument-hire.org.uk

Classified advertising SW FRANCE: Beautiful gites for rent in the most idyllic surroundings. ISM members discount and use of Steinway B possible. Full details: www.frenchconnections. co.uk property 157289 or tel 07860 238733 moira_ hayward@yahoo.co.uk FRENCH HORNS: Several from £150. 01747 828552 VARIOUS BRASS, WOODWIND & STRINGED instruments for sale and/ or rental. Tel: 07974 412269

ALL YOUR MUSIC PUBLISHING NEEDS CAN BE MET. Professional typesetting by experienced musician – digital realisations of your music, arrangements etc. – all to the highest standards and at a very reasonable cost. Phone 01234 822703 or e-mail muserv@globalnet.co.uk NEED AN ACCOUNTANT? 15% discount for ISM members. Tel: 01373 302468. www. fromeaccountant.co.uk BASSOONS: Several good student instruments £600-£800, 07974 412269

SUCCESSFUL SIGHT SINGING A Systematic Approach by Gordon Pearce £10 plus £2 p&p. Available from: 6 St John’s STUDENT CELLOS, mostly Mount, Easingwold, York German, various sizes, YO61 3HG from £120. Tel 07974 412269

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 2 June for the July/ August issue.

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.

NEED TO MAKE A RECORDING? Chantry Sound offers comprehensive and affordable recording services throughout Southern England and Wales. 10% discount for ISM members. www. chantrysound.co.uk or phone 01954 231117

NEED AN ORCHESTRATOR OR ARRANGER? Experienced orchestrator and arranger available for hire - competitive rates. Please visit www.anthonyesland. com or email info@ anthonyesland.com for more information.

SPINNETT WITTMAYER (German) 4 octaves, C-D, light walnut. BGC needs tuning, hence £775. Tel 07974 412269

MY SOLFA PIANO BOOK by Celia Waterhouse. Beginner piano lessons using solfa and musicianship through singing . Parts 1 & 2: £8 each from www. britishkodalyacademy. org/resources.htm Introductory offer: Buy both parts post free for £15 from info@ waterhouse-music.co.uk

A NEW DICTIONARY OF COMPOSERS is a chronological and alphabetical listing of MUSIC COPYING SERVICE. over eleven hundred and Quality printed music fifty composers including produced at reasonable nationalities. Also a prices. For further details good way to establish contact David Turner, composer anniversaries. computer based music Only $5.95 as an eBook copyist, at 23 Overbrook, download – go to: www. Hythe, Southampton SO45 lenrhodesmusic.com 5BE, Tel: 02380 848146, email: dfturner@ waitrose.com

JIM BROWN, LLCM(TD), ALCAM, Correspondence Tuition Singing Teacher, 14 Brownhill Meadows, Irvinestown, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, BT94 1DW, Tel: 07854407601. Member, ISM. PERFORMANCE NERVES? Stage fright? Call Rosemary Wiseman Tel. 020 8958 8083 www. rosemarywiseman.com

MAIDA VALE Room to let in Musicians’ family house. Kitchen, bathroom. Doors to patio. £110 per week inclusive. Phone 020 7289 3082 LOOKING FOR CONTACTS FOR PLAYING VIOLIN with other musicians, orchestra. Also for performances of my compositions. Midlands based. Web: www. duba3generations.webs. com Email: vontuba@ tesco.net MASTERCLASS BASED ON KATO HAVAS New Approach to Violin playing. Solutions to pains and tension. Info: www.carolineduffner. com/oxford-violinworkshop-2014.html

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

NEWS FROM OUR CORPORATE MEMBERS We welcome your brief news (max. 200 words) and good photographs. Please email mj@ism.org. The next deadline for copy is 2 June for July/August issue.

By increasing the flow of information in the work place, Paritor are helping In the last 25 years NMC’s commitment tuition providers to save time and in to record and promote the best the process they’re helping them to contemporary classical music from the prepare for the future. With increasing British Isles has produced a catalogue pressure on Music Services to operate of over 200 albums featuring with greater business efficiency the many award-winning and critically team at Paritor believe we will see a acclaimed releases. In 2014 the label, greater need for tuition management and registered charity, looks forward tools over the next few years. These to a release schedule including operas tools are going to help organisations to by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Gerald Barry improve the service they deliver and and Judith Weir plus five more releases ultimately, concentrate on their music in our popular Debut Discs series by provision. Larry Goves, Ben Foskett, Helen Grime, www.paritorensemble.com Charlotte Bray and Richard Causton.

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NMC also has some exciting Royal Central School of partnerships with the PRS for Music Speech and Drama Foundation (New Music Biennial), London Sinfonietta (Sinfonietta Shorts) From 26 February – 1 March, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s and a higher education project with BA (Hons) Acting Collaborative and Sound and Music. Devised Theatre students joined forces with students from the Royal Northern Paritor College of Music (RNCM) on the score With further budget cuts predicted for a devised production of Festen. The in April, Paritor will be working more original recorded music was composed closely with music services to develop by Lucy Armstrong, an MA Composition time saving solutions. For this Exeter student at the RNCM, who worked based team the answer lies in remote with the entire Central company working tools and the result of their and, in particular, BA (Hons) Theatre efforts is transforming the delivery of Practice Sound Design student Daniel music tuition across the UK. Balfour in creating the piece. The company’s latest product, Live In May, Central is pleased to welcome Teacher, is enabling peripatetic Joe Deer, Head of the BFA Musical teachers to complete all of their Theatre Program at Wright State administrative work from their lesson University in Dayton Ohio, Director venues. Teachers using Live can now of the Musical Theatre Initiative, fill in registers, keep notes and access and Founding President of the timesheets using smart devices Musical Theatre Educators Alliancewherever they are. With a simple International as a guest director. Joe click of a button their information is is scheduled to direct Central’s MA then fed back into the Music Service Music Theatre students in their final database saving both the teachers and contemporary performance from office staff hours of time. 20-22 May.

Birmingham Conservatoire David Saint, Principal, Birmingham Conservatoire writes: Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University, will move to a new £40 million home in 2017. Close to New Street and Moor Street rail stations, the new Conservatoire will be in the heart of the City’s learning quarter, which is already home to Birmingham City University’s City Centre Campus, the ThinkTank Museum, and the Birmingham Ormiston Academy. The new Conservatoire will be a unique contemporary building providing state of the art facilities for students. It will incorporate two major performance spaces including a fine new concert hall for orchestral training and public performance, private rehearsal and practice rooms, recording and technology in addition to providing teaching spaces for musicians from a variety of disciplines. February saw the inauguration of the Andrew Downes Performance Prize, designed to promote performances of British music of the last 60 years. The Prize is generously donated by Andrew, a former Head of Composition at the Conservatoire and the winners this time were The Belgrave String Quartet. Finally, an extraordinary festival, Frontiers, is taking place at the end of the Spring Term and from 2-8 June. Featuring music from downtown New York and Birmingham, performances take place throughout the city, often in non-traditional spaces. www.frontiersmusic.org

Continued overleaf

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

We are very grateful to all our corporate members for their support. PLATINUM CORPORATE MEMBERS ABRSM

GOLD CORPORATE MEMBERS Paritor

Birmingham Conservatoire Colchester Institute London College of Music

Above: Zoltan Kiss, International Tutor in Trombone at the RNCM.

Bath and North East Somerset Music Hub

The Royal Central School Of Speech & Drama

Charanga

The Royal Philharmonic Society

Highbury Grove School

The Opera Awards

Leeds College of Music

Trinity College London

NMC Recordings

Yamaha Music Europe

Royal Northern College of Music The RNCM is delighted to announce the appointments of Zoltan Kiss as International Tutor in Trombone and Henk Guittart as International Tutor in Strings Performance and Pedagogy, commencing in September. Zoltan, a member of Mnozil Brass, visited the RNCM at the beginning of March and made an immediate and striking impression with a recital and two days of teaching. His appointment replaces that of Christopher Houlding, who taught trombone at the College for almost 30 years.

Founder and former member of the acclaimed Schoenberg Quartet, Henk is recognised worldwide as an exceptional tutor, chamber music coach, and conductor. He has held positions at the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands, Rotterdam Codarts Academy of Music, and Maastricht Academy, in addition to being guest conductor and professor at music academies in Budapest, Princeton, Los Angeles, Dresden, The Hague, Amsterdam, Cologne, Moscow, London and Stanford. He also worked as a special guest faculty and artistic advisor at the Banff Centre in Canada between 2006 and 2010, and served as Director of Fall and Winter Music Programs from 2010 until 2013. On being offered the position he said: ‘I’ve enjoyed coming to the RNCM and working with its talented students in the past, and I very much look forward to contributing to the special care offered to them. I’m honoured to be added to the list of wonderful International Tutors the College already boasts.’

Mix Music Education Musicguard National Preparatory School Orchestra Oxford University Press For further information about our different levels of corporate membership and a full list of over 100 corporate members, visit ism.org.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance has awarded a new Honorary Fellowship to Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC, for services to the arts and education, and as a patron and advocate of music and dance. Tony joins a distinguished list of accomplished professionals in the fields of the performing arts and education who have become Trinity Laban Honorary Fellows, including Joan Plowright, Matthew Bourne, Cleo Laine, John Paul Jones and Louis de Bernières. Tony Hall – Lord Hall of Birkenhead – was appointed Director-General of the BBC in November 2012. He is the 16th Director-General of the BBC. Prior to this, Tony was Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House from April 2001 until April 2013.

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Right: South West Youth Orchestra.

South West Music School

Association of Teachers of Singing

AOTOS has had a busy start to the spring season with three exciting days around the UK. On 1 March, AOTOS and Clare College, Cambridge hosted a day of masterclasses with Joan Rodgers CBE who worked with nominated choral scholars from some of the best choirs in the university – focusing on Russian, French and Do you work with or teach talented English Song. On 2 March the South young instrumentalists, vocalists or West Area hosted Dr Ron Morris at composers? South West Music School (SWMS) is still open for applications for Blundell’s School, Tiverton for a lively and enlightening day on Breathing the 2014/15 learning year. & Breath Management for Singers. A SWMS is looking for young musicians number of willing students received and composers with a sense of the benefit of Ron’s inimitable and considerable authority and clarity, who experienced advice. On 9 March the are musically informed. Candidates North Area hosted Patricia MacMahon must be between the ages of 8–16, in a day of masterclasses at a new have high levels of musicianship, venue – Windermere School. talent and/or potential and be a Upcoming events include a day on committed individual. Teaching Contemporary Vocal Style South West Youth Orchestra (SWYO) with Kim Chandler on Saturday 17 is still recruiting for string players May at King Edward VI School for and bassoonists. SWYO is a summer Girls, Edgbaston. Our annual national residential course set up for passionate conference will take place at Warwick young orchestral musicians aged University on 25–27 July with resident 13–21 to work with players from guest speaker Dr Meribeth Dayme and the internationally renowned our annual Teacher Training course Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, held at Chetham’s School of Music, this year under the direction of Manchester on 7–13 August. Maxime Tortelier, Associate Conductor. www.aotos.org.uk The deadline for SWMS applications is Friday 9 May. For more information Association of English please visit www.swms.org.uk or Singers and Speakers email info@swms.org.uk . Right: The AESS Courtney Kenny Award (l-r): Sarah Leonard, Jonathan Courage, Gillian Wells, Meilir Jones, William Shaw, Harriet Eyley, Patricia Williams and Courtney Kenny seated in front.

British Voice Association The BVA organises regular and stimulating conferences on a wide

www.britishvoiceassociation.org.uk

The AGM and annual dinner of the Association was held at the Royal Overseas League on Sunday 30 March. Sarah Leonard was elected ChairmanElect in order to shadow Graham Trew for a year before he stands down as Chairman after ten years. Graham Trew, with pianist David Williams, provided the vocal entertainment before the dinner and the erudite and witty guest of honour was Roderick Swanston. www.aofess.org.uk

European String Teachers Association (ESTA) ESTA’s annual summer school will be held at Dean Close School, Cheltenham on 10–15 August 2014. This year’s event will consist of five days of inspirational professional development with classes held by some of the UK’s most respected music educators. There will be a series of workshops, lectures, demonstrations and concerts. Participants will range from young professionals to semiretired players, offering an opportunity to share ideas and knowledge. For further information please contact Philip Aird on 07968 184038, philip@estastrings.org.uk or visit http://estastringsevents.org/event/

range of topics relating to the voice. Upcoming events include Fair Exchange on 11 May in Birmingham, here leading representatives from the fields of voice therapy and voice teaching share techniques for training or rehabilitating the voice. On 6 July, in London, there will be an annual study day entitled Recovering Voices - the transition from injured to well. Full details of all the BVA’s activities are on the website.

Stephen Miles and seven finalists were selected. The winner of the £1,000 first prize was Meilir Jones, a student of Suzanne Murphy at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Second was Harriet Eyley who studies with Lillian Watson at the Royal Academy of Music. She won £500 as did the third placed winner Gillian Wells, who is taught by Maria Jaqusz. William Shaw was awarded the £500 accompanist’s prize.

Graham Trew writes: The final of the fifth AESS Courtney Kenny Award was held at Tonbridge School on 9 March. The panel of judges was Courtney Kenny, Sarah Leonard, Patricia Williams and Jonathan Courage. The previous weekend twenty entries were heard by Patricia and Jonathan together with Judy Hildesley and

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Register Now for the 40th Anniversary Convention 23rd to 26th May 2014 Harrogate International Centre www.sing2014.co.uk email getinvolved@singberbershop.com The British Association of Barbershop Singers Registered Office: 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick CV34 5HQ Registered Charity No: 1080930

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

LOCAL EVENTS - REPORTS

West London

Bristol

Annual meeting, 19 January

Andrea Argent writes: In offering events to stimulate both soul and palate, ISM Bristol’s not-so-secret weapon is the culinary skill of Chairman, Margaret Thomas. And so it was that a cordon bleu lunch was enjoyed by 25 people in a beautiful home and garden in Wells in June 2013, followed by a delightful programme of Flanders and Swann Songs performed by Gordon Pullin accompanied by committee member Christopher Manners. Sadly, this was to be the last time that some members heard Christopher in action before his untimely death in December.

Ivor Flint writes: Our meeting, held at London College of Music’s newly-refurbished Lawrence Hall, was well attended. Once the business of our meeting was concluded we were treated to two talks and a short piano recital. The first speaker was Lucy Innes who spoke about leadership in choral conducting (the research undertaken for her Masters degree) and the second was the ISM’s President, Richard Hallam MBE. Richard spoke about his own personal journey through music education starting as a schoolboy, then at the RAM and a professional trumpeter, to the director of Oxford Schools’ Music Services, OFSTED inspector, Music Education Warden of the ISM, to government advisor. He opened with a quote from the philosopher and poet, Søren Kierkegaard: ‘we can only understand life backwards but must live it forwards’. He made the point that we are constantly learning and reflecting. His passion and joy for music was evident and it is this that drove him to work towards ensuring that the musical education of children was the best. Peter Jacobs provided us with an inspirational recital of Poulenc, Granados and Chaminade – all played with delicacy, charm and crystal clarity. With thanks to the West London committee for making the event so enjoyable.

Oxford – our first event! Music and Autism, 30 March

Earlier in 2013, we were proud to stage a strings masterclass with Dennis Simons, founder leader of the Alberni String Quartet, now a member of our committee. Our ACM in October was greatly enhanced by a presentation entitled My life in music – what I hope I may have learned given by local member Kenneth Mobbs; summary snapshots of his long and varied career as a performer, conductor, lecturer, musicologist and collector of historic keyboard instruments were illustrated with excerpts from his recordings. More recently we witnessed some remarkable talent at our pupils’ concerts on two consecutive Sundays in February 2014, offering valuable performing experience to a total of 36 capable performers including some adults, with ISM staff guest Natalia Fenyoe. As usual, the concerts came to a sticky end with a magnificent cream tea. ISM Bristol functions well with a committee to organise its events and we are pleased to know that this remains an option for our future activities.

ISM Oxford local group, who were re-established in 2013 under the new local group structure with representatives Carolyn King and Robert Secret at the helm, put on a highly successful event on 30 March at Oxford High School. Attended by over 30 members and non-members, the talk was led by co-founder of Music for Autism, Christine Cairns. A hugely inspiring speaker, Christine talked about her early and highly successful singing career. She went on to describe how she and her husband, conductor John Lubbock, being the parents of an autistic son, established Music for Autism in 2002 to share their love of music with other individuals with autism and their families.

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

LOCAL EVENTS – LISTINGS Full listings can be found on our website, ism.org WALES Postponed Complimentary Drinks Reception The drinks reception advertised for 26 April has been postponed until September 2014 Contact Dr Jeremy Huw Williams, 029 2084 3753 or 07771 822545, jhw@jeremyhuwwilliams.com

Saturday 10 May DEVON & CORNWALL Choral and Early Evening Concert 11am, Kay House, Duryard Campus, Exeter University, Exeter EX4 4RG An opportunity for experienced choral singers to work on Monteverdi’s Beatus Vir, short works by Benjamin Britten and madrigals, followed by a public performance in the university chapel, directed by Margaret Aagesen Hughes. Cost: For the day £20 (£15 students and members). Concert tickets: £5 on the door. Profits donated to Devon County Junior Choir Contact Carolyn Harries, 01392 680642, carolyn.harries@gmail.com

Sunday 11 May BRISTOL Flute masterclass 2pm–5.30pm, The Joseph Cooper Music School, Clifton College, BS8 3EZ Masterclass led by flautist and teacher, Carole Jenner-Timms. Admission: £12 members, £15 non-members, £10 schoolaged students (audience). £15 masterclass participants. Contact Andrea Argent, 01275 875262, andrea.argent@hotmail.co.uk

SOUTH WEST LONDON Sunday Brunch 11.30am, Carluccios, Charter Quay, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 1HT Join us for a Sunday Brunch by the river at Carluccios (www. carluccios.com). Not peckish? Just come for a coffee and a chat. Prices: £4 - £12. Contact Bogna Bargiel, bargielb@yahoo.co.uk

Sunday 18 May DEVON & CORNWALL Pupils’ Concert 2pm, The Sherwell Centre, Plymouth University, North Road, Plymouth

Concert, supported by Peninsula Arts, Plymouth University, for pupils of any ability. This is a great opportunity to showcase your pupils and for them to have the valuable experience of performance. There is no charge for teachers, performers, or audience. Contact Colynne Brooks, 01626 834951, 07763 008389, colynnebrooks135 @btinternet.com

Sunday 15 June OXFORD Inside Music – a talk by Sally Cathcart 4pm, Music Hall, Oxford High School, Belbroughton Road, Oxford, OX2 6XA Well-known local piano teacher, founder of The Oxford Piano Group, Kodaly teacher and Director of Development at the Voices Foundation, Sally will demonstrate how the Voices Foundation is helping to transform Primary curriculum music in the 21st century. Followed by refreshments. Admission: £5 members, £7 non members. Contact Carolyn King, 01235 522774, carolyn2king@btinternet.com

Sunday 22 June LEA VALLEY Pupils’ concert (to Grade 6) 2.30pm, St Johns Centre, ARC, Market Street, Old Harlow, Essex CM17 0AJ Closing date for entries is Friday 6 June. Admission: £3 members, £5 non-members, free to under 5s. Contact Carolyn Richards, 07768 086123, ismleavalley@ntlworld.com

Sunday 13 July BRISTOL Summer Lunch Olveston, South Glos The food, expertly home-cooked by Bristol Chairman, Margaret Thomas, is now legendary and it is always a most agreeable occasion and an opportunity to get to know your fellow ISM members. Contact Andrea Argent, 01275 875262, andrea.argent@hotmail.co.uk

ISM shop As an ISM member, you are entitled to a fantastic 20% discount on all gifts in our online gift shop. Simply go to ism.org/shop, select the gifts you’d like to buy and enter the code ISMMEMSHOP at checkout. Alternatively, you can call, free of charge on 0800 1814233 to make your order. Our ISM branded range of gifts are perfect for members wishing to celebrate their membership, or alternatively purchase as gifts for your music students and friends alike. Our hugely collectible Thomas Tallis range gives you a wonderful link to ISM history through extracts from an adaptation of Spem in Alium which was performed by ISM members at our conference in 1898. This particular adaptation has only two known printed copies in existence, one of which belongs to the ISM. ism.org/shop

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2014

Ask me a question

Tell us a little about yourself. Born 1939 in Huyton, Lancs. And studied in Manchester and Munich. Suffered severe burns when three years old and many years’ illness thereafter. Managed to pursue a very active musical career, with hundreds of piano concerts and over 200 compositions.

John McCabe Composer and (retired) pianist

Who was the person who most influenced you, and how? Among many, probably my piano teacher from the age of about eight, Gordon Green, in Liverpool and then Manchester University and the Royal Manchester College of Music, as it was then. Gordon taught me how to find repertoire for myself, and was liberal in his approach to what would suit me. As the great teachers do, he helped me realize as fully as I could my own ideas about music. What would you say is your greatest achievement to date? Compositionally my full-length ballets, especially Edward II and the two Arthur ballets. Pianistically, among many recordings, the complete Haydn Sonatas

and (a particular favourite) Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis. What are your plans for the future? To keep taking the tablets. What was the last CD/music download you purchased? CDs either: Karajan’s last recording of Bruckner 8, or Richard Hickox’s disc of Vaughan Williams’s Five Tudor Portraits. I don’t download. Who is your all-time favourite artist and why? Difficult to choose for supreme quality and commitment in everything they did, and wide-ranging repertoire, between Sviatoslav Richter, John Barbirolli, and Benjamin Britten (a very great pianist, by the way!). What do you find most valuable from your ISM membership? The opportunity to put something back into the profession which has given me so much.

Photo: Gareth Arnold

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Sound-isolating practice rooms

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Having enough space to practise is often an issue in music departments; our modular, relocatable Music Practice Rooms provide an excellent solution to this problem. Each module offers an individual space for solo or ensemble practice, whilst providing an effective acoustic barrier to avoid disturbing other classrooms. Head of Music at Lancaster and Morecambe College, Pete French, was delighted with the new sound-isolating practice rooms installed by Black Cat Music: “The facility used to be a lecture theatre. It was just one space we could use; now we’ve got three spaces. The modules are being used every day with all three year groups time tabled in, so they are getting maximum use.” The rooms, from MusicPracticeRooms.com, use a prefabricated panel design that is affordable, easy to install and allows rooms to be custom configured to suit available space. “We are very happy having them here,” continued Pete French. “The music practice rooms have changed the whole nature of the course, because they are so sound-proofed. The students love them and yes, they work very effectively.”

To watch the video of this interview scan here or go to youtube.com/musicpracticerooms Pete French - Head of Music, Lancaster and Morecambe College

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“The Music Practice Rooms have changed the whole nature of the course, because they are so sound-proofed. The students love them and yes, they work very effectively.”

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Telephone: 0844 846 9740 www.musicpracticerooms.com

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