Just a Note…Rising Stars
Welcome to our new regular spot in the Friends’ Newsletter, a quick fire interview with musicians, staff, audience members and more. We kick it off with our new Artistic Director Angus Smith… Favourite piece of music? Bach: St John Passion. But tomorrow I might give a different answer!
Who or what is your biggest influence? Both my daughters influence me, wittingly and unwittingly, in all kinds of ways! What do you like to do in your spare time? Be active - walking, cycling, tennis and golf generally do it for me. What book are you reading? Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd Favourite place in the world? I have been given permission to make a shortlist: Venice, Bali, Scotland, Suffolk, Spain.... If you hadn’t become a singer, what instrument would you have chosen? Trumpet. I played for eleven years until singing took over completely. I realised with some force that the trumpet is not an instrument you can play just once a fortnight! In one sentence sum up your average working day. I count myself as being very lucky with my working life - great variety that rarely conforms to a pattern - with the only constant being the need for a strong mug of coffee to get me going in the morning! If you hadn’t become a musician, what do you think you would have chosen as a career? The Diplomatic Service. Preferably with an assignment to the Maldives or Seychelles. Find out more about Angus’s musical passions in conversation with Peter Cropper in the opening pre-concert talk of Sheffield’s Autumn Series on Thursday 7 October at 6.45pm.
This November we have a special concert featuring four exceptional young artists who have received bursaries from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, of which Peter Cropper is a trustee. The Trust has a recital scheme which takes young artists to The Wigmore Hall and venues around the country. We are delighted that this year the scheme includes a concert with us at Sheffield Theatres Studio.
Here’s a little about each of the artists performing: Scottish soprano Eleanor Dennis has sung at King’s Place and the Royal Opera House, and under conductors such as Sir Mark Elder and the late Sir Charles Mackerras. Cellist Tim Lowe has performed at Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall. He is a regular guest principal with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Described as “movingly perceptive” by The Times, pianist Gary Matthewman is already establishing himself as one of Britain’s leading young pianists. Gary has performed all over the world in many prestigious venues, has made numerous live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, and performed with Elizabeth Watts in our 2006 May Festival. William Stafford has performed as principal clarinetist with the LSO,
and has played with many other top orchestras in the country. He has appeared as a soloist with the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra and RNCM Concert Orchestra. The concert features a world premiere by young composer Charlotte Bray, who has recently completed a commission for the LSO, and this year is working on a song cycle commissioned by the Aldeburgh, Aixen-Provence and Verbier festivals. She has also composed for Britten Sinfonia, and has had her work performed at Cadogan Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The Countess of Munster Trust concert takes place at 7pm on Thursday 11 November at the Sheffield Theatres Studio. Thanks to a subsidy from the Trust, tickets for this concert are on sale at a reduced rate.
And F inally...
Give us your feedback! If you have any thoughts on our new look Friends’ Newsletter, or any ideas for future newsletters, please do get in touch with Daisy Swift on 0114 281 4660 or daisy@musicintheround.co.uk
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Issue No.53
Forthcoming Highlight
Don’t forget this autumn we’re celebrating the 200th anniversar y of the birth of Chopin and Schumann with a weekend of concerts with Ensemble 360 on Friday 12 – Sunday 14 November and a concert with Benjamin Frith on Wednesday 8 December.
Friends Newsletter ’
September 2010 Welcome to our new look Newsletter!
New Directions
Our new Artistic Director Angus Smith writes about his first experience at a Music in the Round concert at this year’s May Festival… Wednesday 12 May at The Crucible. The sound of perfection. Or to put it another way, a stunning performance of Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Wind K.452 played by Ensemble 360 in the intimate, almost conspiratorial atmosphere of The Studio. Yet this is something that needs to be shouted from the rooftops: these players are the finest you will hear anywhere in the land, and the music they present and play represents the finest achievements of the human creative spirit. Is this an exaggeration? I think not. Of course I have a vested interest. And being given the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Peter Cropper is an extraordinary privilege. Music in the Round is flourishing and the quality of its work is beyond question. Yet, as musicians always do, we look forward to taking on new challenges and spreading our own personal gospel: chamber music is, almost by definition, the most intimate and intense form of music-making for performers and audiences. For sure, grand
symphonies or dazzling virtuoso solo performances impress. But if you believe, as I do, that music is about communication, then the journey to make a deep connection from musician to musician on the one hand, and from musicians to listener on the other, is the most exciting and rewarding that one can take. I hope my background justifies me in advancing this theory. I have been a professional singer for twenty-eight years and have been fortunate enough to tour the world, performing a wide range of music in incredible places. As a student I was told that the only way to make a career as a singer was to enter the world of opera. However, I am truly dreadful on stage and all my tentative experiences in this direction demonstrated that opera is a medium in which I could never feel comfortable! Instead, it was through recognising my musical temperament that I found my home. There is a real joy in singing your own individual line in a piece of music – taking responsibility for shaping the lines – and letting it take its place in a larger entity. Looking at it this way, singers can be chamber musicians just as much as instrumentalists are! This is why the work of the Orlando Consort, the vocal quartet of which I am a member, has been so
Contents...
page one New Directi ons page two New Website | May Festival | H ighly Strun g page three Newest Recru it | Welcome to Marty page four Just a Note | Rising Stars
important to me over the years. We started the group twenty-two years ago to explore the neglected music of medieval and early renaissance times. That may sound a narrow focus, but in fact it has allowed us to explore around 600 years of music. It has been an incredible journey and we have developed an insight into many stunning achievements in the development of musical style: I would, for example, argue that the works of Perotin (c.1200), Machaut (d.1377), Dufay (d.1474) and Josquin Desprez (d.1521) are every bit the equal of the ‘greats’ of the Classical period. Add into the mix the sheer pleasure of making music with like-minded colleagues and friends, and my inescapable conclusion is that chamber music is indeed the finest of all musical forms. Joining Music in the Round feels like a wonderful excuse to extend my musical journey through life. With Ensemble 360 and guest artists we will continue to present great music that has roused our curiosity. That I know that we can do this in the company of all the Friends of Music in the Round, of whose great enthusiasm, passion and support I am very well aware, only adds to the massive sense of excitement that I already feel. Angus Smith
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