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
www.musicintheround.co.uk | 0114 281 4660
New Website
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May Festival We hope you would all agree that this year’s May Festival was a huge success.
We had some fantastic feedback on the programme and performances - thank you to all those who completed our questionnaires that were handed out during the week. For those of you who commented on The Studio itself, we have passed your comments on to Sheffield Theatres, and hope to meet with them soon to discuss any issues that have arisen. The Festival was the best seller since 2005, which we are thrilled with! We look forward to seeing you all at the Autumn Series – watch out for ticket offers and special deals on our website.
Dates for Your Diary
The May Festival 2011 will take place from Friday 6 May until Saturday 14 May, so get the dates in your diary now! The theme will be announced in February 2011.
Newest Recruit
We are thrilled that bassoonist Amy Harman has joined Ensemble 360 and will start with the group this season. We asked Amy about her background and her thoughts on joining the Ensemble…
Highly Strung Exciting developments for young string players across South Yorkshire After nearly ten years, Highly Strung has changed so that we can offer opportunities to more young people to develop their performing, composing and improvising skills. Instead of weekly workshops for the pupils of four Sheffield secondary schools, we’ll be leading two weekend courses each year open to any string player from across South Yorkshire. The weekends will be led by professional musicians, incorporating a variety of musical styles, in professional venues and aim to give participants a challenging, inspiring and enjoyable new musical experience. This Autumn Series, Middlewood Sessions will lead the first weekend in this new scheme. For more information contact Polly Ives on 0114 281 4660 or polly@musicintheround.co.uk. We’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Martin Cropper and Liz Hanks who’ve made such a valuable contribution to the musical life of the schools and the city through the Highly Strung project, which began in 2001.
Autumn Opener
new season We’d like to invite you to join us for a drink to celebrate our ng concert on 7 October. in Crucible Corner after the Sheffield Autumn Series openi 4660 or Places are limited – please RSVP to Daisy Swift on 0114 281 daisy@musicintheround.co.uk
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How did you get into playing the bassoon? Although I’m from a non musical family, my mum was always very keen to encourage my interest in music and when I was eight she bought me a book about the orchestra. I knew I wanted to play a woodwind instrument and became completely obsessed with, weirdly enough, the bass clarinet! My mum said that I was allowed to start learning a woodwind instrument (my main focus was cello at the time) and took me to a music rental shop in search of a bass clarinet. On seeing that I was about four foot and had no clarinet experience, the shop assistant, to my disappointment, advised that bass clarinet might not be for me! I always loved low register instruments and decided to give the bassoon a go. What or who are your greatest influences? I started learning with Martin Gatt when I was fifteen. He was LSO principal for a long time and is a wonderful musician and man. I came to him at a time when I was losing my love for music and the bassoon, and he completely changed that. He’s a very inspiring man and has been a wonderful mentor to me. There are many musicians who have inspired and influenced me; particular favourites would be Jacqueline du Pré and Maria Callas. My favourite composers are Mozart, Schumann, Britten and Beethoven. Although I have many others and a very large CD collection, these are the four that I always come back to.
Also I’m sure Matt would appreciate me mentioning Rachel Berry from the TV show Glee as an influence of mine. If I’m ever nervous before performing I think of her singing Don’t Rain on My Parade and it always helps! What has been a particular highlight in your career so far? Although my career’s been rather short so far as I only graduated last year, I have already had some great experiences. Earlier this year I played in a chamber festival in Cyprus, the concerts were in a stunning ancient palace and I was working with players that I’d always looked up to like Radovan Vlatkovic` and Natalia Gutman. I kept having to pinch myself during rehearsals! Also joining Ensemble 360 and getting offered a principal position with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in the same month was a very exciting time! What are you most looking forward to about being a member of Ensemble 360? I feel very lucky that I’m able to play great music with musicians that I really enjoy working with. I have always loved the intimacy and excitement that you get playing chamber music and to be able to do that regularly with the Ensemble is a real privilege. I also love the children’s concerts that we do; I had such a great time playing The Lion Who Wanted to Love on tour this year. I love working with children and letting them experience classical music is really important.
Welcome to Marty
We’d like to take this opportunity to belatedly welcome our new Marketing Manager, Marty Mills, to the team.
Marty grew up in Nottingham before moving to Sunderland to study journalism. On completing his degree he moved back to Nottingham, taking on voluntary roles at various arts organisations, before moving on to become Marketing Officer at the city’s independent art-house cinema (similar to Sheffield’s Showroom). He joined Music in the Round in February this year. As Marketing Manager he is responsible for the delivery of the marketing and communications strategy. Marty is passionate about understanding customer’s needs and engaging wide and diverse audiences with chamber music.
Did you know any of Ensemble 360 before you joined the group? I had only met Adrian before I joined the group, but since I’ve been playing with the Ensemble I’ve loved getting to know the other members and feel very fortunate to be a part of it. I remember me and my mum voting for Marie on BBC Young Musician of the Year when I was about eleven so I was looking forward to meeting her in person twelve years later! What are your upcoming highlights for your first season with Ensemble 360? I’m really looking forward to playing the Saint-Saëns sonata with Tim. Compared to other instruments there isn’t such a wide range of great repertoire for the bassoon, but I think this sonata is such a beautiful piece and I always love playing it. I’m also very excited about playing the Beethoven Duo sonatas with Matt. They’re great pieces and I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun playing them together. You can hear Amy perform the Saint-Saëns Bassoon Sonata at these forthcoming concerts: Thursday 7 October, Sheffield Friday 8 October, Barnsley Saturday 9 October, Doncaster And Hindemith’s Bassoon Sonata at the following concert: Saturday 11 December, Sheffield
Programme Your Own Concert!
This year John Adam s and I we delighted re to collabor ate with E 360 to pro nsemble gramme o ur own De Concert, in sert Island which som e of our fa pieces wer v e perform ed by the g ourite part of the roup as May Festi val. It was wonderful a way to sup port Music Round, an in the d a very re warding e xperience. David Gre If you wou y ld like to d o the same Deborah C , contact hadbourn on 0114 2 deborah@m 81 4660 o us r for more in icintheround.co.uk formation .