Issue No.64
Friends Newsletter Mantra ’
August 2014
Contents...
pages one an d two Mantr a with Angus Smith | Bridg e page three Music in the Community page four Funding Upd ate | Events for yo ur diary page five Fu ture Festival s Fund page six New Staff | Tour News page seven Just a Note page eight D iary
Seeing the words “classical music” and “fusion” in the same sentence can inspire curiosity and terror in equal measure. Mantra, which we’re delighted to present this November, mixes Renaissance church music with that of 16th-century India. It’s a thrilling exploration of what must be one of the earliest instances of crossover music. Portuguese missionaries placed music at the forefront of their activity: it presented the best face of Christianity and would encourage local people to convert. The sung Mass “enabled the native people, as well as Christians and Hindus, to show greater reverence to the Divine Mysteries”. Trained singers were imported to teach polyphony; choirs and organs became central parts of the new liturgy. Far from filling a vacuum, though, the music interacted with India’s long-established sophisticated musical legacy. Latin texts were set to popular native tunes, while missionaries encouraged local instruments to be played
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in churches. Christian services proceeded at the Muslim court. So much fun was had that, by the 1580s, a new generation of Jesuits wanted to eradicate such exuberant music-making. No musical scores exist, so in Mantra we imagine the sounds that would have been made in this fascinating musical dialogue. Along with my colleagues at the Orlando Consort, we work with Kuljit Bhamra (tabla), Jonathan Mayer (sitar) and Shahid Khan (voice) – well known to Music in the Round’s audience as brilliant exponents of their arts. Their instruments belong in the modern world, but they are the product of an ancient
evolutionary process. We aim to achieve real integration of the musics, embracing both contrasts and congruities. In composing new pieces, we have plundered a range of languages including Arabic and Urdu, and while we have found Shahid’s interpretation of Latin endearing, our partners consider our attempts at Punjabi downright hilarious. Shahid’s astounding and moving embellishment of 16th-century polyphony, woven around the Orlando Consort’s austere lines, summons up a magical evocation of what might have been in one of the many Goan churches.
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I find it impossible to resist imitating Shahid’s swoops and inflections: were 16th-century Jesuit singers similarly tempted? Did they succumb as I already have? Our inspiration and validation lie in the past; the creative process is in the present. As Kuljit puts it, it’s two worlds meeting for a handshake. At least, that’s our excuse for setting the words of the 9th-century Latin hymn Veni Creator Spiritus to the tune of a recent hit Bollywood song. If anyone can resist smiling when they hear it, we will be very disappointed. Angus Smith
Lend your voice!
Singing alongside Angus, Kuljit, and the others will be a chorus of massed voices – to which all are invited! The singers will be part of a series of amazing east-west musical encounters: Gregorian chant superimposed on an intense outpouring of Indian lyricism; a 12th-century Aquitanian tune performed to the back-
beat of Bhangra music; and a majestic polyphonic motet in Renaissance style - with the plainchant melody of the Lord’s Prayer and sung to Arabic words - which gradually emerges into an exuberant and totally irresistible Indian Hen-night song! The choir is open to all adults, and will be joined by students from local schools. You don’t have to read sheetmusic, but can learn the music by ear. There will be a special workshop with Angus and Kuljit before the day. You’ll sing in part of the concert and will be able to sit back and enjoy the rest. It’s all for the price of a standard concert ticket. First-come-first-served; to sign up, see our website or call Fraser on 0114 281 4660. d Cathedral on MANTRA takes place at Sheffiel of our Autumn Thursday 13 November as part arsal is on Series. The massed-voices rehe . Audio tracks -8pm 6.15 er, emb Monday 10 Nov ound.co.uk ther sicin .mu are available at www
Two events for your diary We invite you to join us for a preconcert drink in the Crucible Theatre bar at 6pm on 9th October to mark Ensemble 360’s first Studio concert of the Autumn Series. There’ll be a chance to hear more about the Women of Steel campaign to honour Sheffield women’s roles in both World Wars I and II, as well as further news on the Future Festivals
Fund and the final Bridge string quartet audition day on 18th October. 6th December is the last Ensemble concert of the series, so please join us for a glass of something at 6.15pm before the concert to mark Music in the Round’s 30th Birthday, and hear the outcome of the Silent Art Auction (see page 5 for more details).
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CRAZY CREATURES COMMISSIONED This year’s commissioned piece for children from Paul Rissmann, Stan and Mabel, reached over 7,500 people during its UK tour and has been nominated for a national award (we’ll find out later this year; cross your fingers!). We’ve heard from more than one delighted family that the songs are still being sung daily in their household (helped, no doubt, by the concert recording – limited stocks remain for sale on the website and at concerts)! You won’t be surprised to hear that Paul is cooking up another piece for 2014-15. In fact, this time there will be two pieces in one: settings of extracts from Crazy Creatures by Jonathan Long and Korky Paul – so twice the fun! If you aren’t already familiar with the delights of The Duck with No Luck and A Cat Called Scratch, you haven’t much longer to wait. Each piece will be presented as usual with accompanying songs and music played by the Ensemble, and with colourful images up on the big screen. Put 24 January 2015 in your diary now: that’s when the Crucible Theatre hosts our Crazy Creatures Family Concert! LISTEN UP At the end of June we held a conference called Listen Up! The obvious way to develop our pioneering work around music for young children, it brought together a packed house of people who
make music with children aged 3-7 years; teachers, workshop leaders, and freelance musicians. They enjoyed a day of talks, workshops, networking, brainstorming, and (most importantly) music-making. Polly and the Ensemble gave two sold-out concerts with the help of 1,600 school children from across the city; the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor Peter Rippon particularly enjoyed Giddy Goat and was very enthusiastic about the day. SOUNDPLAY In April we were delighted to receive funding of £23,000 from Youth Music to lead Soundplay, a year-long project in four schools and nurseries around the city. Like Listen Up!, it aims to give teachers and parents skills, resources, and confidence that enable them to enjoy music with their children every day. We’re working closely with Dr Stephanie Pitts from the University of Sheffield, whose research is both documenting and shaping the project, and with partners including the Music Hub and ESCAL (Every Sheffield Child Articulate and Literate). We’ve also been delighted to welcome Martha Hayward (Trainee Workshop Leader) and Kate Smith (Project Administrator) to the MitR team as part of the project.
Fraser Wilson
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Three Years ' Funding from Arts Council England Music in the Round is delighted to have been awarded funding as an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation for the three year period, 2015-18. Music in the Round was classed as ‘Outstanding’ in meeting ACE goals, and their assessment summary said, ‘Music is the Round is a small, regionally significant organisation which has consistently worked above capacity to receive nationally recognised accolades’ with a ‘long track record of working with highquality, emerging and established artists, nationally and internationally recognised musicians and ensembles, supported by resident Ensemble 360.’
Without this funding we would struggle to maintain our operation or deliver the current level of activity in South Yorkshire and on tour. To have this endorsement in a very challenging funding environment alongside the generous support we receive from Friends and individual supporters gives us confidence that we can continue to build on 30 years of exceptional music-making for the benefit of a wide and growing audience.
News from outside Sheffield DONCASTER
Our first two concerts in Cast’s Second Space, our new Doncaster home, have now taken place. Near-capacity audiences have thoroughly enjoyed what is often their first experience of the venue, their first experience of listening to chamber music ‘in the round’ and, in almost 40% of cases, their first experience of any sort of classical music concert in Doncaster.
Cast is described as “fabulous”, “attractive”, “modern” and “welcoming” with the performance space itself referred to as “intimate”, “stimulating” and “homely”. The majority of people also commented on how sitting ‘in the round’ helped them to feel closer to, and more absorbed by, the music; it goes without saying that they were blown away by Ensemble 360.
PhD student Lucy Dearn is working with our Doncaster audiences to investigate the impact a venue has on audiences’ experience of listening to classical music. Initial responses have been incredible:
Stan and Mabel has also been a big hit with our younger audiences being heard by over 1,200 very enthusiastic audience members in two schools’ concerts in Cast’s larger Main Space.
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FF F
FUTURE FESTIVALS FUND
To help support the Future Festivals Fund, sculptor and Music in the Round Friend Vivien Whitaker MRBS, has very kindly donated a sculpture for a new Silent Art Auction to be held in the autumn. Inspired by listening to Matthew Barley perform Britten’s Third Cello Suite at a concert in November 2013, this striking work is a personal response to the intense, emotional experience of the music. Matthew commented:
‘Sculptor Vivien Whitaker attended a Britten concert late in the tour and was inspired
NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME
Ensemble 360 continues its regular, but newly reconfigured concert series at the New Vic Theatre under the banner of the Music in the Round touring programme and working alongside Keele Concerts to develop audiences. We go back a long way with the New Vic as it’s the first place The Lindsays played ‘in the round’.
by the composition to create this extraordinary piece made of Italian alabaster – I was very honoured.’ Reminiscent of a Giacometti head and the enigmatic Moai statues of Easter Island, this sculpture is semi-translucent and looks stunning with light shining through it. More details: www.vivienwhitakersculpture.com/ news.html
to thrive and from this autumn will be moving into its new home in Portsmouth Guildhall. Details of our Autumn concerts in the above venues and in Barnsley, Bradford-onAvon, Bowness-on-Windermere and Milton Keynes will be on our website later in the summer.
PORTSMOUTH
The partnership between the University of Portsmouth, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and ourselves to form Portsmouth Chamber Concerts continues
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Introducing Simon Seligman Marketing Manager, maternity cover I am so delighted to have this chance to work with Music in the Round for a year, and Jenny has been very patient explaining what her job entails (Answer? A lot!). I started coming to concerts more than 25 years ago, some of them have been among the finest musical experiences of my life, and my two daughters already consider Polly’s family concerts to be essential. I love the Studio space, which is like a resonant instrument in itself, and I consider the ethos of MitR – world-class musicmaking that is genuinely open, engaging and audience-friendly – to be something very special and sadly pretty rare. I started my career at Chatsworth, a place I’d loved since childhood, and worked there for 19 years, ending as Head of Communications. From there I went freelance, and then took up a maternity leave cover (my new specialism, it seems) at Nottingham Playhouse, which somehow became a three year stint. Living in the Peak District, and also training as a Life Coach, I was very keen to find work nearer to home, and so Jenny’s maternity is a real gift for me.
Many of my family are or have been professional and amateur musicians, and so I grew up taking classical music for granted. But as my career has progressed I have come to believe passionately in the danger of taking any art-form’s audience for granted. No-one has a divine right to an audience; we all have busy lives, budget limits and millions of free distractions to entertain us, and so I believe the marketing challenge is to sustain our audience’s trust, and earn the trust of new attenders, by talking their language and never assuming that they will just roll up because we know what we do is great. But the fact that it is great, is the best possible starting point, and I am really thrilled to be able to play my part for the next 12 months.
Congratulations
m and Paul Lewis had a successful trip to We’re delighted to announce the birth of Reuben Jacob Davies who arrived on the first day of Jenny, our Marketing Manager’s maternity leave, more or less two weeks early. Congratulations to all the family from Music in the Round.
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Bridge: new scheme for a young string quartet In our last newsletter we told you we were launching a new scheme, now entitled Bridge, to support a young string quartet through the vital early stages of its career. Applications are in and the search is now well and truly on. We’ve been delighted with the reception Bridge has received nationally and with the number and quality of the applications. Early in July a panel, which included a number of well-respected musicians (including Peter Cropper and Ensemble 360’s Gemma Rosefield) as well as representatives from the Munster Trust, BBC Radio 3, YCAT (Young Classical Artist Trust), the Guildhall School of Music and Aldeburgh Music, gathered in London to begin the hard decision-making task. It was a challenging but exhilarating process which I think helped to remind us all of the talent that is out there just waiting to come through. The result is that four exciting young quartets have been invited to an initial live audition in Sheffield in September. There will then be a final audition in the Crucible Studio on Saturday 18th October which will be open to the public. More details will be announced in late September time but in the meantime, save the date. Bridge is a 3-year scheme starting in Spring 2015 with a two-week residency in Aldeburgh. The successful quartet will receive mentoring from the inimitable Mr Cropper and will be given opportunities to develop their communication, education and outreach skills as well as their understanding of business, promotion and funding. Our audiences across South Yorkshire will have opportunities to meet and hear them but most of the scheme’s work will be behind the scenes and in supporting them to develop. What better way to mark Music in the Round’s 30 years in business than to be able to give back just a little of what we’ve learnt over the last three decades? The scheme is funded by the Diana Kurzmann legacy, received via an award from Arts Council England, and the ‘Scilla Thornton Fund for Musicians. Tracy Bryant
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Doncaster Civic
Ensemble 360 dates for your diary 10th Oct 2014, 7.30pm BARNSLEY, Emmanuel Church SCHUMANN Piano Quartet in E flat Op.47 SCHUBERT Octet in F D803 01226 327000 www.barnsleycivic.co.uk 11th Oct 2014, 7pm DONCASTER, Cast 2nd Space SCHUMANN Piano Quartet in E flat Op.47 SCHUBERT Octet in F D803 01302 303959 www.castindoncaster.com 21st Oct 2014, 8pm MILTON KEYNES, The Stables DVORAK Piano Quintet No.2 in A Op.18 MOZART Adagio and Rondo in C K.617 SPOHR Nonet in F Op.31 01908 280800 boxoffice@stables.org www.stables.org 25th Oct 2014, 3pm WILTSHIRE Music Centre Crazy Creatures Family Concert with Polly Ives 01225 860100 www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk 25th Oct 2014, 7.30pm WILTSHIRE Music Centre DVORAK Piano Quintet No.2 in A Op.18 MOZART Adagio and Rondo in C K.617 SPOHR Nonet in F Op.31 01225 860100 www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk
23rd Nov 2014, 2.30pm BOWNESS-ON-WINDERMERE Old Laundry Theatre DVORAK Piano Quintet No.2 in A Op.18 MOZART Adagio and Rondo in C K.617 SPOHR Nonet in F Op.31 08445 040604 info@oldlaundrytheatre.co.uk www.oldlaundrytheatre.co.uk 24th Nov 2014, 11am BOWNESS-ON-WINDERMERE Old Laundry Theatre Crazy Creatures Family Concert with Polly Ives 08445 040604 info@oldlaundrytheatre.co.uk www.oldlaundrytheatre.co.uk 27th Nov 2014, 7.30pm NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME New Vic Theatre HAYDN London Trio in G Hob.IV No.3 SAINT-SAﾃ起S Oboe Sonata in D MOZART Flute Quartet in A K.298 FRANCK Piano Quintet in F minor 01782 717962 tickets@newvictheatre.org.uk www.newvictheatre.org.uk 29th Nov 2014, 7.30pm BARNSLEY, Emmanuel Church HAYDN London Trio in G Hob.IV No.3 SAINT-SAﾃ起S Oboe Sonata in D MOZART Flute Quartet in A K.298 FRANCK Piano Quintet in F minor 01226 327000 www.barnsleycivic.co.uk
27th Oct 2014, 7.30pm PORTSMOUTH Guildhall, Harlequin Room DVORAK Piano Quintet No.2 in A Op.18 MOZART Adagio and Rondo in C K.617 BEETHOVEN Septet 023 9284 3023 (Portsmouth University) 0844 453 9028 (Portsmouth Guildhall) www.bsolive.com/portsmouthchamber
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