Enlightenment Magazine 2023/24

Enlightenment 2023/24

A WORD FROM THE CEO, CRISPIN WOODHEAD

Hello OAE Friends, Patrons and Supporters. We are working through the biggest transition in classical music in living memory. I recall an important meeting in 2018 when staff and trustees of the OAE met to think seriously about how the world was changing. We were

preoccupied with the post-internet digital revolution, its impact on the phonographic industry and, ever increasingly, on audience behaviour and expectation. When the OAE set out in the 80s, the CD was the new life-giving force of music, but today the world pulses to the anarchic beat of TikTok and the CD is dying. The implications of climate change were forcing an inescapable rethink for life on tour; at home attitudes to classical music were manifestly shifting, the word ‘art’ was giving way to ‘culture’ and pride in excellence would never be felt again without an apology connected more to prevailing politics than the fundamentals of artistic expression. We may not have known what was coming in the form of the pandemic, Putin and financial permacrisis, but we did understand the need for radical change.

For the OAE, that change came in the form of the strategic shift to the campus of a North London comprehensive school, Acland Burghley. What began as a search for accommodation became a relocation of mission – a completely new deal which has the potential to redefine the relationship between art and education, to reconsider how our music sits in public life. It is a relocation that understands education, in all senses, as our primary function.

This is markedly different from the old strategy which had a mission focussed via the prism of

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Costumes for Princess Ida performances were designed and made by Dreamchasing Young Producers Sofia, Iremide and Ines. Page 2 & 3 photo credits: Zen Grisdale

the concert hall on an audience confined within its walls where growth was another concern. It is a vision which understands access to high quality artistic experience, in whatever form, as a normal part of growing up in the United Kingdom. It is a vision which believes every penny spent on art can be a penny spent on education, where the rent that any orchestra must pay for its office and rehearsal space passes into the teaching budget of a school rather than the coffers of a landlord, where the Mozart that was imprisoned by the soundproofing of a London practice studio becomes the liberated soundtrack to daily life for young people.

Our notes from a playground are starting to chime. We are building new audiences, winning new support and repairing our resilience as we recover from lockdown. What felt like a leap of faith in 2020 can be a pathway for others to follow in an argument that enriches state education beyond the means of the taxpayer.

If you are reading this, then you are already part of the story. It takes courage to join a fight and your support as part of the OAE community has driven the success of this change.

Thank you. Now let’s go further.

Crispin Woodhead, CEO

ZEN GRISDALE: A CONCERT WIZARD

Almost all of the OAE’s video output in some way passes the hands of Zen Grisdale, the OAE’s Head of Digital Content. From educational and promotional videos on YouTube, to filmed concert performances for Marquee TV, Zen has been the creative force behind some of our favourite OAE content. Over the last year, he has been assigned with the mammoth task of editing countless hours of video footage from the complete Beethoven Piano Concerto concerts with Sir András Schiff into a film for each concerto.

between four people.’ We wanted to somehow capture this conversation: those intimate moments, a raised eyebrow, a smile, a subtle gesture, things that might go unnoticed by the audience in the hall.

So we positioned cameras within and around the orchestra on simple microphone stands with circular bases for the smallest footprint and three camera operators were positioned out of view in the auditorium. We really wanted players and audience to hardly notice the cameras and given that 14 cameras in total were used I think we achieved that pretty well.

The finale of the 2021/22 Southbank Centre season was a series of concerts of the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos performed live with Sir András Schiff. We filmed over three concerts at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, and a number of rehearsals, with the intention to make a series of short documentaries for release on the streaming service Marquee TV. We wanted to find a way to film the performances as discretely as possible without distracting Sir András and the players. Crispin had an idea (the way projects often start) that we could place multiple static cameras discretely around the orchestra. If we used enough cameras we’d be able to capture the interactions between Sir András and the players without the interference of camera operators.

Goethe once made a comment when he was at a performance of some Beethoven quartets that it was like listening to a ‘rational conversation

The static footage from multiple angles inspired us to go for a bit of a radical split-screen approach. At appropriate points the screen divides into two, sometimes three and at rare moments where it made sense in the music, into four different shots.

This allows the opportunity to view different parts of the conversation at the same time. We might see Sir András’ right and left hands in different perspectives simultaneously, a flute

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Credit: Zen Grisdale

solo and Sir András’ reaction to it or, at one point, his foot pressing the pedal as we view his hands in another screen. These are just a few examples but overall it gives more freedom to the viewer to choose where they direct their attention. It also means that the full screen shots have a bigger impact when they appear.

so that the focus is on the performance and the music. It also lends an air of gravitas to the film, appropriate for the complete Beethoven piano concertos and Sir András Schiff.

Concert videography is a time-consuming process. When you are working on a performance of music, you often listen to the same passages repeatedly trying to line up the image to the sound, match the colours, and tell the story. It can be like a form of torture. In this case I never got tired of listening to it. Being able to delve deeply in Beethoven’s music has unexpectedly left me with an overriding sense of his compassion and understanding for the human condition. We go through every emotion in these pieces – it’s quite a journey and I hope we’ve allowed it to come across in these films.

However, any dividing of the screen has to make sense musically, which was the biggest challenge. We are always careful when we film a performance that we are not taking anything away from the music. The aim is to enhance the experience and not get in the way of it, otherwise we might as well just listen to the audio! We got some early positive feedback from players and from Sir András himself, so that gave us confidence that we were on the right track.

We also chose to edit the documentary in black and white. The use of minimal colour removes the unnecessary distraction of vibrant shades,

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Zen Grisdale, Head of Digital Content Credit: Zen Grisdale Credit: Zen Grisdale Credit: Zen Grisdale

OAE EDUCATION – FROM THE MOON HARES TO THE FAIRY QUEEN: THREE WISHES

OAE Education Director Cherry Forbes updates us on the sterling work of the OAE Education team this year. From our home in Tufnell Park to the North of England, via the South Coast and some of the UK’s finest concert halls, the team have worked with children in the early stages of their development, right through to emerging young professional musicians.

Undoubtedly one of the highlights of last season was the performance of our community opera The Moon Hares at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH). With over 150 performers on stage, it was a glorious celebration of our work across the country and more recently in our move to Acland Burghley School in Tufnell Park.

the truth. When Puck, the leader of the sprites, finds them in the forest, they are the obvious choice for magical trickery for The Queen’s entertainment. They are both granted three wishes, but as Puck knows ‘Human beings don’t always know what they’re doing.’ As they use their wishes, their choices become increasingly disastrous, much to the amusement of The Queen and her guests, until finally they realise that all they really need to do is tell the truth.

From Hazel and James:

In January 2024 we will be returning to the QEH with The Fairy Queen: Three Wishes, a newly crafted adaptation of Purcell’s Shakespeareinspired opera by composer James Redwood and writer Hazel Gould.

The Story of The Fairy Queen

It is the 365th birthday of The Fairy Queen, and she wants her party to be the most magical night of the year. She wants music, dancing, entertainment and mischief! Her loyal sprites are set to work, playing tricks and creating havoc for the hapless humans they find in the forest.

Meanwhile, Tim and Kirsty are both invited to the party. They are secretly in love with each other, but are too embarrassed and full of worry to tell

‘It is such an honour to be able to translate this show, originally designed to be performed in a multitude of community venues across the country (from school halls to theatre spaces and beyond) onto the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. We’re so proud of the work we do to perform alongside communities all across the UK, and we’re really excited to see what happens when we bring our adaptation of The Fairy Queen into this space we love so much.’

We are delighted to be joined once again by Timothy Dickinson and Kirsty Hopkins, alongside Simone Ibbett-Brown as The Fairy Queen and Adam Courting as Puck.

The 2023/24 season will be jam-packed with work at Acland Burghley, with our Musical Connections and Ground Base programmes, curricular, extra-curricular, and cross-curricular initiatives as well as the established and highly successful Dreamchasing Young Producers programme. We’ll also be creating stories for all through our other OAE Education strands, overleaf.

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Acland Burghley students dance at the performance of Moon Hares in Queen Elizabeth Hall. (Credit: Pete Woodhead)

OAE Tots – concerts and workshops in Brighton and London, and a tour in North Yorkshire.

OAE Schools – a new show for KS1 pupils called Bach and the Joy of Singing together and we’ll be completing our series of KS2 shows by creating Life in the Air, which follows on from Life of the Forest and Life of the Sea.

OAE Special Needs – a new collaboration with Merton Music Foundation, joining with special schools from the borough which will culminate in a showcase at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2024

OAE Nurturing Talent – brilliantly led by Margaret Faultless, our OAE Experience students will be invited to attend two three-day intensive coaching courses and take part in specially

arranged concerts and education events. This year’s cohort will be performing at the London International Music Festival in November 2023.

Over the course of the year, we will be returning to York, Durham and King’s Lynn with our Life of the Sea and Fairy Queen: Three Wishes shows.

We feel very privileged to work with thousands of people from around the country and we look forward to welcoming you, our friends and supporters, to our OAE Education events during 2023/24.

Cherry Forbes, OAE Education Director

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OAE TOTS - Pack Your Bags Credit: Cathy Boyes OAE Experience Academy at SJSS Credit: Andrew Thompson OAE TOTS - King of the Sea Credit: Andrew Thompson

MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV ON ROMANTICISM

Last season’s performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony with Maxim Emelyanychev was a roaring success. Here, Maxim talks to us about his programme of Romantic music on 3 April 2024, culminating with Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony.

Thanks so much for joining us again this year. Your performance includes music from Glinka to Sibelius. Is there a common theme between the pieces in the programme?

I don’t think this programme was built to find similarity between pieces. I wanted to explore four different sounds, styles, countries, and ways of instrumentation that are inherent in Romanticism. From Glinka, one of the first Romantics, who still composed in the classical style, to Rachmaninoff, one of last Romantic composers.

Why perform Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony with a period orchestra, and how will it be different from a modern symphony orchestra?

Of course, the most evident difference is the use of period instruments. Even though an instrument may look the same, there are myriad small details that make all the difference: different designs in the woodwinds, different pitches for brass, and gut strings which were in use until the middle of 20th century all create such a unique balance and mix. Colours are more intimate and you can ‘speak’ more with your playing.

Another facet is our approach to playing this music, to go from earlier to modern, from Bach to Mozart, from Schubert to Bruckner. Our way of thinking gives you a better understanding of what was new for the composer, how much they revolutionised (Beethoven, Berlioz) or how much they were looking backwards (Brahms, Rachmaninoff). You can understand how unusual it was to hear extreme subito dynamics in Beethoven’s time, or completely new rhythms and instrumentation in the music of Stravinsky.

This season we have identified a common thread of ‘Beginnings and Endings’ through all the concerts. How does this theme show in this programme?

As I mentioned before, there are a lot of beginnings and endings in this programme. For instance, Rachmaninoff was alone with this style until middle of last century, while the music around him was changing so fast. Stravinsky changed his style three times during this time!

It’s very interesting to look at Rachmaninoff’s The Rock from this perspective, which he composed at just 20 years old.

Are any of the works in the programme of personal importance to you?

All of the pieces put me in a very nostalgic mood; they bring up memories. I looked at all of these works in my youth, when I was studying conducting in Nizhny Novgorod. It was a great experience to explore this fabulous music with an orchestra at my age. One of my fondest memories is of conducting the overture of Ruslan and Ludmila, which was one of my first appearances with a big symphony orchestra. It was the final concert of the Sakharov Festival and I was very lucky to share the stage with Mstislav Rostropovich.

And one final word of for anyone attending the performance?

Enjoy every moment, and follow the OAE!

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Credit: Andrej Grilc

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THE NIGHT SHIFT: A LETTER FROM JULIA KUHN

Dear reader,

I have recently taken on the role of player member curator of the OAE’s 2023/24 The Night Shift series. The concept of The Night Shift is to take classical music out of the traditional concert halls and into much smaller, informal, diverse, and alternative venues. The aim is to reach out to a wider audience and to signal that classical music is, and should be, accessible to everyone.

Through research, we found that many people enjoy classical music and would like to attend concerts but find it daunting to visit traditional venues. This can be for several reasons, for instance the feeling of not having the necessary background knowledge, not fitting in with the regular concert goers, not having the financial means, or finding it too formal. This is a subject that needs to be addressed. The Night Shift connects with people from different backgrounds, signalling that music and the arts should give comfort and pleasure to everyone, not just a select few. Our setting is rather more informal. We perform in pubs, curate shorter programmes, include audience participation, and our concept of presenting music by the players is appreciated by the growing audiences.

My approach to curating a series like The Night Shift is to incorporate and mirror the OAE’s varied repertoire, showcase the different historical instruments, give a platform to every instrument group of the orchestra, and to give participating player members the opportunity to create their own programmes. This opens up a wide range of musical possibilities and offers a fresh approach in connecting with a broader audience. The repertoire in the 23/24 season spans from 17th -century viol music to works by Bach and Mozart, partly arranged for the smaller venues by player members. The new season will also include a Baroque crime mystery and our very own oompah band with a Brass around the World show.

I have performed at a few Night Shifts now, and have always enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the interaction with the audience. It’s wonderful to see first time audience members becoming regulars, and I love welcoming curious music lovers of all ages and backgrounds.

I very much look forward to the 2023/24 season, where we aspire to reach as many people as possible, who will join us in conveying that music is there for everyone.

Julia Kuhn, OAE Player Member

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The Night Shift 2023/24 will be curated by OAE violinist, Julia Kuhn. In a letter to our supporters, she explains her vision for the season and lets us know what to look out for. Credit: Foto Baur Credit: Zen Grisdale

YEAR THREE OF THE OAE IN A SCHOOL

The school’s partnership with the OAE captures our ethos perfectly: Creating Excellence Together. We have gained a group of colleagues who bring expertise, professionalism and imagination to everything they do and with each new layer we explore, we realise we are only at the start of mining its potential.

We are a mainstream comprehensive school with a very high number of students with additional educational needs (AEN) and therefore inclusion is central to every strand of our practice. OAE programmes such as Musical Connections (for students with and without additional educational needs) and Ground Base (for students in our autism base) enable students with a range of complex needs to collaborate with their peers to make and perform music guided by players who bring deep experience of working with AEN students across the country in a range of different settings.

The Dreamchasing Young Producers (where students learn to produce live events) has grown to become a ‘go to’ group in the school: whether it be running Hex club nights, making costumes for Princess Ida or running the tech at the Y11 Prom, there seems to be no limit to what this group can achieve. Once the new government qualification T-Level starts in 2024, we will have a fully integrated route from KS3 to KS5 curated through the OAE partnership.

The opportunities afforded for students, staff and families to participate in different activities through the partnership are growing and will be underscored through the ABS Concert Club coming on stream in 2023/24, which will offer all families and staff discounted tickets for OAE Southbank concerts. We will continue to run free trips and have 20 tickets allocated for key concerts next season. The Fairy Queen project will give even more music students, dancers, Young Producers and staff singers the chance to create magic together on stage in January 2024.

We recognise that, however carefully planned such projects and offers are, they will only hit a section of our wider school community. The core piece of work for 2023/24 is to bolster our universal offer: what do students and families gain from the partnership just by dint of being part of the Acland Burghley community? How do we get to a place where all families feel OAE are ‘their’ orchestra in the same way we feel you are now ‘ours’?

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Anna Rimington - Director of Learning KS5 and OAE Liaison, Acland Burghley School Dreamchasing Young Producers setting up for Live at the Hex. Credit: Luka Lah Anna Rimington, Director of Learning KS5 and OAE Liaison at Acland Burghley School, gives an update on the Dreamchasing Young Producers, reflects on the last three years of the OAE/ABS partnership, and tells us whats in store for the next academic year.

IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

The OAE is an international orchestra. It needs to tour, not just to meet the financial imperatives of gainful turnover, but because art is not and should not ever be confined by frontiers, be they the seas around us or land-locked prejudices closer to home. Cultural exchange is essential for the arts to prosper and travel has always been part of our musicianship, its history constantly enriched by discoveries beyond our shores.

In recent decades, international orchestral touring has straddled the jet engine. Schedules and contracts need quick transit to limit cost and drive positive margins. Even before the OAE was formed, it had become the ingrained assumption that any Brits performing in Berlin, Paris or Budapest would have flown in that morning and would be wheels down on home tarmac before 1pm the next day. Such is still the enshrined orthodoxy. To deviate from this incurs additional hotel nights, travel fees for each musician plus the extra subsistence to keep body and soul together.

It is not surprising then that our players, prized as they are, have nonetheless been cramped like sardines into tightly canned itineraries, processed to the limits of shelf-life by airport queues, security checks and early mornings. Never let anyone tell you that international touring is glamorous.

But the looming horrors of climate change are game-changing. It’s no longer simply unglamorous to lunge around the world in jetfuelled binges, it’s irresponsible and has to

stop. So, wherever possible, we have to think differently. In the arts, thinking differently is rarely cheap. So it is with green travel. A flight from London to Budapest is a couple of hours but take the train and it’s a whole day. That’s at least one extra hotel stay, maybe two and then there are all those fees that start totting up. Nobody seriously begrudges our musicians - they are worth every penny. The problem is that no concert hall can afford to pay the green premium. On the other hand, if you can muster the cash, the experience is transformed. Gone is the sardine tin. Travel by train is humane.

If this were the end of the story then that would be bad enough, but it actually gets worse. The international concert community is far from harmonious. Concert halls compete fiercely and few will engage without a jealous exclusivity. Rarely do they correspond to cooperate with each other. This means that itineraries are seldom the product of common sense, reducing distance to the most efficient route between points. Instead, they follow the whim of invitation. I know of one major band with an imminent tour that takes off in Europe, deviates to America, hops to China, recoils to America with a final high-octane finale back where it began. It’s a familiar lunacy.

What’s the answer for the OAE? We will always prefer surface to air wherever feasible, even if costs are increased. We will never fly long haul unless that is justified by sufficient work. The days of a quick gig in New York are long gone. At home, we prefer train to coach and coach to car, and car share to car solo. When planning, we turn on the charm with agents and promoters to coax those tangled itineraries into a more sensible shape and, when it just doesn’t work, we say no.

It’s not easy being green, but the life of the artist was never plain sailing.

Crispin Woodhead - OAE CEO

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DAVID CLEGG - FLOREAT CAE!

The Choir of the Age of Enlightenment has always been cast in the image of its orchestra, seeking to be a flexible organisation that is able to perform a wide variety of music in an appropriate style. This sometimes means the use of large forces, while at other times, only single voices are required.

In my time of being Choral Manager to the OAE we have embraced a number of extraordinary projects, all in their own way memorable and in writing this article it has afforded me the opportunity to cast my mind back on them all - a serious body of art that we, justly, can feel proud of. Work has ranged from singing renaissance motets by Palestrina and Byrd, secular works by the Italian composer Barbara Strozzi, through to some of the great oratorios by Monteverdi, Bach, and Handel. We have covered classical masses by Haydn and concert performances of operas by Gluck, choral masterworks by Brahms, theatre works by Gilbert and Sullivan,

and even an inspired and challenging piece by Sally Beamish entitled The Passion according to Judas.

In these, and many other projects, we have had the good fortune to be conducted and directed by many inspired musicians and have been accompanied by the national treasure that is the OAE. Partnering with the OAE for many BBC Proms over the years, we most recently joined them for Bach’s B Minor Mass with John Butt. Performing in the Royal Albert Hall for packed audiences is always thrilling, but equally rewarding in a different way can be those projects with a very different slant to them. I think of the filming of Handel’s Messiah we did during Covid times in December 2020 to an empty St Paul’s, Knightsbridge, starting with natural light and finishing in almost complete darkness, lit only by a few candles.

The series of Bach, the Universe and Everything provide us with the opportunity to discover pieces often new to us and perform them in the manner that Bach’s singers would likely have done, working at speed to produce results fit for performance on a Sunday morning - in our case not in Weimar or Leipzig but in the more familiar setting of Kings Place, conducted by Steven Devine.

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Sally Beamish, credit: Mihaela Bodlovic courtesy of Sound Festival Credit: Zen Grisdale David Clegg relives his most memorable moments as Choir Manager of the Choir of the Age of Enlightenment. Screenshot from OAE’s film Handel’s Messiah, credit: Zen Grisdale

Away from London we have been fortunate to travel widely with the orchestra, visiting festivals both in the UK and throughout Europe and even performing Vivaldi with Jonathan Cohen at the Lincoln Centre in New York. It was here where the choir also gave a performance of some American 21st -century a cappella works at the after show party to a very appreciative gathering. The choir has had special invitations to perform by themselves and have appeared at the Tetbury Festival, and in London in their own right.

Back alongside the players we have made the Passions of Bach a speciality, and embarked on long tours over the years, often in conjunction with the inspired evangelising of Mark Padmore. The staging of the St John Passion by Peter Sellars, in particular, will live long in the memories both of those who participated and those who watched. Commercial recordings have included Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Sarah Connolly on Chandos, and Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 on Signum, both acclaimed for choral excellence alongside the orchestra.

In recent years we have been fortunate to have the benefit at times of working with singers from the Rising Stars of the Enlightenment, some of whom have previously been employed as choristers with the choir before their rise to fame. And that’s the essence of the choir – a collection of soloists and top class chamber musicians, who come together to work as a unit in service of whatever the music calls for. Singers are very keen to work with the orchestra and to experience the magic that they bring to an individual piece.

I myself have learned much over the years working with the extraordinary talents of the players and have benefited hugely from some of the one to one conversations I have had with conductors at the front, working with at least four knights of the realm – Mackerras, Norrington, Elder and Rattle – and other icons of the early music world such as Gustav Leonhardt, Trevor Pinnock, William Christie, Christoph Rousset and Masaaki Suzuki. There has been Haydn with Adam Fischer, Mendelssohn with Charles Hazelwood and Sullivan with John Wilson, all performed with great integrity and commitment. Long may the relationship continue and thrive. Floreat CAE!

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David Clegg, Choir Manager of the Choir of the Age of Enlightenment St John Passion at RFH with conductor Simon Rattle and staging by Peter Sellars, 2019 Credit: Tristram Kenton Princess Ida with Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, 2023. Credit: Zen Grisdale Scan the QR code above and book Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (2 & 3 December) and Easter Oratorio (27 March) with a 15% discount. For more details visit: oae.co.uk/see-us-live/club-oae-seasontickets-2023-24

NEIL MCLAREN - FLAUTIST BY DAY, JEWELLER BY NIGHT

Working with metal has always interested me, which is unsurprising having frown up in Cornwall. I remember making my first piece, a copper caddy spoon, and feeling instantly connected to the material. It allowed me to be in a world of my own, much as music does. As a child I began violin lessons, but I quickly became frustrated and felt held back by my teacher. I then tried the viola, but this was to be short-lived. As luck would have it, I stumbled accross a flute lying at the back of the instrument cupboard at school and I was captivated. A few years later, I found myself at music college.

It was in the early nineties that I got back into making jewellery seriously. The OAE was rehearsing at Morley College in London and across the hallway, there was a jewellery making class running at the same time. I could see everyone concentrating on what they were making and it was then that I decided I wanted to start again, so I spoke with the tutor and enrolled for classes. I soon gained an excellent reputation at the various important exhibitions and design shows I attended.

This reputation led to an invitation from Goldsmiths’ Hall, asking me to exhibit one of my necklaces in their foyer, which was a huge honour. But at this point, my musical diary became very busy and I really had no time to make. I felt it was time to take a break.

Fast forward 22 years to the lockdown of 2020 and, like many people with lots of time on my hands, I decided to clear out the garage. I uncovered some of the drawer units that, in a previous life, resided on my workbench. As I opened the drawers I found some uncompleted work, not seen or handled for over two decades. I set about finding a new workshop and ended up in a wonderful space in Lewes. Inspired to make again, I completed some of the unfinished pieces and ‘caught the bug.’ I made contact with the retail department at Glyndebourne and found they were very interested in selling jewellery in the shop influenced by the themes of the season’s operas.

The designing and making process has been very enjoyable, but at times rather stressful in having to get all the pieces completed and hallmarked on time. As I have performed at Glyndebourne since 1989 and have been fortunate to see many of the operas, I have insight into some of the staging and stories that have ultimately inspired my 2023 collection!

Neil McLaren, OAE Player Member

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Necklace to accompany Don Giovanni OAE Flautist, Neil McLaren, takes us through his other career as a jewellery maker and explains how his partnership with Glyndebourne came about.

Don Giovanni

The character of the Don is represented by a shard of oxidised and textured silver. The necklace depicts him hovering over the entrance to hell, watched by the three women protagonists, Donna Anna, Donna Elvira and Zerlina.

L’elisir d’amore

With this opera’s central themes of love, and a love elixir to inspire me, this collection features a mix of love hearts and droplets of potion. The surface of each heart has been delicately textured with lace, pressed into the silver; the red gold droplets have been randomly scattered.

Dialogues des Carmélites

A long silver rosary style chain necklace to accompany Blanche de la Force through a traumatic psychological journey after entering the Carmelite convent in Compiègne. At the end of the chain, where there would normally be a cross, she finds the clean silver blade of the guillotine!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Queen Titania’s Twilight Necklace, inspired by Glyndebourne’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a powerful statement necklace, made of oxidised Sterling Silver with 18ct Gold, Moonstone, Iolite, Zircon and Labradorite, evoking the twilight colours deep in the forest outside Athens.

Semele

Semele transcends to the realm of the gods where Jupiter has transformed the palace into a beautiful garden to comfort and distract her. Semele then sees her glorified reflection and becomes narcissistically obsessed, singing ‘Myself I shall adore’.

The Rake’s Progress

Details and textures inspired by Hogarth’s ‘The Rake’s Progress’ .

For commissions Neil McLaren can be found through ‘The Workshop’, Lewes or his website neilmclarenjewellery.co.uk.

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Victoria Arts Centre, Melbourne; European Space Agency, Darmstadt; Charleston, Sussex; Semenario de Cultura, Mexico City; The Sidney Nolan Trust, Wales. I’ve also produced numerous solos exhibitions at commercial galleries and educational venues in the UK, France and Australia. My work is represented in many public collections including The British Library, The British Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, the UK Government Collection and the Library of Congress, Washington D.C., U.S.A and the National Gallery of Australia.

Supporter Spotlight: PHILIP HUGHES

I have been a close follower of music all my life. Roger Norrington and I shared a flat in London after we both left Cambridge. I saw first-hand his various musical initiatives, from the founding of the Schütz Choir to the extraordinary collaboration with Jonathan Miller in Kent Opera, and his starting of the London Classical Players. I was involved with LCP and their revolutionary recordings of the Beethoven Symphonies. Before becoming an artist full time I had an earlier career in information technology, co-founding the software company Logica. Logica sponsored LCP’s recordings, made by EMI. It was later that LCP merged with what is now the OAE.

I started drawing and painting whilst at University. This continued and developed whilst I worked in computer software. My first exhibition was in the mid 1970s and I turned to be a full time as an artist in 1990. Since then I have had over 60 solo exhibitions including Tate Gallery St Ives; V&A; Jerwood Galley, Hastings; Pier Arts Centre, Orkney; Brighton Museum and Art Gallery; Salisbury Museum; Musée du Châtillonnais, France; Memmo Gallery, Lecce; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Monterray; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City; Drill Hall, Canberra;

The latest exhibition ‘40 Ans de Paysage’ runs from July to September at Galerie Pascal Lainé, Ménerbes, France. Two paintings from this exhibition are illustrated as well as installation images of my recent exhibition at The Rodd, Sydney Nolan Trust. My upcoming monograph Philip Hughes / Notebooks published by Thames & Hudson will be available to purchase early 2024. Further information on my work and news of recent projects can be found on www.philiphughesart.com. For sales and studio visits to see works please contact my Studio Manager at studio@philiphughesart.com.

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Philip Hughes - OAE Associate Patron Two paintings from Hughes’ Australian paintings, as shown at The Rodd, Sydney Nolan Trust. Credit: Amy Petra Woodward

Principal Patrons

John Armitage Charitable

Trust

Denys and Vicki Firth

Adrian Frost

Imogen Overli

Sir Martin and Lady Smith OBE

Season Patrons

Julian and Annette Armstrong

Nigel Jones and Françoise Valat-Jones

Philip and Rosalyn Wilkinson

Mark and Rosamund

Williams

Project Patrons

Ian S Ferguson CBE and Dr Susan Tranter

Bruce Harris

Selina and David Marks

ABS Circle

Mark and Susan Allen

Sir Victor and Lady Blank

Peter Cundill Foundation

Sir Martin and Lady Smith OBE

The Vernon Ellis Foundation

Aria Patrons

Steven Larcombe

Peter and Veronica Lofthouse

Stanley Lowy

Gary and Nina Moss

Stephen and Penny Pickles

Rupert Sebag-Montefiore

Maarten and Taina

Slendebroek

Caroline Steane

Eric Tomsett

Chair Patrons

Mrs Nicola Armitage

– Education Director

Victoria and Edward Bonham Carter

– Principal Trumpet

Katharine Campbell

– Violin

Anthony and Celia Edwards

– Principal Oboe

Claire Espiner

– Cello

James Flynn KC

– Co-Principal Lute / Theorbo

Paul Forman

– Co-Principal Cello / Violin /

Co-Principal Horn

Jonathan Gaisman

– Viola

Andrew Green KC and Jennifer Hirschl

– Principal Clarinet

Thank you

Michael and Harriet Maunsell

– Principal Keyboard

Christina

– Flute

Jenny and Tim Morrison

– Second Violin

Andrew Nurnberg

– Co-Principal Oboe

Professor Richard Portes

CBE FBA

– Co-Principal Bassoon

John and Rosemary Shannon

– Principal Horn

Sue Sheridan OBE

– Education

Crispin Woodhead and Christine Rice

– Principal Timpani

Education Patrons

Sir Timothy and Lady Lloyd

Susan Palmer OBE

Andrew and Cindy Peck

Professor Richard Portes

CBE FBA

Associate Patrons

Damaris Albarrán

Noël and Caroline Annesley

Sir Richard Arnold and Mary Elford

Hugh and Michelle Arthur

George and Kay Brock

David and Marilyn Clark

David Emmerson

Jonathan Parker Charitable Trust

Roger Heath MBE and Alison Heath MBE

Peter and Sally Hilliar

Philip Hughes

Kristin Konschnik

Kathryn Langridge

Moira and Robert Latham

Sir Timothy and Lady Lloyd

Roger Mears and Joanie

Speers

David Mildon in memory of Lesley

Mildon

John Nickson and Simon Rew

Andrew and Cindy Peck

Peter Rosenthal

Michael Spagat

Emily Stubbs and Stephen McCrum

Roger and Pam Stubbs

Simon and Karen Taube

Shelley von Strunckel

Mr J Westwood

Tim Rhys-Morgan

Young Ambassador

Patrons

Jessica Kemp and Alex Kemp

Breandán Knowlton

Young Patrons

Marina Abel Smith

Marianne and William Cartwright-Hignett

Sam Hucklebridge

Peter Yardley-Jones

Gold Friends

Michael Brecknell

Gerard Cleary

Mr and Mrs C Cochin De Billy

Chris Gould

Alison and Ian Lowdon

Silver Friends

Dennis and Sheila Baldry

Haylee and Michael Bowsher

Tony Burt

Christopher Campbell

Sir Anthony and Lady Cleaver

David Cox

Stephen and Cristina

Goldring

Rachel and Charles

Henderson

Malcolm Herring

Patricia Herrmann

Rupert and Alice King

Anthony and Carol

Rentoul

Stephen and Roberta Rosefield

Bridget Rosewell

David and Ruth Samuels

Susannah Simons

Her Honour Suzanne Stewart

Bronze Friends

Tony Baines

Penny and Robin Broadhurst

Graham and Claire Buckland

Dan Burt

Michael A Conlon

Mrs SM Edge

Mrs Mary Fysh

Mr Simon Gates

Martin and Helen Haddon

Ray and Liz Harsant

The Lady Heseltine

Mrs Auriel Hill

Rose and Dudley Leigh

Julian Markson

Stuart Martin

Richard I Morris Jr

Mike Raggett

Hugh Raven

Alan Sainer

Matthew and Sarah Shorter

Mr and Mrs Tony Timms

Mrs Joy Whitby

David Wilson

OAE Experience Supporters

The 29th May 1961 Charity

Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation

Henocq Law Trust

Stanley Picker Trust

Thriplow Charitable Trust

Rising Stars Supporters

Julian and Annette Armstrong

Idlewild Trust

Old Possum’s Practical Trust

The 29th May 1961 Charity

Fenton Arts Trust

The Garrick Charitable Trust

The Michael Marks Charitable Trust

Thriplow Charitable Trust

Trusts & Foundations

Albert and Eugenie Frost Music Trust

Apax Foundation

Arts Council England

The de Laszlo Foundation

Dreamchasing

Esmee Fairbairn Foundation

John Lyon’s Charity

Orchestras Live

Paul Hamlyn Foundation

Peter Cundill Foundation

Skyrme Hart Charitable Trust

The Brian Mitchell Charitable Settlement

The Britford Bridge Trust

The Charles Peel Charitable Trust

The Foyle Foundation

The Geoffrey Watling Charity

The Linbury Trust

The Patrick Rowland Foundation

Steel Charitable Trust

The Vintners’ Company

Corporate Supporters

Mark Allen Group

Champagne Deutz

Swan Turton

WSP

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To all who so generously support the OAE, we are incredibly grateful. The exceptional artistry on the world’s biggest concert stages and the groundbreaking education work that can be seen in action at Acland Burghley School and around the country would simply not exist without your help. From all of us at the OAE, thank you.