Credit Marco Borggreve
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES The Mark Padmore Masterclasses is made up of four films which were recorded with some of our young Rising Stars in the hall of the OAE’s new home, Acland Burghley School in Camden. The Rising Stars of the Enlightenment is our scheme for talented, emerging singers. We work with up to eight singers on our two year programme and our stars regularly perform with the Orchestra on both the national and international stage.
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES WITH HUGO HYMAS (TENOR) J.S Bach “Mein verlangen” and preceding recitative from BWV 161 Komm du süsse Todesstunde
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES WITH ZOE BROOKSHAW (SOPRANO) J.S Bach “Bereitet die Wege” from BWV 132 Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES WITH BETHANY HORAK-HALLETT (MEZZO SOPRANO) J.S Bach “Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen” from BWV 34 O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES WITH DOMINIC SEDGWICK (BARITONE) J.S Bach “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan” from BWV 100 Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan
Violin Kati Debretzeni (BWV 161 & BWV 132) Huw Daniel Matthew Truscott (BWV 34 & BWV 100) Viola Martin Kelly (BWV 161 & BWV 132) Annette Isserlis (BWV 34 & BWV 100) Cello Catherine Rimer (BWV 161 & BWV 132) Sarah McMahon (BWV 34 & BWV 100) Double bass Timothy Amherst (BWV 161 & 132) Kate Brooke (BWV 34 & BWV 100) Flute Lisa Beznosiuk (BWV 34) Neil McLaren (BWV 34) Oboe Katharina Spreckelsen (BWV 132) Organ Robert Howarth
We are grateful for the support of Jenny and Tim Morrison and our friends at Acland Burghley School
PROGRAMME NOTES Richard Bratby
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES WITH HUGO HYMAS (TENOR) Recitative and Aria: Mein verlangen (from BWV 161 Komm du süsse Todesstunde) The court chapel at the palace of Duke Wilhelm-Ernst of Saxe Weimar was a tall, elegant space known as the Himmelsburg (Heaven’s Castle), and its musicians were expected to write music that expounded the Gospel clearly, stylishly and directly. When Johann Sebastian Bach was promoted to Konzertmeister at Weimar in March 1714, his contract required him “to perform new pieces each month”, specifically, sacred cantatas to texts by the court poet, Solomon Franck. The cantata Komm du süsse Todesstunde was intended for the 16th Sunday after Trinity; or 27 September 1762. In this aria, the tenor soloist longs for death, as the precursor to the endless bliss of resurrection in Christ. The instruments of Bach’s small chapel orchestra swirl and sigh around his yearning vocal line with an almost sensuous pleasure.
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES WITH ZOE BROOKSHAW (SOPRANO) Aria: Bereitet die Wege (from BWV 132 Bereitet die Wege) “Make ready the ways! Make ready the road! And make every path, in faith and life, smooth for the Highest! The Messiah is coming!” When Bach directed the first performance of his cantata Bereitet die Wege in the court chapel at Weimar on 22 December 1715, everyone present will have known that Christmas was coming. True, this was still Advent. The full splendour of trumpets and drums was reserved for Christmas Day itself. But excitement will surely have been mounting and Bach catches the mood in the cantata’s opening aria. Taking as his starting point the words of the court poet, Solomon Franck, he creates a buoyant, blossoming dance of joy in which the solo soprano and the accompanying oboes compete to outdo each other in barely-suppressed celebration, bubbling just beneath the surface.
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES WITH BETHANY HORAK-HALLETT (MEZZO SOPRANO) Aria: Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen (from BWV 34, O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe) The cantatas that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote in his role as Kantor at St Thomas’s Church in Leipzig were intended for, and tailored to, quite specific dates in the church calendar. The Cantata No.34, O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe was first performed on 1 June 1727, Pentecost Sunday, the celebration of the astonishing moment when, with a mighty wind and tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit descended on the gathered Apostles. If this aria for alto, the centrepiece of the cantata, sounds gentler than we might expect on such a dramatic occasion, that’s because its subject is the wondrous state of blessedness. A pair of flutes float and swirl around the alto’s artless, sweetly expressive song, like cherubs draping garlands. It’s almost childlike in its tenderness. But Pentecost symbolised Baptism – and as every member of Bach’s congregation knew, that meant rebirth.
THE MARK PADMORE MASTERCLASSES WITH DOMINIC SEDGWICK (BARITONE) Aria: Er ist mein licht (from BWV 100, Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan) Although Bach was a working musician, composing and performing cantatas for each stage of the ecclesiastical year in Leipzig, he drew on other influences too. Church life was not something separate from the community. It was at the heart of civic and social life, in which Bach, a father of some 20 children, participated energetically. He knew, and he knew that his congregation knew, that Samuel Rodigast’s hymn Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan was traditionally sung at weddings in Leipzig. So this cantata, composed between 1732 and 1735 for an unknown (but surely happy) occasion, has a definite mood of celebration. This bass aria leads with a restatement of that basic idea: “What God does, is well done” and continues in just as lively a vein. “I want to entrust myself to Him, in joy and sorrow!” runs the text, and there’s no doubt that joy has the upper hand here.
MARK PADMORE BIOGRAPHY Mark Padmore was born in London and studied at King’s College, Cambridge. He has established an international career in opera, concert and recital. His appearances in Bach Passions have gained particular notice, especially his renowned performances as Evangelist in the St Matthew and St John Passions with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, staged by Peter Sellars.
In opera Mark has worked with directors Peter Brook, Katie Mitchell, Mark Morris and Deborah Warner. Work has included the leading roles in Harrison Birtwistle's The Corridor and The Cure at the Aldeburgh Festival and Linbury Theatre, Covent Garden; Captain Vere in Britten's Billy Budd and Evangelist in a staging of St Matthew Passion both for Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Third Angel/John in George Benjamin's Written on Skin with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden and the world premiere of Tansy Davies' Cave with the London Sinfonietta. Most recently, he appeared in a new ROH production of Britten’s Death in Venice, where his performance was described as a “tour de force” and “exquisite of voice, [presenting] Aschenbach’s physical and spiritual breakdown with extraordinary detail and insight” In concert Mark performs with the world’s leading orchestras. He was Artist in Residence for the 2017-18 Season with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and held a similar position with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for 2016-17. His work with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment has involved projects exploring both Bach's St John and St Matthew Passions and has attracted worldwide acclaim.
Mark gives recitals worldwide. He has performed all three Schubert song cycles in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, London, Liverpool, Paris, Tokyo, Vienna and New York. Regular recital partners include Kristian Bezuidenhout, Jonathan Biss, Imogen Cooper, Julius Drake, Till Fellner, Simon Lepper, Paul Lewis, Roger Vignoles and Andrew West. Composers who have written for him include Sally Beamish, Harrison Birtwistle, Jonathan Dove, Thomas Larcher, Nico Muhly, Alec Roth, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Huw Watkins and Ryan Wigglesworth.
His extensive discography includes: Beethoven Missa Solemnis and Haydn Die Schöpfung with Bernard Haitink and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on BR Klassik and lieder by Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart with Kristian Bezuidenhout for Harmonia Mundi. Mark was voted 2016 Vocalist of the Year by Musical America and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Kent University in 2014. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queens’ Birthday Honours List. Mark is Artistic Director of the St. Endellion Summer Music Festival in Cornwall.
BEHIND THE SCENES ZoĂŤ Brookshaw soprano "It was such a joy to work with Mark and the orchestra on what is for me, quite a tricky aria. Mark has a way of talking about music which is so inspiring. He never imposes anything artificial on top of it but manages to make you feel as though you are mutually discovering how it should go in the most organic way. He is the very best kind of teacher: an enabler. He has so much wisdom to impart and yet he does so in the most humble and collaborative way which really brings out the best in people. "
Bethany Horak-Hallet mezzo soprano "I had such a great time. Usually you have time for a quick run through, so it was a luxury to 'discover' the piece in depth. We found so many hidden corners of beauty and musical intricacy that you get from Bach's music. Mark's commitment to the process created a wonderful, open environment to express all of our thoughts and ideas. I really hope that audiences get a true insight in to how much love and care that goes in to music making. "
BIOGRAPHIES
Zoë Brookshaw
Bethany Horak-Hallett
Originally from Nottingham, soprano Zoë Brookshaw was a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge where she read Theology. Beginning her singing career as an apprentice in the Monteverdi Choir, she is now an established soloist specialising in Baroque repertoire and has performed extensively around the world. Highlights of solo engagements include Bach Matthew Passion (Sir John Eliot Gardiner), Handel Israel in Egypt at the Royal Albert Hall BBC Proms (Bill Christie and OAE), Monteverdi Lamento Della Ninfa at Carnegie Hall (Gallicantus), Bach John Passion at the Barbican (Britten Sinfonia), Bach John Passion at Wigmore Hall (Solomon’s Knot), Handel Dixit Dominus at Concertgebouw, Amsterdam (Collegium Vocale Ghent), Pergolesi Stabat Mater and Vivaldi Gloria (OAE) and Handel Dixit Dominus (Paul McCreesh). Zoë has a growing solo discography, featuring on many critically acclaimed CDs such as Bach Matthew Passion (Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Soli Dei Gloria), Magnificat (Solomon’s Knot, Sony Classical), Leçons de Ténèbres (Arcangelo, Hyperion), John Blow An Ode on the Death of Mr Henry Purcell (Arcangelo, Hyperion), Stabat Mater (The Marian Consort, Delphian).
British mezzo soprano Bethany Horak-Hallett is currently an OAE Rising Star for their 19/20-20/21 seasons.
Image credit: Gerard Collette
Bethany studied at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance before joining the Glyndebourne Festival chorus and Iford Arts as a Young Artist. Bethany won first prize in September at the 2019 Concours Corneille Baroque singing competition in association with Le Poème Harmonique and she has made several operatic appearances, including her role debut at Glyndebourne as Kitchen Girl in Dvořák’s Rusalka. Other roles include Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at Merry Opera and Cupid in Blow’s Venus and Adonis at the Brighton Early Music Festival. Image credit: Alex Grace
Hugo Hymas
Dominic Sedgewick
Hugo grew up in Cambridge where he sang as a chorister in Great St Mary’s Church Choir. He then studied the clarinet through school after which he joined the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge as a tenor. In 2014 he graduated with an honours degree in Music from the University of Durham.
British baritone Dominic Sedgwick is a recent graduate of the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House and has been selected as a Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for the 2019/20 and 20/21 seasons. He previously studied at GSMD with Robert Dean.
Hugo’s opera roles of late include Septimius in Theodora (Handel) for Potsdamer Winteroper, Jupiter in Semele (Handel) with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (Yu Long), and Indian Boy and Fame in The Indian Queen (Purcell) with Opera de Lille (Emmanuelle Haïm). He has also performed the lead tenor roles in Monteverdi’s Il Combatimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Aeneas), and Handel's Acis and Galatea. In 2017 he toured Monteverdi’s three operas - Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, L’incoronazione di Poppea and L’Orfeo - with English Baroque Soloists, which culminated with performances in the Lincoln Centre, New York. Hugo is a keen song recitalist, a former Britten-Pears young artist, and is currently on the ‘Rising Stars’ scheme with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, with whom he has collaborated many times.
After returning to the Royal Opera as the English Clerk in a new production of Death in Venice by David McVicar, this season he has also made debut performances with the RLPO with Sofi Jeannin and at the Bonn Beethoven Festival with the OAE.
Image credit: Ben Mckee
Dominic performs widely as a soloist on both the concert and recital platform. In 2019 he made his debut recital at the Wigmore Hall with pianist Ceri Owen, and again as an alumnus of the Samling Artist Programme. During his studies he was a Samling Artist, a Britten Pears Artist, a Drake Calleja Scholar and was awarded the Audience Prize as a finalist in the Grange Festival International Singing Competition 2017. He previously read Theology at Clare College, Cambridge. Image credit: Clare Park
“Not all orchestras are the same” Three decades ago, a group of inquisitive London musicians took a long hard look at that curious institution we call the Orchestra, and decided to start again from scratch. They began by throwing out the rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? No way. Specialise in repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born. And as this distinctive ensemble playing on period-specific instruments began to get a foothold, it made a promise to itself. It vowed to keep questioning, adapting and inventing as long as it lived. Those original instruments became just one element of its quest for authenticity. Baroque and Classical music became just one strand of its repertoire. Every time the musical establishment thought it had a handle on what the OAE was all about, the ensemble pulled out another shocker: a Symphonie Fantastique here, some conductor-less Bach there. All the while, the Orchestra’s players called the shots. At first it felt like a minor miracle. Ideas and talent were plentiful; money wasn’t. Somehow, the OAE survived to a year. Then to two. Then to five. It began to make benchmark recordings and attract the finest conductors. It became the toast of the European touring circuit. It bagged distinguished residencies at Southbank Centre and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. It began, before long, to thrive. And then came the real challenge. The ensemble’s musicians were branded eccentric idealists. And that they were determined to remain. In the face of the music industry’s big guns, the OAE kept its head. It got organised but remained experimentalist. It sustained its founding drive but welcomed new talent. It kept on exploring performance formats, rehearsal approaches and musical techniques. It searched for the right repertoire, instruments and approaches with even greater resolve. It kept true to its founding vow.
In some small way, the OAE changed the classical music world too. It challenged those distinguished partner organisations and brought the very best from them, too. Symphony and opera orchestras began to ask it for advice. Existing period instrument groups started to vary their conductors and repertoire. New ones popped up all over Europe and America. And so the story continues, with ever more momentum and vision. The OAE’s series of nocturnal Night Shift performances have redefined concert parameters. Its home at Acland Burghley School has fostered further diversity of planning and music-making. The ensemble has formed the bedrock for some of Glyndebourne’s most ground-breaking recent productions. Remarkable people are behind it. Simon Rattle, the young conductor in whom the OAE placed so much of its initial trust, still cleaves to the ensemble. Iván Fischer, the visionary who punted some of his most individual musical ideas on the young orchestra, continues to challenge it. Mark Elder still mines it for luminosity, shade and line. Vladimir Jurowski, the podium technician with an insatiable appetite for creative renewal, has drawn from it some of the most revelatory noises of recent years. And, most recently, it’s been a laboratory for John Butt’s most exciting Bach experiments. All five of them share the title Principal Artist. Of the instrumentalists, many remain from those brave first days; many have come since. All seem as eager and hungry as ever. They’re offered ever greater respect, but continue only to question themselves. Because still, they pride themselves on sitting ever so slightly outside the box. They wouldn’t want it any other way. ©Andrew Mellor
OAE TEAM
Orchestra Consultant Philippa Brownsword
Life President Sir Martin Smith
Chief Executive Crispin Woodhead
Choir Manager David Clegg
Finance and Governance Director Pascale Nicholls
Librarian Colin Kitching
Board of Directors Imogen Overli [Chairman] Steven Devine Denys Firth Adrian Frost Nigel Jones Max Mandel David Marks Rebecca Miller Roger Montgomery Andrew Roberts Katharina Spreckelsen Matthew Shorter Dr. Susan Tranter Crispin Woodhead
Development Director Emily Stubbs Projects Director Jo Perry Education Director Cherry Forbes Communications Director Elle Docx General Manager Edward Shaw Education Officer Andrew Thomson Projects Officer Sophie Adams Finance Officer Fabio Lodato Digital Content Officer Zen Grisdale
Leaders Huw Daniel Kati Debretzeni Margaret Faultless Matthew Truscott Players’ Artistic Committee Steven Devine Max Mandel Roger Montgomery Andrew Roberts Katharina Spreckelsen Principal Artists John Butt Sir Mark Elder Iván Fischer Vladimir Jurowski Sir Simon Rattle Sir András Schiff Emeritus Conductors William Christie Sir Roger Norrington
Marketing and Press Officer Anna Bennett Box Office and Data Manager Carly Mills Head of Individual Giving and Digital Development Marina Abel Smith Development Operations Officer Kiki Betts-Dean
Life President
OAE Trust Adrian Frost [Chairman] Paul Forman Steven Larcombe Alison McFadyen Caroline Noblet Imogen Overli Rupert Sebag-Montefiore Diane Segalen Maarten Slendebroek Sir Martin Smith Caroline Steane Honorary Council Sir Victor Blank Edward Bonham Carter Cecelia Bruggemeyer Stephen Levinson Marshall Marcus Julian Mash Greg Melgaard Susan Palmer OBE Jan Schlapp Susannah Simons Lady Smith OBE Rosalyn Wilkinson Mark Williams
SUPPORTERS OAE Thirty Circle
We are particularly grateful to the following members of the Thirty Circle who have so
generously contributed to the re-financing
of the Orchestra through the OAE Trust. Thirty Circle Patrons Bob and Laura Cory
Sir Martin Smith and Lady Smith OBE Thirty Circle Members
Victoria and Edward Bonham Carter
Nigel Jones and Françoise Valat-Jones
Selina and David Marks
Julian and Camilla Mash
Mark and Rosamund Williams
OAE Experience scheme
- Principal Keyboard
Ann and Peter Law
Jenny and Tim Morrison
Corporate Partners
Caroline Noblet
Champagne Deutz
Lubbock Fine Chartered Accountants Mark Allen Group
- Second Violin - Oboe
Andrew Nurnberg
- Principal Oboe
Swan Turton
Professor Richard Portes
Corporate Associates
Olivia Roberts
Bannenberg and Rowell
John and Rosemary Shannon
Aston Lark Gelato
Season Patrons
John Armitage Charitable Trust Julian and Annette Armstrong Adrian Frost
Nigel Jones and Françoise Valat-Jones
Selina and David Marks
Imogen and Haakon Overli
Sir Martin Smith and Lady Smith OBE Philip and Rosalyn Wilkinson
Mark and Rosamund Williams
One Anonymous Donor Project Patrons
Anthony and Celia Edwards Bruce Harris
One Anonymous Donor Aria Patrons
Mrs A Boettcher
Stanley Lowy
Gary and Nina Moss
Rupert Sebag-Montefiore
Maarten and Taina Slendebroek
Caroline Steane Eric Tomsett
Chair Patrons
Mrs Nicola Armitage
- Education Director
Hugh and Michelle Arthur - Double Bass
Victoria and Edward Bonham Carter -Principal Trumpet
Ian S Ferguson and Dr Susan Tranter
-
Double Bass
James Flynn QC
- Principal Lute/Theorbo
Paul Forman
- Principal Cello, Principal Horn, Violin
Jonathan and Tessa Gaisman - Viola
Michael and Harriet Maunsell
- Principal Bassoon - Violin
- Principal Horn
Roger and Pam Stubbs - Clarinet
Crispin Woodhead and Christine Rice - Principal Timpani
Education Patrons
Mrs Nicola Armitage
Patricia and Stephen Crew Rory and Louise Landman
Sir Timothy and Lady Lloyd
Andrew & Cindy Peck
Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA Rising Stars Supporters
Annette and Julian Armstrong Mrs Rosamund Bernays Denys and Vicki Firth Bruce Harris
Ms Madeleine Hodgkin Mrs Sarah Holford
Nigel Jones and Francoise Valat-Jones Peter & Veronica Lofthouse Mark and Liza Loveday Mr Andrew Nurnberg
Old Possum's Practical Trust Imogen and Haakon Overli
The Reed Foundation Associate Patrons
Charles and Julia Abel Smith Noël and Caroline Annesley
Sir Richard Arnold and Mary Elford
Catherine and Barney Burgess Katharine Campbell
David and Marilyn Clark David Emmerson
Peter and Sally Hilliar
Steven Larcombe
Moira and Robert Latham
Sir Timothy and Lady Lloyd
Alison McFadyen
Roger Mears and Joanie Speers
David Mildon in memory of Lesley Mildon
Stuart Martin
Michael Marks Charitable Trust
Stephen and Penny Pickles
Old Possum’s Practical Trust
Paul Rivlin
Palazzetto Bru-Zane
MM Design - France
Cynthia and Neil McClennan
Jonathan Parker Charitable Trust
John Ransom
Peter Rosenthal
Alan Sainer
Sue Sheridan OBE
Mr and Mrs Tony Timms
The Patrick Rowland Foundation
David Wilson
Peter Stebbings Memorial Charity
John Nickson and Simon Rew Andrew and Cindy Peck
Ivor Samuels and Gerry Wakelin Emily Stubbs and Stephen McCrum
Shelley von Strunckel
Matthew & Sarah Shorter Mrs Joy Whitby
Mr J Westwood
Six Anonymous Donors
Two Anonymous Donors
Young Patron
Gold Friends
Marianne and William Cartwright-Hignett
Robert Wilkinson
Michael Brecknell
Gerard Cleary
Ed Abel Smith
Elizabeth George David Gillbe
Mr and Mrs C Cochin de Billy
Sam Hucklebridge
Anthony and Carol Rentoul
Peter Yardley-Jones
Chris Gould
David and Ruth Samuels Mr Anthony Thompson
Henry Mason
Young Ambassador Patron
Two Anonymous Donors
Jessica Kemp
Silver Friends
Rebecca Miller
Dennis and Sheila Baldry
Tony Burt
Breandán Knowlton
Apax Foundation
Anthony and Jo Diamond
Ashley Family Foundation
Malcolm Herring
Boshier-Hinton Foundation
Rupert and Alice King
Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust
Mr and Mrs Michael Cooper
Arts Council England
Rachel & Charles Henderson
Barbour Foundation
Brian Mitchell Charitable Settlement
Alison and Ian Lowdon
The Charles Peel Charitable Trust
Her Honour Suzanne Stewart
Chivers Trust
Susannah Simons
Chapman Charitable Trust
Two Anonymous Donors
Derek Hill Foundation
Bronze Friends
Dyers Company
Tony Baines
Robin Broadhurst
Graham and Claire Buckland Dan Burt
D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Ernest Cook Trust
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Fidelio Charitable Trust Foyle Foundation
Sir Anthony & Lady Cleaver
Garfield Weston Foundation
Roger Easy
Geoffrey Watling Charity
Michael A Conlon Mrs SM Edge
Mrs Mary Fysh
Stephen & Cristina Goldring Martin and Helen Haddon
Garrick Charitable Trust Henocq Law Trust
JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation J Paul Getty Jnr
General Charitable Trust
Ray and Liz Harsant
John Lyon’s Charity
Mrs Auriel Hill
Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust
The Lady Heseltine Julian Markson
Orchestras Live
Parabola Foundation
Paul Bassham Charitable Trust Peter Cundill Foundation PF Charitable Trust
Pitt-Rivers Charitable Trust Radcliffe Trust
Rainbow Dickinson Trust RK Charitable Trust
Schroder Charity Trust Sir James Knott Trust Sobell Foundation
Stanley Picker Trust
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust The Loveday Charitable Trust
The R&I Pilkington Charitable Trust The Shears Foundation
The Vernon Ellis Foundation
Trusts & Foundations
Christopher Campbell
Patricia Herrmann
National Foundation for Youth Music
Linbury Trust
Metropolitan Masonic Charity
The OAE continues to grow and thrive through the generosity of our supporters. We are very grateful to our sponsors and Patrons and hope you will consider joining them. We offer a close involvement in the life of the Orchestra with many opportunities to meet players, attend rehearsals and even accompany us on tour. For more information on supporting the OAE please contact Emily Stubbs Development Director
emily.stubbs@oae.co.uk
0208 159 9318
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WE MOVED INTO A SCHOOL We are thrilled to announce that we are now the resident orchestra of Acland Burghley School in Camden, North London. The residency – a first for a British orchestra – allows us to live, work and play amongst the students of the school. Three offices have been adapted for our administration team, alongside a recording studio and library. We use the Grade II listed school assembly hall as a rehearsal space, with plans to refurbish it under the school’s ‘A Theatre for All’ project, so for the first time, we will all be in the same place: players, staff and library! Crispin Woodhead, our chief executive who came up with the idea of a new partnership, says: “Our accommodation at Kings Place was coming to an agreed end and we needed to find a new home. I felt that we should not settle for a conventional office space solution. We already had a strong relationship with many schools in Camden through our education programme and our appeal hit the desk of Kat Miller, director of operations at Acland Burghley School. She was working on ways to expand the school’s revenue from its resources and recognised that their excellent school hall might be somewhere we could rehearse. It felt like a thunderbolt and meant we wanted to find a way for this place to be our home, and embark on this new adventure to challenge and transform the way we engage with young adults.” The school isn't just our landlord or physical home. Instead, it will offer the opportunity to build on twenty years of work in the borough through OAE’s long-standing partnership with Camden Music. Having already worked in eighteen of the local primary schools that feed into ABS, the plans moving forward are to support music and arts across the school into the wider community. This new move underpins our core ‘enlightenment’ mission of reaching as wide an audience as possible. A similar project was undertaken in 2015 in Bremen, Germany. The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie moved into a local comprehensive school in a deprived area and the results were described as “transformational”, with improved academic performance, language skills, mental health and IQ scores; reputational benefits; greater interest in and engagement with music among pupils; strengthened links between school, orchestra and community; and even, according to some of the musicians who took part, an improvement in the Kammerphilharmonie’s playing. Margaret Faultless, OAE leader and violinist, said: “As classical musicians, it can often feel as though we exist in a bubble. I think I can speak for the whole Orchestra when I say that we’re all looking forward to this new adventure. We are all used to meeting with people from outside the classical music world of course, but the value of our new project lies in the long-term work we’ll be doing at the school and the relationship that will hopefully develop between the students, their parents and teachers and the orchestra.” “The members of the Bremen Kammerphilharmonie said their experience actually improved them as an orchestra and I think the same will happen to us over the next five or so years, and it will remind all of us of the reasons we make music, which are sometimes easy to forget, especially in our strange and troubled times.” continues Margaret. “I am certainly looking forward to learning from the young people at Acland Burghley and in turn introducing them to the joys of our music and music-making.” The move has been made possible with a leadership grant of £120,000 from The Linbury Trust, one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. Their support is facilitating the move to the school and underwriting the first three years of education work.
OAE EDUCATION A PROGRAMME TO INVOLVE, EMPOWER AND INSPIRE Over the past twenty years OAE Education has grown in stature and reach to involve thousands of people nationwide in creative music projects. Our participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and we pride ourselves in working flexibly, adapting to the needs of local people and the places they live. The extensive partnerships we have built up over many years help us engage fully with all the communities where we work to ensure maximum and lasting impact. We take inspiration from the OAE's repertoire, instruments and players. This makes for a vibrant, challenging and engaging programme where everyone is involved; players, animateurs, composers, participants, teachers, partners and stakeholders all have a valued voice.
SUPPORT OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMME The work we do could not happen without the support of our generous donors. If you would like to support our education programme please contact Marina Abel Smith, Head of Individual Giving and Digital Development marina.abelsmith@oae.co.uk 0208 159 9319
OAE TOTS at Saffron Hall
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The OAE is a registered charity number 295329 Registered company number 2040312. Acland Burghley School, 93 Burghley Road, London NW5 1UH 0208 159 9310 | info@oae.co.uk Photography | Zen Grisdale