A summer afternoon with friends and supporters - in pictures

By Southern Sinfonia 

Continuing our summer theme, we wanted to share some pictures of a recent evening Southern Sinfonia spent entertaining supporters at Combe Manor...

Our Chairman John Horsey talks to guests

Managing Director Kay Lawrence entertaining guests

Close friends Mary and David Russell, who hosted the event 

James Sherlock and Benjamin Appl on stage about to perform

Hannah Medlam, Benjamin Appl and James Sherlock 

Click here to find out how you can become involved with Southern Sinfonia. You can also visit our website, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook pages to find out more. 

Not to be missed - a look at autumn's Café Concerts

By Julia Hudson 

This week on the blog, I am delighted to announce the first events of our 25^th anniversary season – the Café Concerts. We have programmed a varied and fascinating selection of events, and I wanted to take the opportunity of having a little more space than in the various brochures to talk you through them!

As usual, all the Café Concerts take place in the auditorium of the Corn Exchange, Newbury on a Friday lunchtime at 1pm. First, on 26^th September, the winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2014, Martin James Bartlett, joins us for an hour of piano music. Currently just 17 years old, the Royal College of Music calls him “one of the greatest up and coming young piano talents in the music world”, as he moves to take up his place there in September. On winning the competition, Martin said "It's such an amazing feeling. It's not just the highlight of my musical career, it's the highlight of my life." He was a worthy winner; reviews of his playing in the final mentioned “crisp articulation and playing of superb strength...a particularly individual performance of great character” (Bruce Reader, The Classical Reviewer) and we are very much looking forward to welcoming him to our series.

The second concert, on 17^th October, is the explosive and dynamic Villiers Quartet and their programme ‘Celebrating England’. The Quartet has established itself as one of the most charismatic and adventurous quartets of the British chamber music scene, and as such are bringing a this theme to their Corn Exchange recital. Their programme ranges from the evocative work of Delius, Britten and Bridge to a multimedia performance of Chris Roe’s ‘Jetez!’, and also features Britten contemporary and lesser-known composer Robert Still, who lived for 22 years and died in local Bucklebury, near Newbury. Hailed as "one of the best young quartets around today" (Jerry Horner), their concert, complete with projector and animation, promises to be a revolutionary approach to traditional string quartet performance.

Finally, on 21^st November, we welcome our second ‘Secrets of the Orchestra’ concert. Having had a wonderful hour with the winds, it is now the turn of the brass section, in ‘Brass Unwrapped’. Some of Southern Sinfonia’s most well-loved and prestigious brass players, curated by trumpeter Howard Rowntree, give an insight into the dynamics of playing trumpet, horn, trombone and tuba in the orchestra. An educational session in part, this concert will inform and entertain children from 10 upwards, while still being fascinating and beautiful for adults like you and I: the beauty being that, however knowledgeable we are about music, we have not spent years as professional brass players! The group will perform stunning music, written or arranged for brass quintet, and give an insightful and often amusing account of orchestral performance. A concert not to be missed.

As Southern Sinfonia’s season finishes, we say goodbye to our Administrator, Anita Forsyth-Forrest, as she retires this week. We will all miss her and we thank her for eleven years with the orchestra. In September, we welcome our new Intern, Richard Brewer, as he joins us upon his graduation from the University of Sheffield. He will be a regular contributor to this blog and we look forward to hearing his erudite thoughts and opinions!

As we continue to prepare for next season and take a well-earned summer holiday, our blog posts will become fortnightly. We promise, though, that we will be Promming and Glyndebourne-ing to the very best of our ability – and we hope you have a wonderful summer.

To find out more about Southern Sinfonia; click here to visit our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Glastonbury, but crowdfunded - London Sinfonietta plays for free

Jonny Greenwood Copyright: @Ldn_Sinfonietta 

By Julia Hudson 

It’s been a while since I enthralled readers of this blog with my weekend activities, but thankfully it’s back on the cards, albeit rather tenuously. It was my twenty-seventh birthday on Saturday (I know, so old) and I had a lovely day celebrating with my family and boyfriend in the rain. It has rained just three times in my lifetime on 28^th June, and as everyone took delight in telling me, this year it was because my birthday clashed with a certain Somerset festival.

While Glastonbury in general isn’t usually what we’d choose to discuss on our classical music blog, this year there was something which caught our collective eye. London Sinfonietta (including one of our most loyal percussionists, Owen Gunnell) was booked to perform Steve Reich’s iconic Music for 18 Musicians, a spellbinding blend of voices and instruments, with Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, who performed Electric Counterpoint. However, unlike Dolly Parton, Metallica, Johnny himself and the other world-famous artists who performed at Glastonbury, London Sinfonietta was asked to fund their appearance themselves, rather than being paid. Its website says:

“Our set of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians and Electric Counterpoint will bring contemporary classical music to this world famous stage and a huge new audience – over 170,000 people.

But it's no mean feat taking all 18 players, their instruments and our production crew, more used to a concert hall, to a muddy field! The costs of doing so are substantial and we need to cover the large majority of these ourselves, but this is too good an opportunity to miss. This performance also enables us to extend our season with a repeat performance at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall – increasing our audience even further.

So we really need your help: if you love new music as much as we do please join our crowd-funding campaign and break this new – hopefully not too muddy! - ground with us. In return we'll say thank you with a whole host of goodies, including access to a rehearsal, signed photos and limited edition t-shirts.”

Percussionist Owen Gunnell plays with Southern Sinfonia in 2013

The classical music world has responded with outcry. Composer Philip Lawton has asked London Sinfonietta for the reasoning behind Glastonbury’s decision, saying that “Glastonbury, it seems, are creating a sort of two-tier system: The people they actually want, who they pay, and the people who they think “Oh, wouldn’t that be fun/newsworthy/diverse of us?” who have to pay their own way.” He also makes the point that Steve Reich, the composer chosen, is one of the most popular and often-programmed contemporary composers today. The orchestra responded honestly: “When the chance came up, and we agreed to play there, we knew there would be a funding gap we needed to fill, but we decided to take the opportunity on the basis of the huge value there is in the exposure for us, and contemporary classical music more widely. We hope very much that [this performance] will bring new audiences to the rest of the work we do.” Admirable, for certain, and, as Philip says, it is Glastonbury rather than the orchestra where the real condemnation should be directed.

Quite apart from the huge scale of the festival and the dream ticket sales figures, Glastonbury is in the luxurious position of having multiple events and advance tickets. This is almost unheard of in the classical world, and means that there is an entirely captive audience to whom anything can be played. This means that the financial viability need not be considered, and truly new and innovative music can be programmed, rather than 40 year old music known to many already.

One of London Sinfonietta’s percussionists, Oliver Lowe, wrote a blog about the event. He includes an account of the sound check: “Our short sound-check was soon underway...making sure each of us could hear all the necessary parts of the texture so we could stay together. This mainly involved making sure Marimba 1′s on-beat pulses were fed round the stage, particularly to Marimba 3 who holds the repeating pattern for each section and keeps everyone else locked in. This combination of on-beat pulses and repeated ostinato groove forms the basic rhythmic track for the piece. Everything else that’s played locks into those things, including the off-beat pulses Owen Gunnell and I were playing. These basic components are re-orchestrated throughout the piece, most notably in Section V where the pianos take responsibility from the marimbas, requiring a shift in monitor mixes to focus on the new source of tempo....A wrong move could have left us scrambling around in the aural dark, slowly becoming unglued as we lost touch with each other.” I know I’m biased as a classical musician, so please don’t shout, but did Metallica require quite this much expertise and concentration?

The freelance musicians of the classical music world are left constantly frustrated by this assumption that they will play “for exposure”. In the wedding market, for example, caterers, florists and marquee companies would never be expected to give away their product “for exposure”, but string quartets, singers and jazz groups are asked repeatedly. To make a sweeping generalisation, let’s say the average LS player at Glastonbury was 40. If they have had music lessons once every week throughout their youth, and three times a week through music college, they’ve had an minimum of 1500 lessons. Not including the cost of their instruments, music college fees, travel or anything else, each musician had spent about £50 000 on instrumental tuition by the time they graduated. Ignoring too the running costs of the organisation, plus the cost of the performers’ time, Glastonbury seems to have placed a value of precisely nothing on their ability. No musical trust or foundation has picked up the tab, either, despite the orchestra’s plea that it will bring contemporary classical music to a wider audience. Although Oliver Lowe attests that the performance drew a large crowd, and I have no doubt that it did, I would love to know how many of them will be turning up to the Southbank Centre as a result of that exposure. On a side note, I would also love to know how many of those other Glastonbury acts would have been able to get back on the coach and perform that same day at the Royal Opera House – not many, I would suggest.

To find out more about Southern Sinfonia; click here to visit our website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.  

A Year with Southern Sinfonia

James Chater (left) - Photo: Richard Johnson

By James Chater 

As July draws ever closer and the 2013-14 season reaches its conclusion, so too does my time with Southern Sinfonia. The year has passed in what feels like the blink of an eye and in the Autumn I will take up my place to read music at Oxford University, armed with every musician’s indispensable set of skills, namely; the high speed assembly of music stands and the preparation of an entire orchestra’s worth of tea and coffee using two kettles. A year with Southern Sinfonia has done far more than just further my musical education.

Upon arriving with the orchestra, last July, a fresh-faced school leaver, I was totally unsure of what to expect from the year. One thing I didn’t expect, however, was accusation of neo-Nazism. Arriving home one day near the start of September, I found a rather flustered-looking father briskly come to the door to quiz me about a worrying email he found on my laptop. A quick explanation that the email entitled ‘SS Plan’ pertained to Southern Sinfonia and not a covert cult smoothed things over. Ironically though, I would say that this is one priceless skill that I have picked up over the year; the ability to navigate an awkward conversation. Whether it is a concertgoer, a vicar of a church the orchestra has descended upon for a weekend or the musicians themselves (all well-intentioned, it goes without saying!), more so than ever I feel accustomed to steering through with only minor scratches. This being said, the diversity of people I have met, from world-famous conductors and musicians, to orchestral managers and vergers has been one of the most rewarding and exciting parts of my experience. The insights that these people have to offer in terms of their perception of the music you are listening to have only served to heighten my appreciation.

The Romance of Brahms meets Britain's Britten rehearsals 

Perhaps my favourite event over the past year was our first subscription concert of the season, ‘The romance of Brahms meets Britain’s Britten’. Not only was the music absolutely breathtaking (igniting in fact, a year long obsession with Brahms), but this was also my first opportunity to see how the inner cogs of an arts organisation turn slowly but surely to produce a truly memorable event. As a school student, you are blissfully unaware of the innumerable twists and turns that the planning of such a concert entails. Before, I would swan up to the hall on the day and play away, but this time was much different. The wonderful world of posters, tickets, flyering, logistics, photocopies of music, bowings were all thrust upon the team, and suddenly I became all too aware of the technicalities of such a concert. Needless to say, in true Southern Sinfonia style, the concert itself came to pass with minimal difficulty, apart from David Hill’s pesky shoe sole (there’s always one), which conveniently decided to detach itself moments before the evening began, leaving him to conduct shoe-less. Don’t say we don’t like a first here at Southern Sinfonia.

The wonderful world of posters!

On a purely selfish level, what this year has done has really put my (and I am loathed to say this cliché) passion for music into a new and sharper focus. Before, music was something that had a very limited context for me, perhaps to be expected, coming from a boarding-school environment. Yet, when you are able to see first-hand what music can do, in terms of education, in the joy that it brings audiences, and the undying love of music in those audiences, it gives me a great sense of affirmation that what I am going to be studying over the next three years has some real gravitas and longevity.

I could elaborate much further on all the benefits of my internship with the SS Team, but I fear it would be of Wagnerian length (oh, one more thing then – a deft eye for musical puns and analogies!). It just leaves me to thank everyone at SS HQ and all those associated for giving me such a wonderful and rewarding experience. I wait with bated breath until my return as guest blogger…

We are so pleased and fortunate to have had James with us this year. He has been a real asset (not just thanks to his ninja-like stand skills!) and it has been wonderful to get to know him over the season. We are very proud that he achieved his dream of going to Oxford, and are looking forward to hearing about his stories and successes.

We will very much miss his ability to make amazing coffee, though – apparently there’s some secret to do with microwaving milk...

-Julia Hudson, Assistant General Manager 

Click here to purchase tickets to our next Café Concert with harpist Olivia Jageurs and actor Alex Knox on Friday 20th June.

To find out about further Southern Sinfonia concerts click here to visit our website. You can also find out more through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Finding your feet in the arts - come & work with Southern Sinfonia!

By Julia Hudson

As many of you will have noted, we are advertising for an Intern. Although not the most glamorous job title, we are looking for a gap year student, graduate or someone looking to start their journey in the world of arts management. While, inevitably, they will prove their worth by a deft music stand manoeuvre at a critical moment, we hope that they will also learn a great deal by working with us for a season.

Quiet coffee moment before rehearsal at Greenwich

Now on the other side of the proverbial table, I feel able to comment on the usefulness of such a position because I started off my career in a similar position. Working in artist management with some concerts and festivals thrown in, I received enough money to cover approximately half an M&S sandwich a day and never worked so diligently in my life. I lived for six months with a very generous family of friends and commuted with the besuited bankers, spending a couple of evenings a week tutoring a lovely AS-level student to make some extra cash. At work, I learned extremely rapidly about everything from how to use (and clean) one of those complex-looking coffee machines to the ins and outs of contracts and A1 forms (don’t ask). The six months flew by, in a whirl of after-work drinks, concerts in some of the most prestigious venues in London – where the artist afterwards hugged and thanked you for booking his taxi there – and a mind-alteringly improved understanding of Microsoft Word.

Most crucially, I learned a great deal. Having already worked in a different sector, I thought I knew how to be organised, how to respond to emails and how to get the most out of a day at my desk. But here were new challenges – working towards others’ proclivities and timetables, answering the phone and the door (often simultaneously) and remembering that a lack of attention to detail could mean a ferry for twelve singers heading in the reverse direction to that which it was intended. Behind the glamorous veneer of concerts, recitals and festivals, there is an underworld of less exciting overseas travel logistics, tax, VAT, contracts, percentages and electronic diary management, which is time-consuming and often complex. In the orchestral world, the challenges vary slightly but still include tight schedules and similarly tight spaces in cathedrals, social media, publicity, printing, cataloguing and a wide range of admin tasks. It's a eye-opening introduction into something most of us never contemplated.

Typical concert-day rehearsal, in Bath Abbey

Most importantly, though, you’ll be learning constantly – surrounded by an experienced team of orchestral managers (ours also travel the world with artists as varied as Neville Marriner, Michael Buble and the Monteverdi Choir), our projects manager Natasha who is also one of our wonderful oboists (see her post here) and many more, your journey will be an informative and enjoyable one. Highlights for me include days spent in some of the most beautiful buildings our country has to offer, working with professional musicians, the local community and schoolchildren all in the same day, and trying to find extra chairs for our recent sold-out concert – I hope you find your own.

Our 13-14 intern James celebrating a place at Oxford with MD Kay

Southern Sinfonia is offering a three days per week, ten month voluntary placement in its small Administration and Management team. Based in Newbury, Berkshire, the Administration and Management internship offers the opportunity to gain experience of how a world-class and busy team works, in the areas of orchestral management, education and participation, artistic planning and administration. The successful candidate will work within the main office, music library and in venues throughout the South of England, working closely with a number of colleagues and musicians across the organisation. To apply, email julia@southernsinfonia.co.uk for a job description.

‘That way lies the death of opera’ - does this medium depend on more than voice?

By Julia Hudson 

There’s really only one topic I can choose to blog about this week, and it’s one that has been reverberating through the classical music world and implicating critic and performer alike.  Glyndebourne mezzo soprano Tara Erraught was criticised in a series of reviews of Der Rosenkavalier, in which she made her debut this weekend. Not for her singing, however, but for her appearance. Criticisms included the attestation by Andrew Clark of the Financial Times that she is “a chubby bundle of puppy-fat”, while Richard Morrison of the Times called her "unbelievable, unsightly and unappealing".

Many singers have responded; noting that all these critics were male, Jennifer Johnston suggested that “clearly overt sexism is rife” while mezzo soprano Alice Coote wrote an open letter to opera critics, in which she said that "we cannot people our operatic stages with singers that above all are believable visually or sexually attractive to our critics. That way lies the death of opera. It is not about lights, it is not about costumes, it's not about sets, it's not even about sex or stature. It is ALL about the human voice. Critics, I beg you: Be kind to young singers - you may change the trajectory of their lives and career if you wound them with your words."

It goes without saying that, as a member of the fairer sex just a year younger than Miss Erraught, I find any suggestion of casual sexism appalling. I recognize the value of the movement against it, entitled “Everyday Sexism”, and I feel saddened that such occasions are still present in the modern day. However, I cannot go so far as to agree with Alice Coote wholeheartedly.

"Have we arrived at a point where opera is no longer about singing but about the physiques and looks of the singers, specifically the female singers?" Jennifer Johnston wrote in an opinion column for the Guardian. This would be a tragedy; the notion of image and ‘the way things appear’ permeate every aspect of the media increasingly, and all art forms are affected. Some for the better; the cinema transmission of opera and the flexibility of technology are opening up the world of classical music to new audiences, but some, as here, for the worse. However, does Alice Coote go too far, when she suggests that opera is “ALL about the human voice”? Given the substantial budget of Glyndebourne and comparable companies, and the wonderful effects the sets, lights and costumes have on the audience, I would suggest that the effectiveness of opera as a medium goes beyond merely the sound of the voice. Even concert performance, a field with which we at Southern Sinfonia are even more familiar, is subject to this; our rehearsals sound lovely, but there’s a reason we wear white tie and long black dresses for most of our bookings, and that some of our most stunning performances take place in the most beautiful cathedrals in the world.

I visit Glyndebourne every year (they do a wonderful under 30’s £30 ticket offer) and year before last I was bowled over by a production of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges. An opera I knew well thanks to a university production, I was transported into a magical world where everything was scaled up to emphasise the small, overwhelmed nature of the little boy (another mezzo in a ‘male’ role). It goes without saying that the singing was wonderful, but the enormous chair and the oversized squirrels undoubtedly contributed tremendously to the overall spectacle. Without the production, I could have listened to the music in the comfort of my own home.

There is a huge disparity between ‘believability’ and ‘sexual attractiveness’, and it could be said that Coote is unfair to suggest that critics are starting to look before they hear. Believability is relevant to any performer, and most from the acting profession would agree that it is crucial to the success of a production. However, for me it is an expressive face, a sense that the performer has immersed themselves into the role, and an emotional connection – in opera, these come from a wonderful voice, yes, but also a commitment to acting the role, both visually and orally. Most would agree that, today, it is not enough to stand on a stage and sing the notes, and I applaud this development, particularly as opera is arguably the most multidimensional art form, involving singing, acting, dancing, poetry and staging.

Credit: Christian Kaufmann

Retuning to this week, however, perhaps by being more specific Rupert Christiansen’s comment in the Telegraph is slightly more helpful. "There is no doubt of the talent of this young Irish mezzo, but she is dumpy of stature and... her costuming makes her resemble something between Heidi and Just William." It already asks a certain amount of a modern audience, used to the best CGI and computer-aided transformations, to remember that a woman with long hair and a skirt is actually meant to be a man in period dress. A woman diminutive in height (and I speak from experience, although I would prefer not to be termed ‘dumpy’) probably doesn’t make a very convincing man. Surely, then, a more suitable critique would be of the production, and the costuming, as Rupert Christiansen has (almost) done, rather than the singer? It appears to me that Tara Erraught has merely arrived in Sussex and delivered an “outstanding” performance. Above all, this is what must be applauded – as it undoubtedly was, and will be for the rest of the season. 

If you would like to learn more about Southern Sinfonia please visit our website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 

New Works and New Collaborations - introducing the Villiers Quartet

By Julia Hudson 

At a recent rehearsal, I was approached by someone with an expression of bafflement asking why appearances suggested our principal cello was still at Music College. An understandable (and rather flattering!) question, they were in fact referring to the fresh-faced Nick Stringfellow, cellist with Southern Sinfonia for eight years and counting. This week, we are so pleased to announce his Quartet, one of the most exciting groups on the classical music scene, as Quartet in Association.

Named after Villiers Street in London's energetic and colourful musical epicentre, the Quartet is completed by James Dickenson (violin), Tamaki Higashi (violin) and Carmen Flores (viola). This week, we cornered Nick and asked him a few questions about the collaboration and what the Quartet is all about.

What defines the Villiers Quartet?

Nothing is outside of the Villiers Quartet's repertoire as they define the string quartet for the 21st century. Dedicated to the established works of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms, they have also developed a reputation as exceptional interpreters of English composers including Elgar, Britten, Delius, and Thomas Adès. Having toured across the UK and internationally, they have been declared "one of the best young quartets around today" (Jerry Horner), and their performances of Shostakovich and Tischenko have been hailed as "masterful playing" (Classical Source).

Why is this a great collaboration?

This is a fantastic collaboration. Southern Sinfonia and the Villiers Quartet are both very innovative organisations. Trailblazing with competitions like "VQ New Works" and "Newbury Older Musician of the Year", both are at the forefront of modern live performance, embracing new media and constantly searching for new ways of presenting their concerts.  With incomparable performances and exciting programming they are making waves within musical life. Bringing Southern Sinfonia and Villiers Quartet together will make for an amazing musical collision.....I can't wait!

You've played with Southern Sinfonia for eight years. How is playing in a chamber orchestra and a quartet different, and which do you prefer?

Southern Sinfonia is different to many other orchestras in that it feels like a large chamber ensemble. There is such great communication between the players, which allows the music making to be very spontaneous. For this reason there are actually many similarities. However, string quartet playing is like nothing else. There is such discipline and concentration required and it is often a cerebral experience. There are great demands on the players to be constantly listening and assessing balance and varying colour and articulation.  As for which do I prefer?.....................you'd have to get me very drunk to divulge that information!

What do you have coming up that you're particularly looking forward to?

We are about to start the selection process for our VQ New Works Competition and have received entries from all across the world. The task for composers is to write a piece for string quartet. After an initial selection process, footage of the final six pieces recorded by us will be posted online. Then for up to a month afterwards voters can log on to our site and vote for their favourite piece. The grand final held at Kings Place, London on 21st September will showcase the final three and a winner will be chosen by an audience vote, which will also include the online audience watching our live stream. Our recording of last year's winning piece, "Sanctus" by Riho Maimets, will be released in the lead up to the competition.

Do you have any particular memories of playing for Southern Sinfonia you would like to share?

Working together on Carl Rutti's Requiem was a wonderful experience. We gave the world premiere in Winchester Cathedral with David Hill conducting and all felt that we were part of something really special. With all the great choral works there must have been a point at which they take flight, and we felt privileged to contribute to this musical milestone. Later in the season we made the premiere recording at St John's, Smith Square.

Thank you, Nick, for talking to us – we will endeavour to prise that answer out of you sometime soon! We are so pleased to welcome the Villiers Quartet into the Southern Sinfonia family; make sure to stay updated on their performances with us next season. You can also visit their website www.villiersquartet.com, follow them on Twitter @villiersquartet and make sure to follow the VQ New Works Competition as it progresses with the deadline for entries on Monday.

The Rutti Requiem is available to purchase from our store, click here to purchase and browse though the range of items also available. 

You can also get in touch with Southern Sinfonia through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To find out more about the orchestra please visit our website. 

Another supercalifragilisticexpialidocious year - BBC Proms launch 2014

By Julia Hudson 

As I’m sure our readership is aware by now, we are fond of the Proms here at the Southern Sinfonia offices. Once we discovered we could make it from Berkshire desk (via Paddington, and that deceptively long walk from South Kensington tube) to take our seats in time for a 7.30pm kick off, there was no stopping us. We are pleased and proud to see our beloved Patron Sir Roger Norrington will be at the helm of two Proms this summer; on 26^th July he will conduct his Zurich Chamber Orchestra in a St John Passion, with a cast of singers led by legendary James Gilchrist, and 3^rd September finds him as Honorary Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, performing, Beethoven, Dvořák and Berlioz. As if this wasn’t enough, our wonderful Musical Director David Hill will be conducting his BBC Singers on 13^th August in a late-night Steve Reich Prom with Endymion. Intriguingly, all three concerts have been featured in the Proms’ ‘handpicked list’ of Classical for Starters; concerts to choose if you are new to classical music. 

In contrast to these varied yet comforting choices, there are of course the attention-grabbers; much to our surprise we loved the Urban Classic Prom last year, but this year Laura Mvula is joined by Paloma Faith, Rufus Wainwright and the Pet Shop Boys. The Pet Shop Boys are premiering their homage to Alan Turing, the pioneering computer scientist and World War II codebreaker prosecuted for homosexuality who received a posthumous royal pardon this year. Neil Tennant describes the work as “very different from anything else we’ve ever done”, and this 40-minute work ‘A Man From the Future’ will combine orchestra, electronic instruments, a chorus and narrator. Other notably ‘different’ Proms include a BBC Sport Prom, hosted by Gabby Logan, a CBeebies Prom, which prompted Roger Wright at the launch to describe the season (his last) as ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, and a War Horse Prom involving Gareth Malone and his Military Wives Choir.

© John Wright

So far, so accessible, different, and novel. However, as Tom Service excellently put it in the Guardian, “it’s the genuine novelties I’m looking forward to, the 32 premieres of one stripe or another, including music by Simon Holt (27 July), Gabriel Prokofiev (29 July), Helen Grime (9 August), and Jörg Widmann (two pieces played by the Cleveland Orchestra on 7 and 8 September). Most intriguing of all is Benedict Mason’s Meld on 16 August, a piece whose mechanics are remaining as secret as possible beforehand, but which promises to confound "what we think of as an orchestra, of a concert, and even of music itself", as the brochure has it.” The season is also studded with performances marking the 80th birthdays of our greatest composers, Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle, as well as many other anniversaries. As Roger Wright says, “Sir Roger (80 this year) will, like Sir Andrew Davis (70), Donald Runnicles (60) and

Edward Gardner (40), conduct two Proms and it is a thrill to welcome back Sir Neville Marriner in his 90th-birthday year, with the orchestra he founded, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, alongside its new Music Director, Joshua Bell.”

However, in my view, one of the most important developments this year has rather gone unnoticed. As one tiny part of Roger Wright’s legacy, this year all the Proms will be on iPlayer, there is a dedicated Proms button on the BBC iPlayer Radio app, six interactive BBC iWonder guides, and the addition of BBC Playlister, where music lovers can build playlists of their favourite presenters’ recommended works from the season. Already used as part of the BBC’s Glastonbury coverage, this illustrates the unique ability of the Proms, to solidify listeners’ relationship with music beyond a single night’s acquaintance. As an appropriate nod to the commemoration of Alan Turing, this demonstrates that, without shouting about it or losing its heart, the Proms is consistently remaining at the forefront of the year’s musical calendar for a contemporary generation.

So, what implications does this launch have for Southern Sinfonia? It is undeniable that interaction is key to solidify support for large-scale projects and events; we are fortunate to have platforms such as this blog and our website and social media feeds. We also enjoy working with a huge number of artistic organisations, from choral societies to universities, all with their own supporters, so we are constantly meeting new friends. Secondly, it is clear from the 2014 Proms series that diversity and variety allows the joy of the festival to spread across generations; we support this ethos through our education work and Young and Older Musician of the Year competitions.  With our own anniversary next season, and a host of projects across musical spheres and ages in the planning, we look forward to sharing our own launch with you.

Before then we have a number of other exciting concerts on the horizon, including Café Concert with harpist Olivia Jageurs and actor Alex Knox (both pictured above) on Friday 20th June; click here to find out more about this event. 

The heats for our Newbury Young Musician of the Year Competition are currently being held so keep checking our website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates!

Our first job is to let the music speak - An interview with James Sherlock

By Julia Hudson 

This week we welcome pianist extraordinaire James Sherlock to the blog, ahead of his Café Concert performance this Friday.

One of the most engaging and versatile pianists of his generation, he performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. Friday’s programme features the music of Bach and Chopin through to the jazzy ebullience of Richard Rodney Bennett.

We’re so looking forward to welcoming you to the Corn Exchange next week for a solo recital. You are a multi-talented musician, conducting and accompanying as well as playing alone. Do you feel that this enriches each type of performance?

For me it certainly does. It's only in recent generations that musicians have tended to specialise in one discipline, which is of course a great thing and has given us many of the world's finest instrumentalists. I have always rather admired the composer/pianists such as Rachmaninov or the great figure of J.S. Bach, playing numerous instruments and writing music for all arenas. I personally find, on a much more modest scale, that all the different domains feed each other and help one find numerous channels into the music.

You’re performing a range of repertoire that encompasses a wide variety of styles. Is this more demanding than a concert showcasing one composer, or is it more fun?

Each great composer has absolutely their own world, and it can be a difficult thing to present so many styles, both for the performer and for the audience. The physical sensation of playing one composer may be completely different to that of another, and one notices this most with the jump from German music to French. But a carefully thought-through musical journey can also be highly rewarding, and the substantial works in this programme will allow the audience to live inside each of these extraordinary worlds of imagination.

To which piece do you have a particular affinity, and why? Do you think this comes through in your performance?

Pianists are fortunate people because our instrument has a richer body of literature than any other. I think we are all drawn to particular works, even if we don't often know why, and I think that each of these pieces compelled me towards them. We do sometimes have to play things we understand or like less, often a request or a commission or whatever it may be. But I am happiest when I can choose works, such as for this recital, that I feel at one with.

In terms of the music itself, are there any moments in the pieces you have chosen which we should be listening out for specifically?

I think that in the works for this recital the music speaks clearly for itself. The Bach Chaconne is the grandest possible set of variations, spun from a short four bar "Chaconne" theme heard at the outset. Rather than expanding the original violin work for the piano, I feel Busoni has rather orchestrated the entire composition for symphonic resources, and then reduced this vision to the medium of the piano! 

The Barcarolle by Chopin is a Venetian boating song, with a love duet floating atop rippling waves. Chopin's contemporary and great admirer Schumann had one of the greatest lyric gifts of any composer, and we hear him today with two of his most beautiful melodies, one a song without words for the piano, the other Widmung, an eternally popular Lied, transcribed here with the usual finesse by Liszt. 

And finally, the Excursions of Richard Rodney Bennett, one of the foremost British composers of the last century. His death on Christmas Eve in 2012 was a great loss, but he left behind a vast and eclectic output: these three pieces were modelled on the well known set of Three Preludes by George Gershwin, and are a real tour de force.

There has been a good deal of coverage in the media of late, discussing a style of playing which some might call ‘over performing’. While we all know giving a performance is a crucial part of a recital, what relation does this have to the notes?

Well our first job is to let the music speak, and as we are daily involved in bringing to life the music of other composers, we first have to seek to understand and channel as much as we can of that composer's vision into our music making. Some performers are naturally extroverted, others quite the reverse: variety is a blessed thing, and each way is equally valid. I suppose "over-performing" in this context is when the performers feel that the music itself is not sufficient, that they need to impose something of themselves onto it rather than let the music release something within them. We're all capable of getting in the way, but through an open and honest approach to music we hope that something of our true selves, something universal, can shine through.

What is the future of solo recital? Will a piano and a person soon stop being enough?

Recitals started in the drawing room as domestic activities. With the age of Liszt and Paganini they grew in size and grandeur, and right now we are seeing across the world (and particularly for new audiences in Asia) a huge wave of enthusiasm for this medium. I wouldn't dare to predict the future of concert-going, but I can't see the original appeal of the intimate recital ever losing its place.

What would be your dream performance? Programme, venue… the lot?!

If I had to live with one composer only it would be J.S. Bach, and over the next two years I will be playing his Well-Tempered Clavier, two sets of 24 Preludes and Fugues, one in every key. My dream is to record these works, beginning with the first book, which I have recently played in the Edinburgh and City of London Festivals. The most wonderful acoustic I know for intimate music making is Wigmore Hall, so it would be perfect eventually to present these pieces there. I'm sure there are many more dream projects in my imagination, but this one will continue consume me for the foreseeable future!

To book tickets to this Café Concert, click here (be quick - they’re selling fast!). To find out more about James Sherlock, visit his website. You can also get in touch with him (@JamesPSherlock) and us (@sinfoniasouth) on Twitter. For more information about all our Café Concerts, visit our website.

“Water is the driving force in nature”

By Chris Billingham and Julia Hudson 

As some may already know, in the early 1900’s large cracks began to appear in the walls and ceilings of Winchester Cathedral. The solution to this problem came in the form of William Walker, a deep-sea diver who worked underwater in complete darkness for six years. However, before this story goes any further, I should probably take a step back and explain why I’m telling it.

Southern Sinfonia is fortunate enough to perform in some beautiful venues throughout the year. From St Nicolas Church and William the Conqueror to Douai Abbey and the St Edmund's monks, each venue has a fascinating history. But does this history add grandeur to a performance? Will an audience know a venue’s history? Is it fair to say that a venue’s visual appearance makes it atmospheric, rather than the events that took place many years before? 

To consider these questions, I began to look into the histories of some of our upcoming venues. The recent flooding and subsequent problems the nation has faced makes it hard not to immediately think of Winchester Cathedral, the location of ‘The Great Turning’, a concert which will see the premiere of a new educational work by June Boyce-Tillman. This beautiful cathedral has recently fallen victim to heavy rainfall and floods; a post on their official Twitter page shows the water level in the crypt at its highest in recent memory. 

With this in mind, I began to research the cathedral and found that, in fact, water plays a big part in its history. As the huge cracks started to appear in the early 1900s and the Cathedral seemed in danger of complete collapse, architect Thomas Jackson decided that the solution was to underpin the building’s south and east walls with new foundations. The problem with this was that the narrow trenches they planned to dig would need to reach 4 metres (13 feet) below water to be effective. As workmen dug, water flooded into their trenches and they soon realised the work would have to be completed underwater. This realisation led to diver William Walker being tasked with labouring under water for six hours a day, using his bare hands to dig through muddy water and excavate the flooded trenches to then fill them with bags of concrete. When he had completed this task, the groundwater could be pumped out and workmen were able to safely underpin the subsiding walls.

An enthralling story and testament to one man’s huge achievement, I feel a huge amount of respect for the memory of William Walker; at the concert, an added appreciation of the fact that this beautiful venue is still standing will add to my enjoyment of the music. While not everyone in the audience will know about William Walker, they will all be aware of the recent problems the flooding has caused the venue, prompting the same reaction of appreciation from two events over 100 years apart.  

Somewhat fittingly, water has always played a large part in Christianity; from Jesus’s baptism in the River Jordan to the miracle of the calming of the storm, water is seen as both a positive and negative manifestation of the forces of nature. In April, Southern Sinfonia is performing Bach’s Mass in B minor in the Chapel at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, alongside The Old Royal Naval College Choir. His last major artistic undertaking and his most spectacular, it was unusual for a composer of Bach’s Lutheran tradition to compose a full Catholic Mass, but whatever his motivation may have been it was an opportunity for him to rework some of his previous composition. Written over an extended period, the original manuscript shows that Bach divided the Mass in four major sections, similar to the sections in the Roman Catholic Mass Ordinary. The first section is the Missa, and includes the Kyrie and Gloria. The second is the Symbolum Nicenum (or the Credo). The third consists of a single movement, the Sanctus, and the fourth is entitled Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem. Surprisingly, given the diversity of the material, Bach managed to shape a coherent sequence of movements and create a unified work, which he could easily have intended to stand as a memorial of his immense skill.

Leonardo da Vinci said that “water is the driving force in nature” and our sadly topical watery theme comes full circle, via floods and underpinning in Winchester, the glorious Chapel in the beautiful Greenwich Naval College, and on to our next concert, ‘Mr Handel’s Water Music’, in St Lawrence’s, Hungerford. Interestingly, our theme for this programme comes from a triumphal river pageant: Handel enjoyed his extended visits to London, where he became fêted by the royal family and in particular George I.  In the summer of 1717 a concert was planned on the River Thames and Handel was commissioned by the king to write ‘Water Music’, which finishes this programme. Our concert begins with the favourite ‘Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’.  We then perform two pieces that show his aptitude for solo composition: ‘Oboe Concerto No. 1’ and ‘Violin Sonata in D major’.  ‘Concerto Grosso Op 6 No. 12’ was composed in the autumn of 1739 and was performed in Vauxhall Gardens – where Handel’s music was so popular a marble bust was installed.

It seems evident, therefore, that an awareness of history and a dramatic venue cannot help but add grandeur to a piece of music. For all those in Winchester Cathedral aware of historic and recent battles with nature, those hearing the River Thames in Greenwich or being transported to it in Hungerford, the images conjured are sure to add drama to the evening and, ultimately, the music. 

If you would like to attend ‘Mr Handel’s Water Music’, click here to find out more and purchase tickets. To see us perform 'The Great Turning' at Winchester Cathedral, click here. You can also click here to find out more about our concert with The Old Royal Naval College Chapel Choir. 

Southern Sinfonia with Ralph Allwood recorded the Bach Mass in B minor in 2010, this time with the Rodolfus Choir, so this is a concert not to be missed. You can buy the recording here.

To find out more about our work, please visit our website, Facebook or Instagram. 

“God tells me how the music should sound, but you stand in the way” - Toscanini

By Julia Hudson

For a musician, it’s always a fascinating experience to be conducted by someone new: it has a huge impact for both performers and audience. Classic FM's Webchat with Ed Gardner and the number of concerts the orchestra have coming up, with different choirs and conductors as well as our own David Hill, got me thinking about just this: what skills conductors require, what is particularly challenging and just why they put themselves through it!

To answer my questions, I cornered two conductors – Dominic Brennan, with whom the orchestra are working next month playing contemporary composers James MacMillan and Tarik O’Regan, and, contrastingly, Ben Collingwood, who has a PhD in early music and works in classical music for the BBC. 

As a musician in an ensemble setting, there is a sense of responsibility akin to playing a team sport – you are one of many, but if you make an error the whole team suffers. For a conductor, then, the liability is surely disproportionate. How do they cope?! “Most musicians, from amateur to professional, can smell blood if you're even a little nervous or unsure. I think conductors have to be excellent actors: using the face, eyes and hands to convey musical ideas, being authoritative whatever their true personality, and being relentlessly positive, whatever state the music is in.” It seems a combination of leadership and alliance is the key. “The feeling of not knowing exactly what’s going to happen, but that you are going to make music together, is a thrilling one!”

When handed a new programme as a performer, my thoughts are conflicted. On the one hand, if I already know it, it’s an easier challenge and it could be something I love. On the other, being exposed to something new can have transformative powers. Thrillingly, this seems to work both ways: “It’s amazing introducing a piece to a group who have never come across it before, for them then to fall in love with it. One of the joys of working with a group over several months is the musical relationships that you build with one another; you getting to know them, and them getting to know you. Each conductor has their own little musical idiosyncrasies, and it’s fantastic when a group starts to do those without you having to ask them.”

Conductors can also have the thrill of resurrecting a lost work: “There’s so much unknown music out there that deserves to be performed, and it’s amazing to wonder when a certain work was last heard in public. In the case of early music it could have been unheard for hundreds of years.”

In practical terms, there is no doubt that being prepared is the key to a successful rehearsal or performance, whether the group is professional or amateur. “I prepare by studying the score for quite a while; highlighting passages with which I think the performers might struggle. Most importantly I try to get a sense of the overall structure of the work – noting the climaxes, both in each phrase, and then in the piece as an whole; it’s almost a structural analysis.” Surely this begs the question – is it the composer’s music, or the conductor’s? Is there a balance between interpretation and authenticity? This is, of course, a question for our Patron, but Dominic and Ben had this to add: “My feeling is that people perform much better when they have a good understanding of the work, so I try to explain that to the performers during rehearsal as much as I can. When performing early music I put in some of my own dynamics and phrasing, but keep an open mind so as not to stick to them rigidly if they don’t work in performance.”

When considering this question of interpretation, then, are the same things always difficult for every group? “I think that for any ensemble music that is out of their comfort zone is going to be challenging, be it rhythmically, harmonically or both. MacMillan has a very unique language, with a totally different sound world to Brahms, Byrd or Mozart that we're all used to. Not only is it harmonically foreign to lots of us, it is tricky rhythmically - that can be a challenge to shape as a conductor, but my singers are doing a fantastic job so far!” Help is also at hand from fellow musicians – the section principals in an orchestra, for example, play a vital role in supporting the conductor, especially the Leader. “As a singer, trumpet player and organist, I have less knowledge of bowing and things string-related. Trusting the leader of an orchestra becomes incredibly important for me in those situations.” 

The conductors, then, have prepared by extensive study of the score and consultation with the Leader, as well as thorough rehearsal. But how much of the end result is original interpretation? Isn’t it tempting to take advice from the great recordings? “If it’s a complex piece of contemporary music then I do, just to get into that particular composer’s sound world. I try not to listen to recordings of early music as it influences my interpretation of it too much.” “I think it's important for conductors to have their own style: Gergiev is famously fiery and passionate, Dudamel infectiously enthusiastic, David Hill concise and authoritative. [witness this for yourself – see below for details…] The most important thing for me, I think, is to be clear with whatever direction I'm taking the music in… there is a danger that if you become obsessed with one recording you merely create a facsimile of someone else's work: you become an expensive metronome, not a conductor!”

It’s pretty hard work – I wonder if the idea of turning up and playing at the back of a large string section, or singing amongst twenty-five basses, doesn’t appeal to them at times. “Nothing beats the thrill of a live performance. Making music in front of a packed house can be electrifying…the power of controlling a live performance is amazing!” “The biggest kick is the feeling of working together, creating something in performance that can only happen at that time and in that place, something unique to both performers and listeners – it’s fantastic. There is a sense of satisfaction and joy at the end of a concert when all has gone well, and the first thirst-quenching pint in the pub has been consumed to reward a job well done!”

Thanks, Dominic and Ben, for your insightful words. Disagree with what they said? Get in touch with them on Twitter (make sure you tag us too!). Ben: @CollersB Dominic: @D_O_Brennan Southern Sinfonia: @sinfoniasouth.

See Dominic and Southern Sinfonia in action on March 15th in the beautiful St. Gabriel’s Church, Pimlico. We shall join The Cantus Ensemble for a stunning Lenten programme, featuring the harrowingly effective 'Seven Last Words from the Cross', alongside the little-known 'Triptych'. Click here to find out more and buy tickets!

See Southern Sinfonia in our own concert, conducted by the great David Hill, on 28^th March. Taking place in the atmospheric St. Lawrence Church, this intimate evening entitled ‘Mr. Handel’s Water Music’ will include performances of his finest works including Music Suite No.1 in F major, written for King George I to be performed on the Royal Barge as he travelled down the River Thames.

To find out more about our work, please visit our website, Facebook or Instagram. 

Playing the piano - a catalyst for communities

By Julia Hudson 

There is a piano at St Pancras Station. In fact, there are a number of ‘street’ pianos all over the world, but this is the one that catches my eye. It’s almost never empty, as passers-by, tourists and possibly even the occasional commuter stop to pick out ‘Twinkle Twinkle’, well-known classics, their own compositions or sometimes just some blues-y chords. In London you are being bombarded from all angles: enter this shop, buy this coffee, give to this charity – and yet this project, ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ is successful, to such an extent that although it came to London for the 2012 Olympics it has remained here ever since.

The project’s website says: “‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ was first commissioned by Fierce Earth in Birmingham, UK in 2008. With 15 pianos located across the city for three weeks it is estimated that over 140,000 people played or listened to music from the pianos. Since then ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ has reached an estimated five million people worldwide. Disrupting peoples’ negotiation of their city, Street Pianos are designed to provoke people into engaging, activating and claiming ownership of their urban landscape.  Like a musical equivalent of Facebook, Street Pianos provide an interconnected resource for the public to express themselves.” Society is, increasingly, about self-expression – as well as social media, graffiti, demonstrations and even styles of dress are all ways in which people are bringing their personal life into public view. Here, we have one which gives something back.

When was the first time you played a musical instrument? Was it when your parents decided you should take piano lessons, probably against your will, or was it when you were forced to join the school choir? Probably not, in fact – my guess is that it was long before that, when a friend or relative with suitable disregard for your parents’ sanity bought you some kind of noisy baby toy. A brightly coloured xylophone, a tambourine, a mini keyboard, or even one of those books that plays carols at the press of a button – all brilliant toys to improve a baby’s awareness and stimulate their learning. Also, teaching them that by touching something they can make a noise, which (unfortunately, some might say) is inherently attractive. Fast forward 26 years, and I am currently spending some of my time at a house that owns a drum kit. I cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, play the drums. In fact, as a musician, I can safely say that rhythm is my weak point. However, in recent weeks I’ve taken rather a fondness to having a go (I’ve mastered two rhythms, a third still eludes me) and I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction when I manage it for a few seconds – rather than the instruments I already play, it’s fun to try something new and different.

These are examples of exactly the same symptom that I remember my Head of Wind Studies at school talking about many years ago. He picked up his trumpet, blasted out a loud and unpleasant noise to the assembled teenagers in front of him, and said ‘this is what everyone does, as soon as they get their trumpet home for the first time – not try to play a C major scale. Music should be satisfying, and it should be fun’. How can we convey this enthusiasm to children starting out on their musical journey? Why does every toddler happily play that annoying demo theme on their keyboard for hours, yet by the time they are in primary school music is being sidelined? Many teenagers throw all their energies into being ‘in a band’ – how can we translate this dedication and enthusiasm into formal education?

My view is that we need to convey the importance of knowing the basics. For every Paul McCartney that can’t read music, there are many Chris Martins and Laura Mvulas – classically, thoroughly trained musicians who then branched out to create their own kind of music. With a proper knowledge of reading music, an awareness of its history and trends, young people can then start to find their particular niche without intimidation, whether that is authentic Baroque chamber music or innovative electronic composition. And, increasingly, financial and circumstantial limitations don’t need to be barriers to involvement. With a new project run by Savills estate agents, ‘Free Rehearsal Space’ is a project allowing arts groups to make use of unused commercial property spaces. Initiatives like this, as well as the ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ project, have “enticed many hidden musicians out of the woodwork. It has become apparent that there are thousands of pianists out there who don’t have regular access to a piano. ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ provides access to this wonderful musical instrument and gives musicians the opportunity to share their creativity by performing in public.” 

More importantly than just competence at the piano, therefore, is the quest for community, as well as a respite from an increasingly stressful daily life. The creator of the project, Luke Jerram, says that ‘The idea for Play Me, I’m Yours came from visiting my local launderette. I saw the same people there each weekend and yet no one talked to one another. I suddenly realised that within a city, there must be hundreds of these invisible communities, regularly spending time with one another in silence. Placing a piano into the space was my solution to this problem, acting as a catalyst for conversation and changing the dynamics of a space.’ Ultimately, music is a social activity – as we discussed previously on this blog, without listeners a performance is merely a rehearsal. Here, every rehearsal becomes a performance.

To get in touch and share your thoughts, comment below or join in the discussion on Facebook or Twitter. 

To find out more about Southern Sinfonia, please visit our website or Instagram page