PLAY: the Guildhall School Magazine autumn/winter 2014

PLAY The Guildhall School Magazine Autumn/ Winter 2014/15

4 Behind the Scenes Verdi Requiem

6 Your latest School news and stories 12 Guildhall to the World My Italian summer 14 A vision for Guildhall School

20 Transforming 21st century creative learning 22 The Interview Meet rising star Ben Gernon 26 Insight Projecting into the future

30 Then & Now Lawrence Clark 32 Class Notes 34 Recent Releases 36 In Memoriam 38 A Day in the Life Carrie Quinlan

Thursday 26 February – Sunday 1 March 2015

Reflective Conservatoire Conference 2015: ‘Creativity and Changing Cultures’ Join performers, teachers and researchers at the Guildhall School’s fourth international Reflective Conservatoire Conference. Performances, practical workshops, research presentations, keynote speeches, curated sessions, seminars and roundtable discussions explore key issues in Higher Education within music and drama.

Conference themes in 2015:

· Creativity, playfulness and improvisation · Interdisciplinary connections · The world in 2020 and beyond · Viewpoints on the developing artist Keynote speakers: Ricardo Castro pianist, conductor and founder of Brazil’s NEOJIBA youth music training programme.

Liz Lerman choreographer, dancer, educator, writer and creator of the Critical Response Process, a rigorous feedback system for developing work in progress.

Booking is now open reflectiveconservatoire.org.uk

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Editorial Group

Deputy Head of Development (Alumni & Supporter Relations) Rachel Dyson Head of Marketing & Communications Jo Hutchinson Head of Development Duncan Barker Marketing & Communications Officer Rosanna Chianta Writer & Editorial Consultant Nicola Sinclair Art Direction & Design Pentagram Contact

Email editorial@gsmd.ac.uk Twitter @guildhallschool Facebook GuildhallSchoolAlumni Post Development & Alumni Relations Office Guildhall School of Music & Drama Silk Street, Barbican London EC2Y 8DT

Welcome to your new-look magazine This summer, we invited readers of Guildhall School News to tell us what they thought about the magazine – and more than 500 of you did just that. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to provide us with a wealth of interesting and useful feedback. In summary, you told us: • You get most of your information about Guildhall School through the magazine.

• An impressive 75% of you read all or most of the magazine.

• Overall, you prefer to receive the magazine in print format (67%).

• You like the overall content, writing and design of the magazine but would like it to feel ‘less corporate’ and incorporate a broader range of features.

As our cover feature explores, the School has launched a vibrant new visual identity, and redesigned the magazine in keeping with our new look. In line with your feedback, we have also expanded the content to reflect the breadth of skills in the modern performing arts, and explore the full experience of Guildhall from School news and student experiences to alumni memories and industry developments.

We have changed the name to PLAY to reflect the broad scope of the publication and the collaborative spirit that makes Guildhall School unique.

Photo Credits

Mark Allan, Julian Anderson, Clive Barda, BBC, Stuart Calder, Paul Cochrane, Alison Cragg, John Godwin, Camilla Greenwell, Guildhall Library, Robin Hare, Katie Henfrey, Matt Holiday, Nina Large, Kevin Leighton, Mez Merrill/MOD, Richard Olivier, Susanna Sanroman, Patrick Sherlock, Sophie Standford, thelensbox.com, Clive Totman, Nick Turner, Morley von Sternberg, Averill Williams, Alice Winslow

We hope you like the new magazine – do tell us what you think.

Rachel Dyson, Editor

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BE H IN D THE SC ENES

THE GRAND GUILDHALL EXPERIMENT In the first of a new series, we meet some of the talented team that make Guildhall performances so memorable.

First up is the Induction Project 2014: Verdi Requiem

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At most higher education institutions, induction week is a blur of meetings, queues and form-filling. At Guildhall, it’s an altogether more exciting experience.

The Induction Project was introduced in 2009 to add an artistic and social element to induction. Jonathan Vaughan, Director of Music, described it as: “A way to bring the new students together, without necessarily involving beer!”

This ambitious project sees new music students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) take part in a major orchestral and choral work performed in the Barbican Hall or Milton Court Concert Hall. To assemble the large chorus, Vocal Studies students perform alongside instrumentalists, composers, music therapists and electronic music students.

After a buzzing fortnight preparing for their stage debut, the students have got to know the campus, the Music Office and the Orchestral Manager and – perhaps most importantly – they have got to know each other.

Jonathan Vaughan, Director of Music

The Induction Project partly came out of a discussion with Peter Gane about getting students to sing. Singing improves inner hearing and general musicianship. There is some truth in the old adage ‘If you can’t sing it, you can’t play it’.

I remember having to sing Mahler 8 at the Royal College, with David Willcocks. At first I was an unwilling participant as I was still self-consciously struggling to control my vocal chords after my voice had broken – something I think a lot of young men battle with – but by the time of the performance I was a total convert, and I have loved and delighted in Mahler 8 ever since.

Some students may come to us with a narrow view of interpreting music and little experience of large ensembles, and this project encourages them to be more open-minded. We chose Verdi Requiem because it is such a dramatic, theatrical and memorable piece.

Jim Dean, Orchestral Manager

The Induction Project is a great icebreaker. It gets everyone involved from the start – students can invite their friends and family, and the Students’ Union throws a big party in the Basement afterwards.

It can be a daunting task to pull the orchestra together, I start working on it in June, emailing all the new students to introduce myself and send them the rehearsal schedule, some students have other previous commitments – this year one student couldn’t take part because he had a prior booking to perform in Vienna. Once all the replies are in from our new intake if necessary I top up the orchestra with returning students who have already experienced performing in the Barbican Hall, the group is finally fixed by September, just in time!

It’s a great opportunity to bring everyone together, a great learning experience for us all.

Fraser Keddie, viola Fellow

The Induction Project is something that other conservatoires don’t do, and it’s a pretty amazing opportunity to borrow the Barbican for a night!

want to play it. Performances such as these really help string players to understand how important the orchestra is and how much value can come from it.

It was really nice to work with Mark Shanahan as conductor.

He was always saying ‘Take a risk. Just take a risk. If it doesn’t come out, I don’t care. Play it loud. Play it forte.’ and we would just try things.

Jenavieve Moore, Opera student

I performed at the Induction Concert in my first year and really enjoyed it; it’s wonderful to become so immersed in learning a particular work and I love the intimate feeling of the Barbican stage.

I was not due to perform in this year’s concert, but when I arrived in the morning there was a message for me to say that our soprano was a bit under the weather, and I should make myself available for dress rehearsal in the afternoon. I got confirmation at 3.30pm that I would be stepping in as soprano, leaving me just an hour and a half to finish rehearsals and then get back on stage! I was in the middle of moving house at the time and the prospect of having nothing to wear was more stressful than the thought of going on stage! One of my friends ran out to buy some things and I ran to a dress shop I liked.

Thankfully, they had something.

From the moment I walked out on stage I could really feel the support from everyone. It was a really wonderful experience, and it showed me how important it is to believe in yourself.

This year’s performance of Verdi Requiem was a very enjoyable experience. It’s such a big piece and so well known – people

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News RIBA Award for Milton Court Our state-of-the-art new performance and teaching facility, Milton Court, has won a prestigious RIBA London Regional Award and also made the shortlist for the RIBA National Award. Designed by David Walker Architects and RHWL Arts, Milton Court boasts a 608-seat concert hall, two theatres, three rehearsal rooms and a TV studio suite. “Milton Court is already a success and making a significant contribution to the area, driving theatre-goers into the City,” said Barry Pritchard, Principal Director, RHWL Arts.

“It is good to receive recognition from our peers in the architectural community and so a very big thank you not just to the architectural team on the project, but to everyone for their continued support for the past seven years.”

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Student success

Top brass Junior Guildhall’s brass department is celebrating one of its most successful years to date. Trumpet player Matilda Lloyd won BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Player of the Year and subsequently performed as guest soloist at the European Brass Band Championships Gala Concert.

Matilda was one of three Junior Guildhall brass finalists in the BBC Young Musician Competition, alongside William Thomas (trumpet) and Isobel Daws (trombone).

The Brass Band accepted invitations to perform at Thaxted Festival and the Two Moors International Festival, while the Brass Ensemble performed at the media launch of the Commonwealth Games at the House of Lords.

Out of the nine Year 13 brass players moving up from Junior Guildhall, eight are going on to study music full-time, five at Guildhall School, two at the Royal College of Music and one at Cambridge University. “The Junior Guildhall brass department is on fire,” said Spencer Down, Brass Coordinator and Conductor of the Brass Band. “We’ve had an amazing year, with three out of five BBC Young Musician brass finalists coming from Guildhall. Matilda has shown what an exceptional player she is, and the future looks very bright for William and Isobel, who are just 13 and 14 years old respectively. All our students and teachers deserve full credit for their hard work and dedication. ” Student success

Bright young things Four of Guildhall School’s brightest students have been awarded the School’s highest accolades: the Gold Medal and the Lutine Prize.

For 25-year-old actor Kate Phillips, the Drama Gold Medal marks the culmination of an incredibly successful year. Touted as ‘one to watch’ by The Independent and a ‘star of tomorrow’ by Screen International, Kate is set to star as Jane Seymour opposite fellow Guildhall alumnus Damian Lewis in the muchanticipated BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.

The Technical Theatre Gold Medal goes to Theatre Technology student Max Narula, who has excelled in lighting design for opera, ballet and live theatre.

In his final year at Guildhall, Max was lighting designer for drama productions including Napoli Milionaria, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other and Hamlet, and in his time at Guildhall he has worked with Warren Letton (Wind in the Willows, Duchess), Tim Lutkin (Strangers on a Train, Gielgud), Neil Austin (Liola, NT) and Hugh Vanstone (Soho Cinders, Soho and Birthday, Royal Court).

This May, the Gold Medal for Music was awarded to 24-year-old Bulgarian cellist Michael Petrov, who is currently studying with Louise Hopkins on the Guildhall Artist Masters programme.

Michael is represented by Young Classical Artists Trust and has been selected as an ECHO Rising Star for the 2014/15 season. Michael won the Gold Medal following a concert with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra in the Barbican Hall, where he performed Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto no.1, op.107.

May 2014 also saw 16-year-old percussionist Verity Lloyd (above, second from the left) win Junior Guildhall’s most prestigious award, the Lutine Prize. Verity studies percussion with Rob Farrer and Glyn Matthews and recently accepted a scholarship to the sixth form of the Purcell School of Music.

Our congratulations to four of Guildhall’s most promising young talents.

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School news

Music auditions take place in China and Japan

This year, Guildhall’s Music Department extended its overseas audition schedule.

The department already makes annual visits to New York and Hong Kong, and this year it also visited mainland China and Japan in response to the growing number of applications from students in the region.

A panel of senior staff, including Jonathan Vaughan (Director of Music), Ronan O’Hora (Head of Keyboard Studies and Head of Advanced Performance Studies), Armin Zanner (Head of Vocal Studies) and James Alexander (Head of Music Administration) visited Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo in November, and also met up with alumni and supporters in the region at an informal drinks reception held in each of the three cities.

For further information about our overseas music auditions, visit gsmd.ac.uk/music/auditions

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School news

Putting on the show: innovative new courses for 2015 Guildhall is launching two new courses in the 2015/16 academic year which will provide students with valuable real world training in emerging new fields.

Technical Theatre will extend its range of courses to include the exciting emerging field of video art, with multi awardwinning director, designer and AV specialist Dan Shorten teaching a new BA Honours Degree in Video Design for Live Performance. The course combines state-of-the-art technology and commercial experience to prepare students for successful careers in the video arts. Read more about the course in our exclusive feature on p22-23.

Also launching in September 2015 (subject to validation) is a new BA in Performance and Creative Enterprise, which is a cornerstone of the new Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning manifesto. The course aims to train a group of enterprising students – from musicians and theatre makers to spoken word artists and beat boxers – to become highly employable artists. Working as performers, leaders, collaborators and entrepreneurs, it’s hoped that these students will contribute to the future of the arts, especially in cross arts and socially-engaged practice. The course is part of the Creative Learning vision to ‘help young people find their creative voice’.

School news

Staff appointments

A warm welcome to Gill Allen, who replaces Jonathan Woolf as the new Head of Stage and Costume Management.

A successful stage manager, Gill joins Guildhall from East 15, where she was Head of Stage Management and Technical Theatre and also Head of Course.

We would also like to congratulate Armin Zanner (top left), who has been appointed Head of Vocal Studies; Jonathan Vaughan, now Vice-Principal and Director of Music; Christian Burgess, now Vice-Principal and Director of Drama and Professor Helena Gaunt, Vice-Principal and Director of Academic Affairs.

School news

talents of the opera singers. Victoria Newlyn provided movement training and the group also benefited from a team of language coaches.

This summer, Opera students at Guildhall took part in a rewarding summer placement in the Paris commune of Fontainebleau.

The people of Fontainebleau packed out the ballroom for the Guildhall’s final show, which included a range of productions including Stephen McNeff’s The Secret Garden. To the delight of the locals, Stephen also composed a special piece especially for Fontainebleau, and this was enthusiastically received.

Postcard from Fontainebleau

Two groups of nine singers and three pianists based themselves in the stunning surrounds of an 18th century ballroom attached to the Municipal Theatre, where they each spent two weeks preparing a show for the people of Fontainebleau.

The groups were led by Dominic Wheeler, Director of Opera, and Theatre and Opera Director Kelly Robinson was on-hand to further develop the acting

“The show was incredibly successful – people were lining up outside the auditorium,” says Associate Producer Stuart Calder. “We were very open in our processes all the way through, and left the doors wide open during rehearsals so

Finally, we are delighted to welcome acclaimed librettist and dramatist Stephen Plaice (bottom left) as Writer in Residence for the new MA in Opera Making and Writing, which began in September.

Stephen has worked extensively in opera education in Britain and Germany for more than 20 years, and is currently writing an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Amy Foster for the Swedish Royal Opera. Focusing on operatic composition and the theatre, Stephen will provide invaluable creative support and mentoring to budding writers.

“I am delighted to be a part of this pioneering initiative,” said Stephen of the new MA. “I hope it will not only foster the coming generations of opera writers and composers, but also bring real dramatic muscle to the operatic works of the future.”

people walking by could stop and watch.

We really wanted to include the city in our work.

“Our trip to Fontainebleau was inspired by the success of the Drama department’s Italian summer school, and our singers found this intensive way of working very rewarding and very special. We have put down firm roots in Fontainebleau and are already planning another visit next summer.”

The music and drama summer schools are a central part of Guildhall School’s vision to capitalise on its strong international reputation. These creative partnerships with leading European institutions offer students a broader experience of the nature of the performing arts.

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Guildhall Creative Entrepreneurs

Meet the Guildhall entrepreneurs 2014 Nine enterprising Guildhall staff and alumni have been selected to take part in the pioneering Creative Entrepreneurs programme.

Run by Guildhall in partnership with fundraising and development enterprise Cause4, Creative Entrepreneurs provides training in business planning, marketing, sales and funding, along with individual support including mentoring and business plan development. The fledgling businesses will also benefit from the use of creative space and office facilities at Cause4’s Liverpool Street offices.

Guildhall Creative Entrepreneurs

Drum roll please…

Drum Works – one of the businesses selected for Guildhall Creative Entrepreneurs 2013 – has won the Amati Guildhall Creative Entrepreneurs Award 2014.

Run by Jenny Beer (who works in the Creative Learning department) Jo Wills and Ross McDougall, Drum Works aims to inspire young people by providing opportunities in schools for musical development, group work and community cohesion. The programme now includes around 450 young people in seven schools across east London.

Drum Works won the award after taking part in a Dragon’s Den-style pitching session to a distinguished judging panel made up of Julia Henderson, Christopher Moorson and Daniel Pickering, chaired by Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen. The judges were looking for leadership, vision, financial awareness and distinctiveness in the winner of the £1,000 prize, and were impressed with the way in which Drum Works has embedded itself into the life of the school and introduced world-class artists to its programme.

Peter Romhany, Head of Music at Morpeth School, described Drum Works as one of the most rewarding projects he’s been involved in. “The impact within the school is immense,” he said. “Students have a real sense of purpose and pride in the work they do and a clear sense of enjoyment.”

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Marisa Gupta – The Capet Collective

The Capet Collective is a group of musicians devoted to the creative interpretation of a wide variety of chamber music repertory, starting with late Romantic and early 20th century repertoire.

Rachel Perrin (with business partners Jenni Parkinson, Gail Macleod and Hannah Dunster) – Soundcastle

Soundcastle is an award winning music social enterprise with a vision to unite communities and inspire workplaces through high-quality music-making.

The 2014 Creative Entrepreneurs are: Timothy Allsop with business partner Francesca Wilding – Turn of Phrase

Turn of Phrase workshops teach participants to engage both mind and body, creating a sense of empowerment and confidence.

German Clavijo – Aleph Chamber Orchestra

The ACO repertoire brings together singers, actors and instrumentalists to explore the great works of literature, from baroque to 21st century.

Spencer Down – Docklands Sinfonia

This innovative symphony orchestra based in London’s East End has commissioned new works by British composers including a new ballet and sitar concerto, and is now looking to expand its educational work in the East End.

Marc Verter – Le Mond et la ville: London Soirées

An enterprise that seeks to recreate in London the Soirée Musicales that were common across the European capitals and Paris in particular at the end of the 19th century.

Miaomiao Yu – Bach to Baby

Mum and concert pianist Miaomiao has created an innovative and awardwinning concert series for babies, tots and their parents to enjoy together.

Catherine Evison – Mosaic Music Publishing

Mosaic Music Publishing produces high-quality music and educational resources for teachers working in whole-class instrumental settings.

Tara Franks – SoundsCreative Projects

SoundsCreative Projects provide a nonformal musical outlet which focuses on the collaborative social and skill-based elements of group music making across all ages.

For more information about the scheme and all the participants go to gsmd.ac.uk/creativeentrepreneurs

Flashback “The concert hall at John Carpenter Street could accommodate a full orchestra and choir but there was no room for an audience.

The organ was not installed until 1907.”

GSMD: A Hundred Years’ Performance by Hugh Barty-King Were you a student at John Carpenter Street? Do you remember playing in this hall?

On this organ? We would love to hear your stories and see your photographs.

Please get in touch (see contact details on p3).

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G U IL D HALL TO THE WORLD

Every summer for the last 25 years, Guildhall has taken soon-to-be third year actors to work with students from across Europe at the Prima del Teatro summer school.

Alice Winslow, a thirdyear MA Acting student, shares a travelogue from her summer in Italy

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Escaping the gaze

We took part in acting workshops led by brilliant theatre practitioners from all over Europe. It was extremely demanding and required as much mental and physical rigor as anything we’ve done at Guildhall. Being abroad gave us the chance to look at ourselves and our work in a completely different context. After two years of trying to get everything right in London, we were able to escape the gaze of the staff and all of the expectations and pressures that encase our daily lives at school. We met French, Belgian, German, Italian, Danish actors – all existing outside of their contexts too. We were all far away from the comforting – and possibly limiting – anchors of our homes and routines, and that was such a fruitful environment in which to exchange ideas. We had different terminology and approaches, but I was really struck by our shared vision of what makes an engaging performance.

Lost in translation?

In a way, the language barriers helped us to understand each other. It was sometimes frustrating, sometimes hilarious and confusing, watching every small point go through ten rounds of translation. But confusion is one of the best things the experience offered us. One of the central tasks of the actor is to stay open and responsive to the potential of every moment on stage. We can’t presume to know how another character will react to us, because people never know that in life. This requires incredible attention and curiosity about what is happening in the theatrical space. In Italy we genuinely didn’t know what was happening in any given moment, because we didn’t share a language or culture with the other actors. There were moments of complete bewilderment. But the confusion of two people sharing a space together, trying to figure out what’s being said, who the other person is and how you relate to each other – that is basically the heart of theatre. I was forced to surrender to the confusion and not presume anything. It made me look and listen more closely. The space was so alive in those moments, because we had to stay curious – we didn’t have a choice.

Lazy, hazy days

Alice Winslow (left) and Charlie Bate in The Browning Version, Milton Court Theatre (October 2014)

No cranes

When you walk around London, you can feel the ambition in the air. Everyone seems to want to get something more, or be something more, or get somewhere faster. There is all this effort, this constant motion toward self-improvement. It’s in people, but it’s also in the city itself: cranes everywhere, construction, the whole place trying to get better and make things happen. No cranes in San Miniato! And very little rush (we frequently waited two hours for our dinner). That buzzy ambitious activity didn’t seem to exist there. I kept watching people – old men slowly walking to get their espresso every morning or middle-aged women dispassionately cutting hair – and I kept thinking ‘What do you want from life?’ They seemed so much more at ease with the passage of time than me. The town was so old, and yet it didn’t seem to want or need improvements. The police station was only open until noon Monday through Thursday. Nobody seemed worried. It was infectious.

I felt my perfectionism melting a bit in the Tuscan sun.

Somehow the spirit of siestas and wine drinking helped me to focus creatively. My classmates and I all work so hard to become better actors, and sometimes that drive blinds us to the reasons we create theatre in the first place. If it’s our job to honour life by sharing it honestly with an audience, then we have to cultivate a deep attention and appreciation for the world around us. It’s hard to do that when you’re coming from a place of ambition. I wasn’t giving myself a bedtime, I was having more fun, I was opening myself up to people who didn’t make sense to me, I felt less judgmental of myself and others. And this all helped me bring a more light-hearted, less effortful spirit on stage. I wasn’t doing my best work, but I was less attached to achievement than ever before. More comfortable with failure and making a fool of myself. I think that’s the place I need to be working from all the time. A healthy level of laziness.

Prima del Teatro: European School for the Art of the Actor

Prima del Teatro is a partnership programme between seven European institutions: Guildhall School and performing arts schools in Copenhagen, Lyon, Hamburg, Milan, Strasbourg and Brussels.

The 2014 summer school took place in San Miniato, a small town and commune in the province of Pisa, Tuscany.

It brought together acting students from across Europe, including 23 second-year actors from Guildhall, to explore the diversity of European theatre culture and literature, encouraging innovative creative exchanges and forging long-term connections across borders.

For further information, visit primadelteatro.it

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n 2014, Guildhall School sits poised between its distinguished history and an ambitious international future. Over the past few months, its leadership team has immersed itself in the challenge of crafting a new brand and visual identity for the School; something that captures the energy, creativity and professionalism on which its reputation is based. In a sense, this is a time of flux, yet Guildhall School Principal, Professor Barry Ife, has not one moment’s hesitation when quizzed on the characteristics that make the School unique.

“There’s a misguided stereotype of musicians locked away in ivory towers, polishing their Paganini caprices,” he laughs. “Guildhall does not exist to nourish old traditions, nor does it believe that technical brilliance is the only condition of success. Our mission is to nurture performers who have confidence in their vision and have the creativity to push their art form forward.

That means taking risks where necessary, even if they don’t always ‘succeed’ in the conventional sense. Our alumni must have the grit as well as the talent to build a career in the performing arts.”

What’s in a brand?

This commitment to innovation is

encapsulated in Guildhall’s brand proposition ‘Craft, creativity and learning at the forefront of cultural change’. Yet this is more than a buzzy strapline; it’s a reflection of the pioneering programmes and collaborations that have permeated the School for decades. Take for example Guildhall’s fruitful partnerships with organisations such as London Symphony Orchestra, the Barbican and Royal Opera House, which has resulted in acclaimed programmes including the Orchestral Artistry postgraduate specialism and the myriad residences, labs, mentoring and outreach opportunities championed by Creative Learning.

Then there’s the focus on meeting the needs of the 21st century artist through strands which promote entrepreneurship, leadership, cross arts learning and social engagement.

Guildhall Creative Entrepreneurs and the Innovation Fund support cutting edge business and research pitches; Leadership students at Guildhall benefit from working with visual arts students on the ‘Curious’ festival which breaks down barriers between art forms; and the Innovative Conservatoire seminars bring together conservatoires from across the world to share and explore best practice.

“London has the great privilege of being home to four conservatoires of excellence and the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,” says Professor Ife. “It’s wonderful to be among such esteemed company but it also means that Guildhall must differentiate itself from its competitors, and programmes such as these demonstrate our commitment to driving the cultural agenda. Another characteristic that sets us apart is the

A vision for Guildhall School

In one stellar year, Guildhall School was named no.1 specialist institution in the UK, won the right to award its own degrees, and launched a stunning visual identity – all this within months of opening state-of-the-art new facilities at Milton Court. What better time to reflect on the School’s prestigious history, unique character and ambitions for the future?

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‘Craft, creativity and learning at the forefront of cultural change’ fact that we offer training in both music and drama, and we’re the UK’s leading institution in technical theatre training, an incredibly fast-moving and vibrant area of professional practice.

All of these disciplines learn from one another, and together we capture the exciting visual and aural elements of the performing arts.”

A diverse family

Crucially, this enriching experience of the arts is not coveted and polished by the few, but shared with the many.

Guildhall delivers musical training to more than 2,000 under-18s via Junior Guildhall and CYM, and the broader Creative Learning initiative run in partnership with the Barbican offers free, participatory music sessions to some 50,000 young people throughout London and beyond. “Our commitment to leading cultural change is not just about driving progress in the arts, but about supporting diversity,” says Barry.

“We have a very strong inclusion agenda and rightly so, because we believe the arts can help societies to understand themselves, identify what they stand for, and promote social cohesion.”

Contrary to the image of an elite institution, Guildhall operates a ‘needs blind’ admission process, and almost half of its students receive some form of 16

scholarship support for fees or bursary support for maintenance. This makes the support of the School’s generous benefactors essential in delivering worldclass training to future generations of performers. Professor Ife points to the importance of the Guildhall alumni community. “You know, many institutions primarily see alumni as a source of financial support. Many of our alumni have a long standing affection that motivates their desire to give – and for that we are eternally grateful – but what’s more important is the sense of pride people have in our institution. Whenever my wife and I go to the theatre or a music recital the first thing we do is scan the programmes, and we’re always thrilled by the number of top-calibre performers who studied here.

When our alumni – whether high profile or not – proudly tell people ‘I trained at Guildhall’ they help to build our brand and our self-confidence. I’d love to get to a point where we’re in contact with everyone who trained here, because we want to build that Guildhall family.”

Make your future

And following what Professor Ife hails as “Guildhall’s most successful year ever” there’s certainly plenty to be proud of.

In 2014, the School was named No.1 specialist institution in the UK by the Guardian University Guide for the second year running and its senior management team was shortlisted for the top award at the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards. It also opened the doors to its incredible new Milton Court facility and was granted taught degree-awarding powers, which enables the School to create and shape its own courses, becoming more responsive to the rapidly changing professional environment. The new visual identity is

an important milestone on this journey: “After such an incredible year, I’m thrilled to capture all that success and promise in a smart and dynamic new visual identity.” (See page 19). So what’s next on the horizon?

“We’re already the number one specialist institution in the UK, so we must now set our sights on becoming number one in the world,” says Professor Ife. “We enjoy a very strong reputation in continental Europe and Scandinavia, and have a number of prestigious global alliances within the Association of European Conservatoires. Our international standing sees us attract students from more than 50 countries, and the next step is to push our work outside the institution by running a number of offsite activities in other parts of the world. Our opera and drama students already benefit

San Giovanni Battista, Milton Court Theatre (June 2014)

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Timeline 1880 The Guildhall School of Music opens in a disused warehouse in the City of London, becoming the first municipal music college in Great Britain.

from a summer school in Fontainebleau, France, and our drama placement in Italy has been phenomenally successful.

The arts profession today is a global one and our students have the opportunity to enrich their practice by sharing their learning with other cultures.”

Once more, we return to the heart of Guildhall: educating young people to enter their profession at the highest level, and instilling in them the confidence to make a rich contribution to the performing arts. For Guildhall, the teaching of life skills is more important than ever. “We have to remember that many of our graduates will not embark on a straight career path into full-time employment,” says Professor Ife. “Unlike a degree in the humanities in the HE sector, the majority of our students will have a portfolio career, juggling many different projects that require leadership and tenacity as much as inspiration and creativity. They’re responsible for making their own careers. Leonardo da Vinci didn’t apply for a job; he was his art. Artists don’t just slot into existing niches. They make their own future.”

Each of us has a unique relationship with Guildhall School, whether we are students, staff, alumni or friends of the School.

What does Guildhall mean to you?

We’d like you to complete the following sentence: “My Guildhall is/was/will always be...”

Send your answers to us on a postcard, by email or via Twitter (see p3 for contact details).

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1993 A former brewery is renovated and converted into the School’s Hall of Residence, Sundial Court.

1887 Guildhall School moves to new premises in John Carpenter Street, designed by architect Sir Horace Jones.

The site comprised 45 studios, each housing two pianos and surrounded by a one foot thick layer of concrete.

1920 Full-time courses are introduced at the request of the public.

1935 The Guildhall School of Music & Drama is born.

1977 The School moves to its present premises in the heart of the City of London’s Barbican estate.

2001 The Secretary of State, Baroness Blackstone, announces that the Barbican Centre, including the Guildhall School, is to be Grade II listed.

2005 Guildhall wins the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its extensive outreach programme, Guildhall Connect (now Creative Learning).

2007 Guildhall wins another Queen’s Anniversary Prize, this time in recognition of the strength of its Opera programme.

2013 Guildhall is rated No.1 specialist institution in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2013. Meanwhile, a £90 million investment sees the opening of Milton Court, housing a concert hall, theatre, studio theatre and drama teaching and administration spaces.

2014 Guildhall is rated No.1 specialist institution by the Guardian for a second concurrent year. The strength of its courses is recognised with full taught degree awarding powers.

Introducing our new look Jo Hutchinson, Head of Marketing and Communications, introduces Guildhall School’s new visual identity Created by Pentagram – one of the most influential design agencies in the world, whose clients include the V&A and Royal Academy of Art – our new visual identity is bold, modern and minimalist. Visually, it’s a radical departure from our previous identity and to the traditional styles of some of our peers. However, it’s by no means a change to our values – instead, it’s intended to reflect them. As our

readers will know, Guildhall School offers its students an educational experience that is ambitious, challenging and rigorous combined with a culture that values creativity, confidence and innovation. So we gave this summary to Pentagram and they delivered a visual style to match, as bold as we had hoped, and one that fits the confidence with which we move forward as an institution.

You will see our new look on the relaunched website, which offers a more user-friendly and dynamic browsing experience, and on all of our promotional material which will be rolled out over the forthcoming months. This autumn, students and new

graduates will also get their hands on a tote bag with the new logo as modelled below by student Amarins Wierdsma.

Of course, the rebrand also provided an opportunity to refresh this magazine.

Thank you to everyone who responded to our reader survey – it was great to hear that so many of you read the magazine cover to cover (see p3 for more information on the results). We have updated the design and taken on many of your suggestions to broaden the scope of the editorial, but you will still find all the latest Guildhall news, developments and features plus the ever-popular Class Notes among these pages. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the redesign.

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TRANSFORMING

21 CENTURY st

CREATIVE LEARNING The Guildhall School and the Barbican have pledged to ‘help young people find their creative voice’ in an ambitious Creative Learning manifesto. Putting young people at its heart, the manifesto pledges to help them access the best arts events, have a platform for creativity, gain skills and jobs, to listen to them and work with the sector to bring their ideas to life.

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The Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning manifesto is supported by five key initiatives:

1.

Groundbreaking new BA in Performance and Creative Enterprise

A new degree course will nurture a diverse range of young artists – from musicians and theatre makers to spoken word artists and beat boxers – to fulfil their creative potential.

2.

Cheap tickets for 16-25s

A unique new scheme will make 50,000 affordable tickets available to young people aged 16-25. Young Barbican covers all art forms, including contemporary and classical music, film, art, theatre and dance, with prices starting at just £5.

3.

Accessible arts in the East End

Guildhall and the Barbican has forged an ambitious new partnership with a network of communities, schools, local authorities and cultural organisations from across East London to form the East London and City Cultural Partnership (ELCCP). By 2020, the partnership will provide every young person in eight east London boroughs with a participatory arts experience.

“Barbican Guildhall is pioneering a route through arts education that is at the forefront of developing a new cultural ecology for the 21st century.”

Sean Gregory, Director of Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning

4.

Barbican Box schools workshop

Quite literally, a portable box filled with the ‘ingredients’ for making and creating theatre, film, photography or music. The Barbican Box ignites creativity in schools by enabling pupils to create their own work of art from scratch.

5.

Young Arts Academy

This new programme for 14-25 year olds will launch in spring 2015, and brings together the Barbican’s thriving young artists groups and young people engaging in the arts for the first time.

The Academy will develop artistic and life skills through intensive collaboration, creative exploration and performance.

Visit: gsmd.ac.uk/creativelearning

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TH E IN T ERVI EW

Fresh from his BBC Proms debut, conductor Ben Gernon (Conducting Fellow 2012) talks trust, musical evolution and the need for resilience.

WITH YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE

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“People think conducting is so glamorous and it can be, but most of your time is spent sitting on your own in a hotel room with musical scores for company”

You recently made your BBC Proms debut, conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s 80th birthday concert for Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Was it everything you had hoped?

It was incredible, I felt so privileged and honoured. Max has made an amazing contribution to classical music so it was a huge responsibility but the atmosphere was very open, warm and supportive. Of course it was nerve-racking too, but nerves are what give you the edge. Just like an athlete, you have to embrace that moment, switch on and perform. It’s an exhilarating opportunity to get to share your experience of the music.

Can you tell us about how you first discovered your love of music, and what drew you to conducting?

My parents both studied and taught music, so I had a wonderful musical upbringing. My dad conducted a brass band and nobody wanted to play the tuba, so I was roped into that when I was eight! From there my interest grew and at 15 I conducted the school orchestra. I practised hard, made mistakes, annoyed everyone and really enjoyed it. What attracted me to conducting was the leadership aspect combined with working as part of a team. There’s a misperception that conducting is dogmatic, that you dictate what you want musicians to play, but actually it’s about receiving and then guiding the performances, incorporating everyone’s ideas and experiences. Musicians are people, after all, so they have a lot of themselves to contribute. I know that every musician in the ensemble spends as much time thinking about music as I do, and I respect that.

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As a relatively young conductor, you’ve been hailed as a ‘rising star’. Are there any challenges to conducting with authority at such a young age?

There are so many challenges. The obvious one is being 25 years old and having the responsibility of taking decisions for 80 musicians who deeply care about their performance.

You have to work hard, prove yourself and be prepared to receive questions and criticism. I also think it’s important to have a sense of humour – it’s not all about you, so don’t take yourself too seriously. Ultimately, you establish a trust in the first two minutes of the performance. I’m not really sure how it’s established but I think it’s to do with making people feel valued by focusing on the music and enjoying the moment. If you worry about people liking you, you end up tying yourself in knots. If I express the music, I feel I’ve done my job.

You’ve spoken highly of the mentoring you received from Sian Edwards and Sir Colin Davis at Guildhall.

Aside from the technicalities of your craft, what do you think you learned at Guildhall, and how has it helped you in your career?

I think the most valuable skill I learned was collaboration.

Guildhall combines opera, acting, technical theatre and music into a hive of activity. As students we are very privileged to get to tap into that and learn to pull together and make the best of the diversity of people and skills.

Guildhall has a wonderful spirit – a ‘go for it’ attitude that teaches you to be an individual and to have fun. My studies challenged and pushed me, and ultimately opened so many doors in my career.

Looking back at the beginning of your conducting career, was it what you expected? What have you learned so far?

I’m still learning now and hope that I always will be. It’s certainly a different experience after you graduate. At Guildhall you pour all your energy into your one annual concert. Now, I’m doing three or four concerts a week and have to be at my best and maintain a strong work ethic. My schedule is jam packed so I had to learn to make the best use of the limited time I have. Becoming a Dudamel Fellow at the LA Philharmonic taught me the importance of simply getting up and getting on with it – that, and drinking lots of coffee! I’ve learned that while it’s important to dream and to reflect, you also have to be very practical.

Your career has taken you around the world. How does the experience of conducting change with different venues and cultures?

Sir Colin and Sian Edwards taught me that conducting is about open collaboration. You build a relationship with your fellow musicians and share ideas within a framework, but that framework is unique to each orchestra. If you’re hopping around the world, you don’t know that framework so there’s a great deal of work to be done. People think conducting is so glamorous and it can be, but most of your time is spent sitting on your own in a hotel room with musical scores for company!

However it’s a fascinating job and I love that challenge.

Has your approach to conducting changed over time?

I hope to evolve every day and apply my own life experiences to my music. You can’t pigeonhole your development as a technical matter – there has to also be a commitment to evolve

in yourself. My understanding of what musicians need and want has developed over time, and technically I’ve learned to reduce my movements and become more efficient. It’s all a journey.

What are your inspirations, musically and otherwise?

I adore walking. Because I work with sound all the time, the silence of countryside walks is a chance to reflect. Nature is where we all come from so it’s great to get back to that as often as possible. I also enjoy reading and everything on stage, but operas in particular. Opera combines text, music, stage direction, choreography and costume and it strikes me as such an exciting world to inhabit.

What advice would you offer to other would-be conductors?

Firstly, to talk to other conductors. There’s a ridiculous tendency in this job to not talk to each other – I guess because the nature of conducting is quite precarious – but I think it’s really valuable to share experiences. Secondly, just to go for it.

I’ve had plenty of rejections and you need to have the resilience to just keep going.

You have spoken of a desire to share your love of music with your family, and more widely in society. What do you think music brings to people?

Music is the best thing that can happen to a person, because it imparts a sense of joy. Musicians wear their hearts on their sleeves, and through their instrument they are able to share their emotions with the audience. Music helps you to find your identity as an individual, yet it also binds people together.

That’s a very special and beautiful thing.

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I N S IGH T

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PROJECTING INTO THE FUTURE Video-based art has become an integral part of live performance, linking up sound, music and imagery to create a truly immersive experience.

Starting in 2015, a new BA in Video Design for Live Performance will place students right in the heart of this dynamic new industry

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T

housands of muddy, happy, wellington-clad festivalgoers throng The Temple venue at Glastonbury, which seems to absorb their energy and burst into a riot of Aztec pattern, mythical creatures and dancing lights.

Behind the scenes are eight students of Guildhall School, led by multi award-winning director, designer and AV specialist Dan Shorten.

“It was an incredible challenge,” recalls third year Theatre Technology student Alex Uragallo. “It took six months to plan and create the video mapping and from the minute we closed the van doors at Guildhall and set off for Glastonbury our team was really excited. The nervousness only kicked in a little while after we arrived, when we realised we pretty much had to build a city for a weekend!”

Working together, Dan and his students video mapped the venue and brought it to life with stunning projections that moved and changed in sync with the music. “It was such a spectacle, there were queues of people right across the field waiting to get in,” says Alex. Of course, there were challenges along the way, but these turned out to be the most valuable part of the experience. “Someone said to me that when you’re at a festival it’s not really about getting the show up but about fixing the problems,” laughs Alex. “You can’t prepare for everything so you learn to think on your feet. It’s absolutely vital to have real professional experiences like this because they teach you to handle the pressure and they give you a chance to make mistakes and learn from them at the earliest stage in your career.”

Commercial experiences such as these are central to Guildhall’s approach to Technical Theatre, and a new BA in Video Design for Live Performance, starting in 2015, Introducing Dan Shorten

Guildhall’s new BA in Video Design for Live Performance will be led by celebrated director Dan Shorten.

Dan is a multi-awarding winner director, designer and audio/visual specialist working with various companies from all over the UK. During the last eight years he has worked on a series of five-star and sell-out shows that toured across the UK and overseas, including winning the 2007 Total Theatre Wildcard Award and a 2010 Fringe First Award.

His work has been described in The Stage as “one of the most original examples of theatre around”. He has a burgeoning reputation and regularly collaborates with Icon, B-Arts and Kinetica, building audio/visual content for touring theatre and large-scale outdoor events.

Dan teaches masterclasses in video mapping and video control software and has been invited to teach as visiting lecture at the TEAK Theatre Academy Helsinki.

He has worked on various video mapping projects including installations at the Barbican Centre and at LUX Helsinki, and has been invited to present his work at BIPAF Busan, South Korea and Summer Arts Festival in California.

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takes the model one step further. The three-year, full-time undergraduate degree provides students with specialist training in the rapidly-expanding field of digital video design and production. It is – says Director of Technical Theatre Ben Sumner – one of the most pioneering courses of its kind. “Technical Theatre at Guildhall has a strong commercial philosophy, and the new BA really extends that idea,” says Ben. “It’s an innovative blend of hands-on teaching and professional experience that’s pretty much unique in the UK.” The idea has been a long time in the making. Over the past decade Ben noted the increasing use of video in everything from business conferences to operas. “I first started talking about the idea about five years ago, in response to what I was seeing at the theatre,” says Ben. “I realised this was something we didn’t teach. I started to talk to theatres around the country and discovered that nobody knew quite where to put it – it wasn’t quite right in the sound or the lighting department – and there was definitely an emerging gap in the market for specialists in video for live performance.

“We started to imagine how the course might look, but things really took off with the appointment of Dan Shorten. Dan came in with some really exciting new ideas – such as the video mapping techniques we used at Glastonbury – and brought an infectious energy, imagination and enthusiasm.

He has great ambitions for his art form.”

The only potential downside of this ambition was the bottom line. Like all technology-based art, video production is a fastpaced industry relying on state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. For this course to keep up with the demands of the art form, students would need access to top spec computers, projectors and software. To put this into context, one projector costs in the region of £25k and lasts for about three years – the Glastonbury production (which was one of many) used four projectors. Thankfully, necessity is the mother of invention, and from this financial challenge came the USP of the new course: its strong industry focus.

“What we have created here is a commercial hybrid,” says Ben. “Our students will learn the art of video production here at Guildhall, but then they’ll take that expertise out into the industry, and offer it up as a commercial service.

As well as contributing to Guildhall School’s programme of productions, students will have the chance to take part in conferences, festivals, arts commissions and club nights across the country. We’ve already VJ-ed (video jockey-ed) at Guildhall Arts Centre in Grantham and the Barbican Centre, and our work at Glastonbury has attracted the attention of the Ministry of Sound. The synergy between our in-house training and commercial opportunities is an important one, because it generates the income we need to run a course of this calibre, and it gives our students the real world experience that will help them to make their way in their chosen career.”

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THEN & NOW

Lawrence Clark (Percussion, 2001) explains why he decided to swap music for the military – and how a new charitable project is connecting up his life, old and new

I

still clearly remember my Saturdays as a 14-year-old: getting up at 5am to make the 100-mile train ride from Bradford on Avon to Junior Guildhall. It takes a fair bit of motivation to get a teenage boy out of his bed at that time of morning, but I enjoyed the freedom of that solo train journey to my music classes. Like many kids, my first experience of music was picking up the recorder in primary school, and from there I learned piano and then drums. I loved my weekends at Guildhall and knew pretty quickly that I wanted to study music. I never really excelled in an academic sense because I simply wasn’t interested in anything else. Music was my focus and I looked forward to moving to London and pursuing it full-time.

The single biggest thing I learned at Guildhall was a strong work ethic, something which has stuck with me ever since. The sheer volume and variety of the work that’s expected of you sets you on a disciplined course right away.

I remember the Assistant Director of Music making it clear in one of our earliest chats that there are 24 hours in a day, with eight each for work, play and sleep. It was a hard course but ultimately very creative and rewarding.

One particularly fond memory is of rushing around with my new friends putting together a performance of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall for the Christmas Festival. I made some lifelong friends at Guildhall – in fact the brass

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player in the orchestra was best man at my wedding and I’m still in touch with my former housemate, who’s now a successful composer and conductor.

Though I didn’t know it at the time, the challenging nature of the course was great preparation for the harsh reality of the music industry. It had always been my aim to become a percussionist in an orchestra, and after graduation I went on a merry-go-round of auditions and freelance work. Contracted orchestra positions were few and far between, and I found myself doing more and more teaching to pay the bills. There’s no shame in that but it wasn’t what I wanted, so after four years I decided it was time for a change of direction. I applied to be a bandsman in the RAF and was surprised when they suggested I consider joining the helicopter crew. It may sound left of field – and in many ways it was – but I had always been interested in flying. Oddly enough, it felt like a natural fit.

I discussed the idea with my thengirlfriend (now my wife, and mother to my two children) and she was very encouraging. I think she had a secret image in her head of Tom Cruise in Top Gun… sadly not the reality! I joined the RAF as a helicopter crewman in 2005.

Taking responsibility for everything in and under the cabin, I navigate, operate the weapons systems and radios and have the technical knowledge to diagnose in-flight emergencies should we come under fire. In short, I do everything other than drive!

It sounds dramatic and scary but at the time, you just get on with it. You’re well trained about what to do in certain situations and you adapt that knowledge and skillset depending on the circumstances you find yourself in.

It’s not unlike being a musician – when mistakes are made you have to use your intuition to find the best way forward.

Of course the stakes are considerably higher, but you don’t think about that at the time. It’s afterwards that’s the nasty bit, as each person tries to find their own way of coping with what they’ve experienced. I’ve always had a fairly relaxed attitude, but the nature of my work does at times cause me to stop and reflect.

The RAF Chinook force provides essential air mobility, moving personnel

and equipment as needed. On deployment, we serve as an Immediate Response Team (IRT), during which the helicopter acts as a combat air ambulance and mobile trauma centre, supported by specialist medics from the medical emergency response team (MERT).

Whilst on IRT, our job is to extract casualties from the battlefield, treating them in-flight on the way to Camp Bastion hospital. My wife and I have had two children since I joined the RAF, and the events I’ve witnessed on IRT service made me wonder what help would be available to them if the worst happened to me. I found out about a small charity called the Forces Children’s Trust (FCT), which provides emotional and practical support for children whose parents have been lost in service. I wanted to take the opportunity to help them.

Many of my old friends from Guildhall are forging ahead in music, and I contacted them with the idea of organising a gala concert to raise funds for FCT. Alison Balsom performed a fantastic trumpet concerto in Guildford Cathedral and we raised a great deal of awareness through local radio and press promotions. I learned a lot from this first concert and am now organising three smaller scale recitals. Soprano Kate Royal was in my year at Guildhall and she has kindly agreed to perform in the first of the recitals. Malcolm Edmondstone, Andrew Bain and Jules Jackson, who also attended Guildhall at the same time as me, are performing in the second recital as a jazz trio. The third recital will star Cordelia Williams, a promising pianist I once coached. The series is planned for spring/summer of next year.

Reconnecting with Guildhall has provided an outlet for my creative energy outside of work, and a meeting point between my old life and new.

Music and the military could not be more different, yet Guildhall taught me the importance of being well prepared and nowhere is that more important than in the armed forces. I made a major life change in 2005 but it’s not one I have ever regretted. You take a leap of faith into the new, but you still take your old qualities along with you, and music is a part of who I am.

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Class Notes

MUSIC Aisling Agnew (Flute 2004)

Aisling is currently recording the complete set of Telemann’s Fantasies for Solo Flute. She continues to perform in the Agnew McAllister Duo, and will release a CD of duets later in the year.

The autumn is looking particularly exciting for Aisling as she attempts to break the Guinness World Record for the largest flute ensemble at the King’s Hall in Belfast.

Benjamin Ellin (Composition 2002)

In addition to his continued residency as Music Director with Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra, Benjamin has made several international appearances throughout Europe, Canada and China – plus many more throughout the UK – and has received two new commissions.

Alexander Campkin (Junior Guildhall Music 2001)

Composer Alexander Campkin has been elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. His summer commissions included a piece for the 25th anniversary concert of The Joyful Company of Singers and an anthem for The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Ross Clark (Trumpet 2010)

Ross has joined the Astana Opera in Astana, Kazakhstan, as a trumpet player.

Ahmed Dickinson (Guitar 2008)

This summer, Ahmed performed with Carlos Acosta in his new show Cubania at the Royal Opera House. In May he also performed duets with Eduardo Martin, one of the most prominent guitar composers of our time.

G4 reunited (Voice 2004)

Ten years after they first met at Guildhall, singers G4 have reunited for a sell-out concert at the Barbican Hall to mark their anniversary. A full UK tour will follow, from April to September 2015. For more information visit G4official.com Max Mausen (Clarinet 2013)

Max has been appointed Principal Clarinet in the Malta Symphony Orchestra.

James Nelis (SMTT 1998)

James recently passed the Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice (PgCHEP) at the University of Ulster and has been awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

L-R: Eva Stewart (Flute/Piccolo 1993), Principal Piccolo in the National Orchestra of Wales; Emmanuel Pahud, Principal Flute Berlin Philharmonic; and Matthew Featherstone (Flute 2010), Principal Flute BBC National Orchestra of Wales, pictured during rehearsal for the premier of the Simon Holt flute concerto during the 2014 BBC Proms.

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Juwon Ogungbe (PCS 1991)

Juwon has had a busy year of performing and composing. His most recent performance was a solo matinee at The Green Note in Camden Town, and he was also a featured artist in the 12th London African Music Festival.

In August Juwon led a VoiceLab session with the general public called The Big Sing, which debuted at the Royal Festival Hall on 13 September as part of the Southbank Centre’s Africa Utopia series. Juwon is also developing a creative project called Talking Drum, which aims to raise awareness in Africa about Ebola – more information can be found at thetalkingdrum.org. Juwon’s album Life Force Music can be ordered via his website juwonogungbe.com Robin Hare (Guitar/Piano 1974)

Zuzanna Olbrys (Harp 2013)

Robin writes: “Having recently retired and now with a little more spare time, I have been reflecting on my life since leaving the Guildhall and I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to in the last 40 years.

Zuzanna won the harp audition in the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts award, which is designed to nurture and develop the next generation of talented orchestral performers.

Upon graduating, I emigrated to my native Venezuela and after giving guitar classes for some years I ended up teaching English as a foreign language full time.

I did however become involved musically as MD in a number of stage musicals including Oliver!, Carousel, Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Mezzo-soprano Clare has won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Chilcott Award, which is given to a ‘major young artist with the potential to make an international impact’. The £10,000 prize is for advanced training and career development, and Clare was chosen following auditions from more than 40 young singers.

Returning to England in 1988 I spent the rest of my working life as a management trainer in financial services. Since retiring I have directed two musicals and I currently run the Ticehurst Singers, a 40-strong local choir which I formed in 2010. I also play double bass in an 18-piece jazz swing band and bass in a jazz trio.

The Welsh National Opera has appointed Aidan as their associate artist for 2014. Aidan will perform in Carmen, William Tell, Magic Flute and Peter Pan, which comes to The Royal Opera in June 2015.

In 1999 I fulfilled a life-long dream to become a pilot by acquiring my PPL. So far I have accumulated 235 hours of flying.

I’d love to hear from any GGSM course (71-74) alumni. Do email me via alumni@gsmd.ac.uk.”

Clare Presland (Voice 2010)

DRAMA Simon Cole (Acting 1997)

Simon Cole and friends at the Reduced Shakespeare Company marked Shakespeare’s birthday by performing at 39,000 feet on a Shakespeare-branded EasyJet plane, breaking the Guinness World Record for the Highest Theatrical Performance ever! Simon studied acting at Guildhall and now teaches Performance Craft (Drama, Movement, Stagecraft and Opera Scenes) and Repertoire (Opera and Theatre) in the Vocal Studies department.

Melanie Heslop and James Mack (Acting 2013)

Melanie and James led an experimental ‘Conducting Shakespeare’ show at the V&A Museum’s Shakespeare Festival.

The unique performance experiment saw members of the audience hooked up to bio-sensors which measured their emotional response to certain scenes.

Depending on the audience reaction, the ‘conductor’ of the piece chose which scene Melanie and James should act out next. The result was a ‘remix’ of Shakespeare across multiple plays, using technology to control the emotional arc of the performance.

Aidan Smith (Voice 2006)

Dave Smith (Jazz Percussion 2003) and Heather Truesdall (Cello Fellow 2010)

Tim Lutkin (SMTT 2008)

Congratulations to Guildhall music alumni Dave Smith and Heather Truesdall, who married on 30 August in Grand Lake, Colorado.

Tim Lutkin and Finn Ross won the White Light Award for Best Lighting Design at the 2014 Oliver Awards, in recognition of their work for Chimerica at the Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre.

Carolin Widmann (Violin 2003)

Gemma Tonge (SMTT 2002)

Violinist Carolin Widmann has won this year’s Schneider-Schott Music Prize.

She will receive the €15,000 award at a concert in Mainz, Germany, on 11 November.

Gemma won the Individual Stage Management Award at the National Stage Management Awards 2014, for Emil and the Detectives at the Olivier National Theatre.

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Recent Releases

DVDs

Britten: Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh Beach

Featuring Guildhall School Chorus Aldeburgh Music and Grimes on the Beach Film Ltd

CDs

The Askew Sisters: In the Air or the Earth

Emily Askew (Recorder 2009) RootBeat Records

Essence of Violin

Prokofiev

Magdalena Filipczak (Violin Fellow 2012) audio-b

Ben Gernon (Conducting Fellow 2012) Salzburger Festspiele

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Paris

Porgy & Bess: Revisited

Alison Balsom (Trumpet 2001) Warner Classics

Fini Bearman (Voice 2007) Fire Records

Rameau: The Complete Keyboard Music, Vol. 3

Reflections

Stephen Gutman (Visiting Professor) Toccata Classics

Claire Hammond (Piano 2008) BIS Records

Disruption

Britten: Reflections

First Light

Jetsam (Fellows 2012) ft.

Tanroh Ishida (Acting 2009) WW Records

Matthew Jones (Professor of Viola), Annabel Thwaite (Piano 2003) Naxos

Andrew McCormack (Jazz Piano 2000) Edition Records

Sunlight and Storms

Ghosts & Mirrors

Dumka

Flowers of the Field

Lionel Sainsbury (Piano/Composition 1980) Navona Records

Richard Uttley (Piano Fellow 2012) Artists Recording Company

Lada Valešová (Piano 1997; Vocal Studies Coach) Challenge Records

Roderick Williams (Opera 1995) and Jeremy Irons, with City of London Choir and London Mozart Players Naxos Classical

Opera in the Media Age: Essays on Art, Technology and Popular Culture

Playing With Scales

Spirited Nature

Alistair Watson (Repetiteur 2005) Chester

Simon Gordon Wheeler (Speech & Drama 1972) O-Books

Janácˇek, Dvorˇák and Suk: Music for Violin and Piano

Jennifer Pike (Violin 2009) Tom Poster (Piano 2004) Chandos

BOOKS

Edited by Dr Paul Fryer (Acting 1978) McFarland

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In Memoriam Beryl Clark 1931–2014

(Piano 1951) Beryl Clark, who was possibly the youngest student ever accepted onto the Graduateship course at the Guildhall School, has died aged 82.

At the age of 17, Beryl was keen to pursue a career in music teaching and despite being below the stated minimum age of 18 years old she was invited to audition and offered a place at the Guildhall School – the only institution that she applied to. Beryl completed her studies in the autumn term of 1951 but had to wait until July 1952, when she was 21 years old, to collect her GGSM. Beryl spent 40 years in the music teaching profession followed by a further 25 years playing piano and violin in several orchestras and conducting. In 2012 she was presented with Honorary Life Membership of the Enfield Chamber Orchestra. Beryl was active in her local church and a proud supporter and regular visitor to the School throughout her life.

In a 2012 letter to Principal Barry Ife, Beryl wrote, “I owe all my happy years teaching and conducting choirs and orchestras to the accidental lapse of government rules.”

Anthony Lally 1937–2014

(Speech & Drama 1961) Anthony attended Gunnersbury Grammar School, Ealing, where he joined a drama club and performed in Morning Departure, a play by Kenneth Woollard.

After his National Service with the RAF, he studied Speech & Drama at the Guildhall School. His distinctive dark auburn hair made him instantly recognisable. He then became an actor and writer, working in repertory theatres and writing short stories for radio broadcasts. He also collaborated with 36

musician Alec Gould to write the musical Down on the River, based on Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.

In his retirement he had a close association with Brighton Little Theatre for a number of years and played the title role in King Lear. He will be missed by his son and grandchildren as well as many friends, his sister and brother.

Diane O’Neill, Anthony’s sister

Derek Martinus (aka Derek Buitenhuis) 1931–2014

Celebrated director and actor Derek Martinus, who directed at Guildhall at least seven times between 1986 and 1995, has passed away, aged 82.

Born Derek Buitenhuis in Ilford, Essex, Derek took an early interest in acting and in his teens joined an amateur group touring Shakespeare to London pubs.

Following national service with the RAF, Derek studied directing and acting at the University of Oklahoma and Yale school of drama.

Derek went on to forge a successful freelance career as an actor and director both in the UK and in the US. As a theatre director Derek ran the pioneering in-the-round Pembroke Theatre in Croydon from 1959 to 1962.

In television, Derek is perhaps best known for having directed 26 episodes of Doctor Who for the BBC between 1965 and 1970, and he also directed a number of popular TV series including Z-Cars and Angels. In the 1980s Derek directed the West End thriller The Killing Game and directed numerous productions for Guildhall, where he is fondly remembered among alumni and staff. The Guardian recalls “a rousing production of a scandalously neglected

early Ibsen play, League of Youth, in which the lead role was taken by an intemperately exciting young actor called Damian Lewis.”

For Swedish television, Martinus directed Jan Guillous’ The Wolf in 1984 from a screenplay by his wife, novelist and playwright Eivor Martinus, with whom he collaborated extensively.

Derek is survived by Eivor and their two daughters.

Fergal O’Mahony 1983-2014

(Piano 2008) Talented pianist Fergal O’Mahony passed away suddenly on 9 September aged just 31. Described by his agent Cole Kitchenn as “nothing short of a musical genius”, Fergal showed great promise from an early age, and attended junior school at the Royal Northern College for Music, followed by the RNCM and Manchester University. He went on to win a full scholarship to the Cologne Hochschule fur Musik and then Guildhall, graduating in 2008. As a pianist Fergal performed throughout the UK and Europe as well as the USA and Kazakhstan. As a Concerto soloist he appeared with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata and Lakewood Symphony Orchestra, and he also toured with the European Youth Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy. Fergal’s great passion was to write music of his own.

His first large-scale piece for theatre – the musical Gutter Press – was completed in 2012 and he penned the last note of his new musical Hallowed Ground shortly before his death.

Fergal’s family will host a celebration of his life this autumn, with details being made available on his agent’s website, colekitchenn.com

Joan Spencer d. March 2014

Joan Spencer was the youngest violin Professor to be appointed at Guildhall School in 1950 at the age of 27. Her rate of pay was 10/- an hour!

Joan began playing the violin at seven years old and was soon winning competitions in and around her home town of Keighley.

She won a Scholarship to Royal Manchester School of Music to study with Henry Holst and after the outbreak of war worked with ENSA and CEMA giving concerts in factories, schools and blitzed areas, as well as studying.

She played an Amati violin on loan from the college and then bought a Groffiller in 1943. In July that year Joan played the Max Bruch concerto at the Proms. with the BBC Symphony orchestra.

Joan was a prolific broadcaster, performing with the Halle, LPO, BBC Northern and recitals with Flora Kent, Gerald Moore, and Ernest Lush and in 1944 she moved to London to study with Max Rostal.

In 1957 she changed to a Pietro Guernerius violin and began a duo with Carola Grindea, playing and broadcasting in many countries.

Joan was a Guildhall examiner for many years and adjudicated at many Music Festivals. She was made an Honorary Fellow in 1967.

Alison Cragg, Joan’s niece

Patric Standford 1939–2014

Patric John Standford was born in 1939 in Yorkshire, went to a Quaker school and after ‘national service’ in the RAF studied at Guildhall School with Edmund Rubbra and Raymond Jones. He won the 1964 Mendelssohn Scholarship which enabled him to extend his studies in Italy with Gianfrancesco Malipiero and in Poland with Witold Lutoslawski.

After gaining a Masters degree at London University, he became involved in the world of commercial music, writing and arranging for films, television and West End shows. During this time he made several recordings as a conductor of light music, including an album for the jazz group Continuum which he composed and directed.

During the 1970s Patric established himself as a concert composer with his first symphony The Seasons, which was awarded the Premio Citta de Trieste, a Cello Concerto (a homage to Brahms), and the oratorio Christus Requiem which drew wide critical acclaim and received the Yugoslavian Government Arts Award. His Symphony No. 2 was awarded the Óscar Esplá prize for composition in Spain, his third symphony Toward Paradise was awarded the 1985 City of Geneva Ernst Ansermet Prize, and in 1997 he received the First International Composers’ Award of Budapest for his choral masque The Prayer of Saint Francis. In 1999 he was awarded the first prize of the Belgian International ClarinetFest for his Clarinet Quintet.

Symphony No 5 was commissioned for the BBC Philharmonic in 1986.

Patric Standford was professor of composition at Guildhall School from 1968 to 1980, when he was appointed Head of the Music School at Bretton Hall, a college of Leeds University.

Whilst at Bretton Hall he continued to compose, write and appear as a regular

jury member for choral festivals in Hungary, France and Estonia. He was made a Fellow of Guildhall School in 1972.

He also played a major role with British music organisations. He was chairman of the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain and the British Music Information Centre. He was a Council member of the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund, a board member of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and Chairman of the Hinrichsen Foundation.

NOTICES

Pamela Madger Sommerfield 1931–2014 Jean Marshall nee Campbell-Gray 1917-2014

(Singing 1955) Rhuna Martin 1932–2014

former Junior Guildhall professor Kathy Stobart 1925–2014 David Rayvern Allen 1938-2014

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A DAY IN THE LI FE

Carrie Quinlan For actress and comedy writer Carrie Quinlan (Acting 2003), no two days are the same – the only constants in her varied career are arm swings, laughter and an abundant supply of tea

L

ike anyone who’s self-employed, especially in the arts, days live on a spectrum. Busy to quiet and, often correspondingly, good to bad. The tricksy bit, always, is structure. It’s so important to have a routine. Obviously, every now and then that can fall away (the day I write this, for example, primarily consists of sleeping until after lunchtime, and watching Game of Thrones in my pyjamas), and it’s important not to beat yourself up for that. But I’ve learned over the last few years in particular how much it helps me to have some sort of structure, however limited. A largely unchangeable morning routine, that works for any day in the ‘feast or famine’ life of an actor. An hour in the morning that’s absolutely my own, and makes me feel like I’ve achieved something, whatever else the day holds. I keep it very basic – bit of exercise (including arm swings – you can take the girl out of Guildhall…); meditation; breakfast; and a shower in which humming is done (once again – well trained).

All of which means I’m ready to face the day. Oh, clothes.

Also clothes.

After that, more often than not, I hit my desk. I’m working on a couple of things at the moment – a sitcom for Radio 4, and a one-woman show, mainly aimed at showing Steven Moffatt what a good Doctor Who I’d be. I try to spend a couple of hours writing before lunch, but it tends to be much less than that, interrupted as it so frequently is by tea-making and farting about on Twitter. A friend of mine tells me that, “a writer is just an actor who can’t be bothered to do bar work,” and that is entirely true in my case. But as long as I write something every day, I count that as a win.

More tea, anyone?

We recorded series four of John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme this summer, which meant heading to BBC Broadcasting House a lot. Recording days start at 1pm, so I leave around 11, as I’ve been walking everywhere lately. It demands a fair bit of planning, given the time it takes, but it’s good thinking time, and good seeing-more-of-London time.

Like writing, radio recordings are fuelled by tea. So, we arrive – the cast, the producer, the production co-ordinator and actual John Finnemore himself – have a catch-up and a cup of tea, then settle down around a table to read through scripts with another cup of tea. It’s the most fun show in the world to do, as the cast are all good friends and the scripts are 38

peerless. We normally tape (it’s probably not tape any more) two shows at each recording, so we’ll read through both, before thinking about maybe having another cup of tea.

During the read-through, and in the break afterwards, we all have a think about voices for each sketch – accents, tone, pitch and all that. Margaret Cabourn Smith is a master of this, and can turn her larynx to just about anything. I, on the other hand, am limited to ‘middle class woman’, ‘other middle class woman’, ‘broadly common’ and ‘vaguely colonial’.

Most of the shows involve a song or two, with music by the brilliant Sue Pearse. Sometimes we’ll get to hear them before recording day, but more often than not we’ll learn them in between the table read and the FX rehearsal. Somehow we manage it. It’s something of a mystery, as only 40% of us can really sing. Probably best not to think too carefully about how that works.

Then it’s on with the FX rehearsal. This is primarily for the technical geniuses who provide all the special effects, from an elephant falling down a flight of stone steps while wearing a full suit of armour, to Elvis Presley bursting into a courtroom riding a dragon. Both of which sounded really rather good. I take my shoes off at this stage because I prefer working like that, get mocked for taking my shoes off because the rest of the gang are in thrall to ‘The Man’, and on we go.

At about this point one of us will realise that something’s missing, so the production co-ordinator will do a tea run.

Belly laughs

We’re normally over-running by this time, and the BBC’s audience services team ask us to get on with it so that they can let the audience in. Once the audience are seated, Ed, the producer, tells them which way to panic if there’s a fire, John warms them up (which is never very hard – he has an entertainingly squealy teenage following), and we start.

Each recording is about 45 minutes long, plus retakes, and it’s just proper fun. Five funny people making a lovely audience laugh, and each other laugh too. I’m normally not a corpser, but on this occasion I have to leave the stage during one sketch, as I’m laughing so hard I’m worried it’ll affect the recording. I go backstage, compose myself, dry my tears and return. Once we’ve recorded everything, Ed comes to the stage and takes us through retakes. We’ll re-record little bits of sketches because of line stumbles, FX issues or paper rustle, and they will be fitted seamlessly into the original recording.

Once both recordings are done we head off to the pub with friends and family who have come to the recording. And then home to bed, safe in the knowledge that this really is the best job in the world.

Discover Carrie’s work at carriequinlan.co.uk

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Forthcoming events 2015 Thursday 29 January, 7pm Milton Court Concert Hall

Monday 16 – Saturday 21 February, Milton Court Theatre

Guildhall Chamber Orchestra

Twelfth Night Guildhall Symphony

by William Shakespeare Orchestra

Boris Brovtsyn director / violin

Mike Alfreds director

Pietari Inkinen conductor

Elgar String Serenade in E minor, Op 20 Panufnik Violin Concerto Bartók Divertimento

Tickets on sale January 2015

Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Stravinsky The Firebird Suite Sibelius Symphony No 2

Monday 9 – Saturday 14 February, Milton Court Studio Theatre

Monday 2, Wednesday 4, Friday 6, Monday 9 March, 7pm Silk Street Theatre

Thursday 19 March, 7.30pm Barbican Hall

Arnold: A Midsummer The Dancing Master Night’s Dream (world stage premiere)

by William Shakespeare Donizetti: Patsy Rodenburg director I pazzi per progetto Tickets on sale January 2015 (UK stage premiere) Martin Lloyd-Evans director Dominic Wheeler conductor

Tickets on sale January 2015

For full information and booking, visit gsmd.ac.uk/events

The Guildhall School is provided by the City of London Corporation.

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