Music Journal January February 2019

January/February 2019 Ulster Orchestra hosts the ABO Conference Maya Youssef: Queen of the qanun Southbank launches SoundState festival of new music Music and Drama Education Expo preview

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Welcome Happy New Year to all ISM members. I hope you had a very wonderful festive break and of course shared your music with many different people across the whole of the UK and beyond.

Above: Deborah Annetts Photo: Mark Thompson

As I write this editorial in December, it is very difficult to imagine what 2019 will bring. We have just heard that Mrs May has decided to pull the vote on her deal in the House of Commons, a deal which made no reference whatsoever to our creative industries. At moments like these I do wonder what it will take to get the Government to realise that the creative industries are one of the fastest-growing parts of the economy, now worth over £100billion a year. And yet no one within Government has thus far grasped the importance of musicians being able to tour outside the UK. We have launched a new campaign Save Music with a captivating video. If you haven’t yet seen the video or signed up to support the campaign, you can find it at savemusic.org.uk – and please do share with all your friends and family.

And of course, 2019 is likely to be the year that the Department for Education begins its review of the National Plan for Music Education. I would like to say thank you to the many hundreds of you who responded to our two surveys over the summer period. We had over 700 responses which enabled us to build up a full – but rather depressing – picture as to what is happening to music education in this country, in our consultation on the future of music education. Richard Morrison, Arts Correspondent at The Times, called the report ‘brilliant’ and ‘scrupulous’ but wondered whether Government would listen to it because of the way Brexit dominates everything. A summary of the report is available on page 5 and the full report is available at ism.org/news/reports. What was very clear were the huge challenges the workforce is facing, whether it be zero-hour contracts, poor terms and conditions or disappearing jobs.

Front Cover Ulster Orchestra Photo: Benjamin Ealovega See feature on pages 14–16

The ISM and its charities continue to work hard to ensure you have the support and representation you need – January is the month when we start the search for new Board Members so you can help the ISM with its important work. Please see the enclosed sheet which sets out how to apply.

And finally, our annual ISM Members Day 2019 will be taking place on 16 April at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Find out more on page 4.

Inset images: Gillian Moore Photo: Tricia de Courcy Ling See feature on pages 22–24 Music and Drama Education Expo Photo: Courtesy of Rhinegold Media & Events

deborah@ism.org

Contents 2 4 5 7 9 10 15 18 22 25 26 29 39 40

News & Campaigns Members’ day The future of music education: ISM report Stage pass: an insider’s guide to working with festival promoters Professional development Queen of the qanun Spotlight on Ulster Orchestra Music and Drama Education Expo SoundState at the Southbank News from our members Classified advertising News from our corporate members Local events listings Ask me a question

Volume 85 / Number 4 Published by: The Incorporated Society of Musicians 4–5 Inverness Mews, London W2 3JQ T: 020 7221 3499 E: membership@ism.org W: ism.org Incorporated Society of Musicians is a limited company registered in England No. 36882. Registered Office as address above.

Editor: Deborah Annetts Sub-editors: Clare Stevens/ Francesca Treadaway Proofreader: Christine Gwyther-Scott

Design: cogdesign.com Typography: marcmarazzi.com Advertising: Cabbell Publishing Ltd, T. 020 3603 7940 E. jane@cabbell.co.uk Editorial and advertising copy date: 1 February for March/ April issue Price: £7 per copy Subscription: £35 per year Circulation: 10,000 named recipients Views expressed in MJ are not necessarily those of the ISM. The publication of any advertisement does not imply endorsement of the advertiser or the product advertised.

All ISM publications are copyright Printed by Optichrome, Woking GU21 5HX ISSN 0951 5135

See feature on pages 18–20

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

News & campaigns ISM releases report on the future of music education In December, the ISM released a report on the future of music education. Drawing on the responses to our surveys which ran over the summer, the report makes a series of recommendations for both music education in the classroom and any revised National Plan for Music Education. See more about the report on page 5.

You can help keep up the momentum by writing to your MP using the template letter on the Bacc for the Future website at baccforthefuture.com.

ISM launches the Save Music campaign

Joint statement with Music Mark The ISM and Music Mark issued a joint statement on 12 November calling for schools to take urgent action in the light of new evidence showing the decline of music in schools. The statement called for all schools to ensure the National Curriculum is delivered at all Key Stages and to commit themselves to delivering a minimum of one hour of music education per week in Key Stage 3, and for each secondary school to have at least one full-time music teacher. The ISM looks forward to continuing to work with Music Mark on this issue in the future.

Read the statement in full at: ism.org/news/ism-music-mark-joint-statement

Bacc for the Future campaign meeting On 25 October we held a very successful campaign meeting for Bacc for the Future. Bacc for the Future is led by the ISM and supported by over 200 organisations and 30,000 individuals, and campaigns against the current English Baccalaureate (EBacc), a headline accountability measure for schools in England which excludes creative and arts subjects. The campaign meeting was attended by representatives of organisations from across the arts and creative industries, who developed strategy for the campaign and shared intelligence and best practice. There was a feeling that the campaign has developed momentum, with extensive political engagement and Ofsted announcing that it plans to measure schools’ performance through means other than exam results.

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On Wednesday 31 October 2018, the ISM launched the Save Music campaign by unveiling its campaign video calling for freedom of movement to be maintained for musicians post-Brexit, or a two-year working visa to be introduced. The campaign follows in the wake of an EU Select Committee report which recommended the introduction of a multi-entry visa for creatives, including musicians, post-Brexit. It also follows the publication of the ISM’s Musicians and Brexit report, which revealed the concerns of more than 1,600 musicians and called for freedom of movement to be protected for musicians post-Brexit. If British musicians cannot work easily in the EU, this will damage the UK’s cultural influence and threaten our world-class music industry. The Save Music campaign is already supported by a range of musicians such as SK Shlomo, Riot Jazz, Bushra El-Turk and more.

You can watch the Save Music video and sign up to the campaign at savemusic.org.uk

ISM-MU Code of Practice Have you signed up to support the ISM-MU Code of Practice? Find out more about how you can help to eradicate bullying, harassment and discrimination in the music sector at ism.org/dignityatwork

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

BBC Radio 4 Front Row / Music Matters / Woman’s Hour

Response to the Withdrawal Agreement The Government’s Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union was agreed by the Cabinet on 14 November. The ISM’s Save Music campaign is calling for freedom of movement to be retained for musicians after Brexit, so we were very disappointed that the Withdrawal Agreement confirmed that freedom of movement will end after the transition period. As the ISM’s report Musicians and Brexit revealed, an end to freedom of movement will have a major negative impact on the music industry, with a third of musicians relying on work in the EU27 for at least half their income. The Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration lacked any detail on how the Government plans to protect musicians’ mobility rights, or negotiate the planned Cooperative Accord on Culture and Education with the EU27. The ISM has been working with Parliamentarians to press the Government on for clarity on this issue.

There was one relatively positive aspect of the Withdrawal Agreement – it confirmed the transition period can continue past the end of 2020. This would be hugely useful for musicians as it would broadly retain the status quo with regard to mobility rights, and it would allow vital time to negotiate the final trade relationship with the EU, which would cover services including music.

Find out more about the ISM’s Save Music campaign at savemusic.org.uk

Budding bloggers – we want to hear from you!

Have you got a burning issue you wish to share with the music industry? Are you fundraising for a special cause? Or do you simply want to share your experiences? If any of these sound like you, we invite you to contribute to the ISM blog series.

To contribute a blog post, simply email jessica.salter@ism.org for our guidelines.

We look forward to reading your posts.

ISM Chief Executive Deborah Annetts has been a guest on a number of BBC Radio programmes recently.

On Front Row Deborah was a panellist for a debate on creative education, where she forcefully argued for the importance of music education in the face of declining take-up at GCSE and A Level thanks to the EBacc. On Radio 3’s Music Matters Deborah facedoff against Nick Gibb, the Minister of State for Schools, who was on the back foot over his championing of the EBacc against a backdrop of declining music in schools. Deborah was also ranked as one of the 40 most powerful women in music by Woman’s Hour, and appeared on the programme to talk about the ISM’s work and campaigns.

BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0695d4c BBC Radio 4 Front Row: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00013vs BBC Radio 3 Music Matter: bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05ps2r5

BBC Introducing Live The ISM was delighted to attend BBC Music Introducing LIVE at Tobacco Dock in London from Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 November. Supported by BBC Music and the wider music industry, BBC Music Introducing Live was an inspiring event bringing together musicians and those looking for a career in music, for three days of discovery which included panel sessions with musicians and industry professionals, live music, exhibitors and more. The ISM’s Head of Services and Operations, Sarah Osborn, chaired the full-capacity panel session, ‘How to get your music onto film & TV shows’ which featured Nicky Bignell, Head of Music Licensing at the BBC and Emma Lomas, Head of Licensing and Creative at the Beggars Group. Find out more about the event at introducinglive.co.uk External affairs team, 020 7313 9312

ism.org/blog

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Members’ Day Our next Members’ Day will take place on Tuesday 16 April at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, 200 Jennens Rd, Birmingham B4 7XR.

Booking prices

Annual General Meeting Free (members only) Lunch £10 Individual sessions (AM or PM) Free for members/ Join us for our popular annual event which brings £10 for non-members ISM members from all over the UK together to enjoy Full day booking £10 (cost of lunch) stimulating musical sessions, catch up with friends and for members/ network with fellow professional musicians. It is also £25 for non-members an opportunity to attend our Annual General Meeting and open forum.

Right: Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Photo: Guy Traynor

This year’s event will focus on the power of music and will include sessions on the future of music education and inspiring performances from top performers.

If you would like to attend Members’ Day, please book your place at bit.ly/ISMbooking19 by Tuesday 2 April.

Please let us know if you have any dietary or access needs when you book.

Right: Members at ISM event Photo: Kris Brown

You can book for the whole day or choose to attend specific sessions.

Programme (Subject to change)

Right: Lauren Zhang Photo: Courtesy of YCAT

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10.00

Registration and refreshments

10.30

Welcome from Professor David Saint, President ident 2018-19

10.35

Performance from Xhosa Cole Quartet (Xhosa Cole, Winner of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2018)

11.00

Music education: Presentation by Dr Ally Daubney and Professor Martin Fautley

12.00

Break

12.20

AGM and open forum

13.20

Lunch

14.30

Session TBC

16.00

Performance from Lauren Zhang (Winner, BBC Young Musician of the Year 2018)

16.20

Closing words

16.30

Drinks reception

17.00

Event close

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

The future of music education – ISM report As our members will be aware, the Incorporated Society of Musicians is a subject association for music education. The ISM has been intensively involved in music education right from our founding in 1882. In 1912, the ISM supported a private members’ bill in the House of Lords regarding concerns about the quality of music education. Not much has changed since then in terms of our interest – today, over 100 years later, we lead highprofile campaigns dedicated to ensuring the quality and provision of music education for all both in and outside our schools, irrespective of ability, age or background.

Above: Francesca Treadaway

Last month, the ISM released a report on music education that included a review of the National Plan for Music Education (‘the Plan’), which was launched in 2012 and runs until 2020. Drawing on the responses to our surveys which ran over the summer, the report makes a series of recommendations for both music education in the classroom and any revised National Plan for Music Education.

Highlights of the report include: • the involvement of Government in music education and the visionary nature of the Plan which was strongly backed by the Secretary of State for Education at the time, Michael Gove • how Government education policy, driven by accountability measures and academisation, has adversely impacted on the provision of classroom music education • how, according to the respondents to the surveys, music education hubs (‘the Hubs’) are performing against core and extension roles • widespread issues in the workforce involving both the creeping use of freelance contracts and a lack of professional development

What is the National Plan for Music Education?

The National Plan for Music Education is an ambitious, The survey results need to be seen in the context aspirational document which sets out clear objectives of much recent research, including work by the University of Sussex. with regard to delivery, access, progression and excellence in the music education sector, and it introduced music education hubs. The Plan was launched in 2012 and continues to 2020 – it is shortly due for review.

The Plan’s main aim was to ensure that access to music education was not, effectively, dictated by a postcode lottery, and that opportunities were equal and available to all.

We are very grateful to the 746 respondents who responded to the two surveys in the summer of 2018, which focused firstly on primary education and secondly on the National Plan for Music Education and its delivery.

Continued overleaf È

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Recommendations Our research clearly shows that, while there is good work being delivered in many Hubs and schools, there are challenges, including academisation, accountability measures such as the EBacc and Progress 8, the use of output metrics to measure performance of the Hubs, and employment practices.

However, there are issues across Government and within Hubs themselves that need addressing.

The decline of music in Key Stage 3 has been driven by the headline accountability measures of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) and Progress 8. Clear guidance must be given to all schools that headline accountability measures must not affect the delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum at Key Stage 3, and must make it clear that a narrow curriculum will impact adversely on Ofsted inspections and evaluations. The Government must give clear guidance to all schools – including academies, which are not required to follow the National Curriculum – that a broad and balanced curriculum must be delivered and sustained across all schools at all key stages.

Research by the University of Sussex also showed an increase in music teachers teaching outside their subject area. It must be ensured that all secondary schools have at least one full time music teacher who exclusively teaches music and no other subject.

Respondents also stated that the reduction and removal of funding for Hubs from local authorities has negatively impacted on the music education offer from Hubs. We recommend that the £75m ring-fenced funding for Hubs is maintained, and the financial settlements for Hubs are on a three-year basis, to promote stability and a culture of outcomes rather than outputs.

Respondents reported difficulties in delivering Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET) – particularly in relation to students receiving tuition for less than one term, the reducing length of WCET programmes and difficulties in ensuring reach in rural areas with many small schools and limited workforce. We recommend that the core and extension roles are reinstated but with greater flexibility in how the Hubs can deliver WCET to safeguard access to musical learning and progression.

Concern was also raised by respondents about initial and ongoing access to appropriate instrumental/ musical learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and they also called for primary school children to have an adequate grounding in music. We call for Early Years, SEND and signposting for 18-25 education to be addressed in any future iteration of the Plan.

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Our other recommendations include: • provide clarity as to the roles and responsibilities of schools and Hubs when it comes to the delivery of a music education for all regardless of experience or background • overhaul metrics for measuring Hubs’ achievement, and focus on the quality of provision and outcomes rather than levels of activity • ensure that all teachers are supported to access regular and relevant high-quality subject-specific continuing professional development • embed a culture of singing in all schools via classroom teaching • provide appropriate funding for replacing / repairing musical instruments to support the delivery of the Plan • ensure that there is a sufficient number of properly qualified teachers coming through to support the delivery of music education in our schools and Hubs • we also call on the Hubs to work with ISM to tackle the growing job insecurity of music teachers and ensure they have fair terms and conditions.

Read the full report at ism.org/news/reports Francesca Treadaway, Senior Communications Manager, ISM

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Stage pass: an insider’s guide to working with festival promoters David Jones, Director at Serious, offered invaluable industry insights during his panel discussion at The Empowered Musician. In this exclusive feature for the ISM Music Journal, he shares more in-depth advice to musicians interested in playing at festivals.

Serious is a creative producer that works with artists and festivals in Britain and internationally. Within Serious, David is Contemporary Music Programmer at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Director of K-Music, the annual London Festival of Korean Music. He jointly created and developed the EFG London Jazz Festival, which celebrated its 25th birthday last year.

What are the benefits of playing a festival?

Above: David Jones

Festivals can be a great way for musicians to perform new works and try out new ideas, as promoters often have some resources for you to do something different. Or you might be performing material you have presented many times before but it will be fresh and exciting to that festival’s audience. It can give you the opportunity to play to a big crowd and to connect with fans on a new level; for example, you might stay in town to run some workshops instead of just doing a hit-and-run date on a tour. You’re also going to meet lots of other musicians and industry professionals.

So festivals are very desirable and worth targeting.

What marketing materials will a musician be expected to have ready in the lead-up to a festival?

A musician should have all the basic tools ready to give to the promoter. This includes a short piece of information that the promoter can lift and use for their own purposes, which says who you are and what you do, in terms that aren’t jargon or esoteric.

Generally speaking, you should have two versions: one which contextualises your sound with references

to well-known musicians – i.e. if you like this musician, you’ll like what I do – and a second version which describes who you are and where you’ve played and includes a couple of quotes from recent press coverage. You should also make a list of press cuttings available to the promoter, so they can write something that’s directly tailored to their audience.

It’s good to have a minimum of two good-quality photographs that capture your character as a musician.

This doesn’t mean expensive photoshoots; look to your network of friends to help. The more your identity looks current and true to what you’re doing, the more likely you are to attract promoters; they in turn can reach out to an audience.

Email the promoter decent low-resolution versions of the photographs for them to use online. Make sure you’re also able to supply high-resolution versions of the images (good enough quality for print) by Dropbox or WeTransfer. Try not to attach and send high-resolution images by email as it clogs up people’s inboxes.

You also owe it to everyone to have your social media together. It’s not acceptable anymore to say you don’t do social media or that your website is three years out of date; that isn’t a very good basis for asking people to book you. There are lots of low-cost options around social media so that it’s easy to maintain. Again, your network of friends will probably be able to help you with this.

Continued overleaf È

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

If promoters have a good experience working with you and you’re prompt and efficient then they’ll work with you again and they’ll recommend you. If you’re unprofessional, disorganised and change your mind about things repeatedly they won’t work with you again and unfortunately that word will probably get passed on to other promoters.

What should a musician think about in terms of equipment?

As soon as a promoter has booked you, prepare a technical rider of what you’ll need on the day and email it to them. Don’t tell the promoter a month after they’ve put the show on sale that you need a variety of extra things. If this happens, questions about who’s going to pay for them will get raised and this can make it all very tense.

On the day, bring back-ups for your equipment.

Have two of everything: for example, extra strings, cables and spare batteries.

Do you have any business tips for musicians working with promoters?

Have a simple contract to hand. Quite often, neither the artist nor the promoter issues a contract for a long time, and that’s when misunderstandings creep in.

As an artist, you should always have something simple in writing that states how you’re going to do the show: for example, it’s on this date, it’s in this venue and we’d like this much time to set up and rehearse.

Also use the opportunity to ask a few questions: when is the show going to be announced and when do tickets go on sale? This means that you’re not surprised by anything and most importantly you have a record of what’s been agreed. If the promoter hasn’t replied to your email within a few days, contact them again and politely ask them to drop you a line back to confirm everything is correct and to answer your questions. When you’re playing a gig, be clear about your expectations and make sure someone signs off your requests.

More and more musicians want to film their shows.

Many venues will charge a facility fee for you to film – so check this with the venue and promoter first.

Don’t have a friend turn up with filming equipment unannounced on the night! There may be restrictions on the imagery you can use or instructions on how you credit the venue, so double-check all the details and make sure you loop the promoter into these plans and the conversations with the venue.

What advice do you have for musicians after they’ve played the festival?

You’ve got a connection with a name and a venue that people recognise. Make the most of it! Thank people afterwards – something that’s written from your own experience and enjoyment of the event. Promoters will respond well to this. If something’s gone wrong, don’t leave things festering. If you’ve got a problem, it’s helpful to know about it on the night – try to flag it or resolve it then.

Finally, everyone likes positive social media feedback; shout out about what a great time you had playing at the festival or venue.

ISM members can contact our in-house legal team to help draft or review contracts. There are also a range of contract templates on our website at ism.org/advice-centre/contracts

ISM graduate membership – now just £50 We understand that the start of your career can be a difficult time financially. In response to increasing graduate debt and your feedback, we have reduced our graduate membership rate to £50, increasing to £110 in the fourth year of membership. This represents a saving of £452 over four years. If you were previously a student member, we will give you an additional year of membership at £50.

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Professional development New web advice We’ve got a wealth of new advice for members available on the website, including information on sources of funding across the sector, and advice for working parents and the maternity allowance.

We’ve added more on money, including introductions to the state pension and the living wage. We’ve also got a comprehensive section on how a no-deal Brexit might affect musicians, looking at issues such as transport, immigration and instruments in transit. ism.org/advice Become an Empowered Musician

Below (from left to right): Alex Parsons, James Murphy, Kirsty Devaney Photo: Kris Brown

ISM members can catch up on the first resources in our Empowered Musician series, including panel sessions from our event back in October. As well as podcasts full of advice from people across the sector, catch up on our stimulating range of discussions.

Find out about everything from legal issues to PR and marketing in Nuts and Bolts. You can learn from health professionals in our Looking after Yourself panel and begin to navigate new technologies and their implications for musicians in Digital Futures.

In Making it Happen, musicians tell you how they made their ideas and skills into real projects and careers. Please enjoy the content and let us know what you think via email or online using the hashtag #EmpoweredMusician.

Professional development for teachers in music education hubs Would you like to offer prestigious, tailored professional development sessions to your instrumental and vocal teachers? We can arrange for music education experts Paul Harris and Dr Alison Daubney to come to you and present your choice of workshops from our series, which covers topics such as helping your students tackle performance anxiety, understanding progress in the context of music education and teaching process and skills.

Please go to ism.org/seminars or contact our Knowledge Hub and Publications Manager, Freya McLeavy on freya.mcleavy@ism.org or 020 7313 9325, for more information and to book our experts.

Webinars Distance learning for music educators Find out about building your teaching skills through distance learning. Liz Stafford from Music Education Solutions will join us on Wednesday 23 January 1-2 pm to explain the benefits of the Certificate for Music Educators. Discover what you would study and how this flexible mode of study can fit round your life and work. ism.org/seminars Wellbeing series In February, the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine will be joining us to present a series on looking after yourself. Four webinars will cover topics like preventing performance injury and maintaining your health on tour. Look out for more information at ism.org/seminars

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Queen of the qanun Syrian composer, speaker and qanun-player Maya Youssef, winner of the ISM-sponsored Newcomer Award at the 2018 Songline Awards, introduces herself and her music to Kimon Daltas for the ISM’s Music Journal

There is an element of serendipity in how Maya Youssef came to learn the qanun, a type of plucked zither that exists in various shapes and sizes throughout the Middle East.

Above: Kimon Daltas

At the age of nine, on her way to the local music school in Damascus where she had without great enthusiasm signed up for violin lessons, the taxi driver was playing qanun music on the stereo and she was entranced. Armed with the name of the instrument she was sure she wanted to learn – and unperturbed by the driver’s warning that it wasn’t for girls – she went to her usual classes. On the very same day, the head of the school dropped in on a group lesson to say that a qanun teacher had joined the faculty and anyone could give it a go.

And so a pleasing cosmic coincidence set the course that Youssef follows to this day, all the way to the celebration of world music of the Songlines Awards last October. There she won the Newcomer Award, sponsored by the ISM, and was nominated in a further two categories.

She took the stage to receive the award, introduced by Malian star Fatoumata Diawara, and, ‘Gosh, it was crazy,’ she says. ‘I didn’t know Fatoumata was going to introduce me – it was RYHUZKHOPLQJ LQ D EHDXWLIXO ZD\ , KDG MXVW Ă€QLVKHG a national tour, and felt I was moving up onto a new level, but to have the opportunity to be in a room with some of my heroes, and perform in front of them ‌ it was such an honour.’ But like many newcomers, Youssef didn’t spring fully-formed from nowhere. She has a substantial career behind her – as well as a bright future ahead, of course.

The album that won her the Songlines Award, entitled Syrian Dreams LV LQGHHG KHU ÀUVW EXW KHU ÀUVW PDMRU UHFRJQLWLRQ FDPH DW WKH DJH RI LQ Syria’s national youth music competition. After studies in Damascus, Youssef moved to Dubai to pursue a solo career before moving to Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat to take a teaching post. But her heart was in performance, and though the Arabic system of maqam (modal scales) is the wellspring of her music, she was also keen to collaborate with musicians from other cultures.

Cosmopolitan London was the obvious destination, and her successes in the Middle East were recognised with an exceptional talent visa.

Further studies followed at SOAS (the London University School of Oriental and African Studies), where she is still attached on a part-time PhD looking at how music can be used as a healing tool, arising from a musical theatrical project she devised for helping refugee children process their often tortuous journeys.

Syrian Dreams captures Youssef’s relatively recent emergence as a composer and is part of her own attempt to deal with the war that has torn her KRPHODQG DSDUW VLQFH ‘From that point on,’ she writes in the sleeve notes, ‘making music was no longer a choice, it was a crucial tool to express and come to terms with intense feelings of loss and sadness after seeing my SHRSOH VXÍżHU DQG P\ ODQG GHVWUR\HG ¡ At the same time as writing these pieces, from VKH DOVR VWDUWHG SHUIRUPLQJ WKHP DQG LQ WKH same year she notched up a level of prominence in her adopted home with a Proms Plus event at the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room.

Left: Maya Youssef Photo IGOR STUDIO

Continued overleaf Ăˆ

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Photo: Courtesy of Tom Askew-Miller

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‘When I came to write my own music, that really FDPH RXW LQ D YHU\ FOHDU ZD\ · VKH VD\V WKRXJK VKH GLGQ·W IXOO\ UHDOLVH WKLV KHUVHOI XQWLO 6\ULDQ 'UHDPV ZDV UHOHDVHG ‘I only came to understand it later when the UHYLHZV FDPH RXW DQG , UHDG RI SHRSOH KHDULQJ HFKRHV RI 3KLOLS *ODVV MD]] ÁDPHQFR DQG , WKRXJKW RN \HV · %XW DSDUW IURP WKH WUDFN ¶+L -D]]· ² WKH QDPH EHLQJ D QRG WR WKH KLMD] PDTDP ZKLFK GRPLQDWHV LQ WKH SLHFH ² VKH ZDVQ·W WKLQNLQJ LQ WHUPV RI PL[LQJ VW\OHV ¶, MXVW VDW GRZQ DQG ZURWH ZKDW IHOW OLNH P\ WUXH QDWXUH · Kimon Daltas 0D\D <RXVVHI·V GHEXW DOEXP Syrian Dreams is out now RQ +DUPRQLD 0XQGL 6KH LV QH[W SHUIRUPLQJ LQ WKH 8.

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Spotlight on Ulster Orchestra As the Ulster Orchestra prepares to host this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conference of the Association of British Orchestras, Clare Stevens ďŹ nds out how it is back on track after a recent ďŹ nancial crisis and helping to build bridges in its divided community

Above: Clare Stevens Photo: Alex Ramsay

-XVW Ă&#x20AC;YH \HDUV DJR WKH 8OVWHU 2UFKHVWUD 82 ZDV facing potential closure, unable to balance its books.

Cuts in public funding, a lack of corporate sponsors or wealthy individual donors in the province, and the high rent charged by Belfast City Council for RÎ&#x20AC;FH VSDFH LQ WKH KLVWRULF 8OVWHU +DOO ZHUH DPRQJ the factors that brought Northern Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only professional ensemble to the brink of bankruptcy.

for cello and orchestra in Omagh and a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Music of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; concert in Armagh to a brass ensemble performance in Bangor, Handelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Messiah in Derry ~Londonderry and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Vienna! On Your Doorstepâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a New Year Straussfest in Ballymena.

6L[ PRQWKV ODWHU D VHULHV RI SRS XS performances in a day in unexpected places around its home city of Belfast later was just one of Wigleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LGHDV IRU UDLVLQJ WKH RUFKHVWUD¡V SXEOLF SURĂ&#x20AC;OH though he is keen to give the credit to his colleagues who made it happen. Soloists and small ensembles played in venues ranging from the Europa Bus 6WDWLRQ WR WKH QHZ RÎ&#x20AC;FHV RI WKH %HOIDVW 7HOHJUDSK while the whole orchestra united for a lunchtime performance in a shopping centre and was joined E\ %HOIDVW 3KLOKDUPRQLF &KRLU IRU WKH Ă&#x20AC;QDO FRQFHUW in St Anneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Big Noiseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; project, in which children make and get used to handling paper instruments as a prelude to receiving real ones on which they learn to play.

Rafael Payareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience as a graduate himself of the Venezuelan El Sistema and Richard Wigleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as education director of the HallĂŠ have contributed to the development of Crescendo, which now delivers musicianship and instrumental workshops to PRUH WKDQ 3ULPDU\ DQG FKLOGUHQ RQ D weekly basis. Each academic year culminates in a performance by the children with the full UO in the Ulster Hall. The main objective is to foster social inclusion across the sectarian divide, but Crescendo has also increased awareness of the orchestra and its repertoire in areas where children may be familiar with the traditional music of their own cultures but rarely encounter classical music.

)RXQGHG LQ MXVW EHIRUH WKH VWDUW RI WKH Troubles, the UO proudly boasts that throughout WKH \HDUV RI YLROHQFH WKDW OHG XS WR WKH VLJQLQJ +RZHYHU D Â&#x2026; FDVK ERRVW IURP WKH of the Good Friday Agreement, it never cancelled provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department for Culture, Arts and a concert. Today it plays an important part in Leisure (DCAL) and a lot of hard work by orchestral building bridges between the two communities, management consultant Trevor Green provided in particular with its Crescendo project, which short-term stability, and the arrival of the charismatic works in four schools in two North Belfast and gifted Venezuelan Rafael Payare as chief GLVWULFWV QDWLRQDOLVW &DWKROLF &ROLQ DQG XQLRQLVW conductor was an instant catalyst for artistic ambition. 3URWHVWDQW 6KDQNLOO WKDW ZHUH EDGO\ DÍżHFWHG $W WKH EHJLQQLQJ RI LWV WK DQQLYHUVDU\ \HDU LQ by the Troubles. the orchestra was able to appoint Richard Wigley, This began with a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;paper orchestraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; former general manager of the HallĂŠ, as managing SHUIRUPDQFH LQ D VKRSSLQJ FHQWUH Ă&#x20AC;YH \HDUV DJR director on a permanent contract. inspired by the early stages of the Sistema Scotland

The UOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s touring programme around the SURYLQFH ZDV UHEUDQGHG IRU WKH VHDVRQ DV â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;On Your Doorstepâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and is an important element of its outreach strategy. Visiting arts and leisure centres, schools and churches as well as concert halls, it embraces everything from a showcase

Continued overleaf Ă&#x2C6;

15

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Above (Left to right): Richard Wigley; Jonathan Simmance conducts a Crescendo performance in the Ulster Hall; A â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Come and Playâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; session.

Photos: Matt Mackey; Jim Corr; Carrie Davenport

The orchestra also runs â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Come and Playâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; GD\V IRU LQVWUXPHQWDOLVWV IURP *UDGH XSZDUGV and mentoring events for more advanced music students in partnership with Ulster Youth Orchestra take place regularly.

6LQFH DOO WKH 82 PXVLFLDQV KDYH EHHQ involved in its Learning and Community Engagement programme as part of their normal weekly schedule â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is the only contract orchestra in the UK to work in this way. They have risen to the challenge enthusiastically, says Wigley, with some, such as violist Jonathan Simmance seizing the opportunity to develop skills in leadership and communication that had hitherto been completely untapped.

Regular performance activity includes playing for Northern Ireland Opera and participating in Belfast International Arts Festival. The orchestra has an important relationship with the BBC, which includes giving Radio 3 invitation concerts in the Ulster Hall and providing Northern Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution to the annual Proms in the Park performances around the UK. Its own Belfast season is shared between two contrasting venues: the Victorian Ulster Hall, with its lovely acoustic DQG Ă&#x20AC;QH SLSH RUJDQ DQG WKH PRUH YHUVDWLOH Waterfront which is better suited to popular repertoire such as music from the movies.

Asked how arts organisations in Northern Ireland can function at a time when the provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s devolved government is suspended, Wigley says that a team of excellent civil servants ensure that cultural life does not grind to a halt. Unsurprisingly, KH LV FRQFHUQHG DERXW WKH %UH[LW HÍżHFW ² SOD\HUV IURP (8 FRXQWULHV KDYH PDGH D VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQW contribution to the UOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current high standard of playing, and the European Orchestra Laboratory II project is supporting a community engagement programme in Derry.

A looming cloud on the horizon is the departure of Rafael Payare at the end of this season; his successor has yet to be named. But Wigley remains optimistic, upbeat, and keen to welcome fellow ABO members to his adopted home city for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conference. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Belfast has a great vibe at the moment, full of young people who are clearly enjoying life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great example of how a city can regenerate itself, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m thrilled that the UO is playing its part in that process.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Clare Stevens The Ulster Orchestra hosts the annual conference of the $VVRFLDWLRQ RI %ULWLVK 2UFKHVWUDV $%2 -DQXDU\ ABO is the national body representing the collective interest of professional orchestras, youth ensembles and the wider classical music industry throughout the UK.

ISM at the ABO Conference Cross Border: The Brexit Challenge Thursday 24 January, 10.15 am The ISM is sponsoring an ABO conference discussion on Brexit. With just two months to go to Brexit Day, the session will take stock of where are we are now.

Deal or No Deal? Impending chaos, or business as usual? We take a close look at what it all means for the orchestral sector and the wider music industry.

Chaired by Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive,

16

ISM, with Stephen Peover, Chair, Ulster Orchestra and former Permanent Secretary at Stormont, and Helen Sykes, Helen Sykes Artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Management and Deputy Chair, IAMA. The ISM will also sponsor a pre-concert reception at 18.00 on 24 January, ahead of the Ulster Orchestraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concert in the Waterfront Hall, conducted

by Rafael Payare and featuring the Four Last Songs

by Richard Strauss, with Dorothea Roschmann as soloist, and Shostakovichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Symphony No 4.

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Music & Drama Education Expo 2019 Bookings are open for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major London showcase for music education; Clare Stevens previews the event

MUSIC & DRAMA EDUCATION EXPO Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 March, 2019

Above: Clare Stevens Photo: Alex Ramsay

In just seven years the Music & Drama Education Expo has established itself as one of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most popular and comprehensive showcases for music education. Taking place at Olympia, West London, the event is free to attend and includes a large WUDGH H[KLELWLRQ ZLWK VWDQGV IURP PRUH WKDQ performing arts organisations and suppliers; and D SDFNHG SURJUDPPH RI PRUH WKDQ VHPLQDUV workshops and debates, public interviews with celebrities and industry leaders, and performances.

Nicola Benedetti, internationally renowned violinist and president of the European String Teachers Association, leads the line-up of expert VSHDNHUV 2Q 0DUFK VKH ZLOO EH SUHVHQWLQJ D practical masterclass for violin and viola teachers, as well as delivering a keynote speech on music education, and discussing her views on technical

and musical approaches to playing in one of the HYHQW·V SRSXODU ¶Ã&#x20AC;UHVLGH FKDW· FRQYHUVDWLRQV ZLWK the editor of Music Teacher magazine.

'D\ NLFNV RͿ ZLWK D ¶6WRPS· VW\OH ERG\ percussion warm-up based on Brazilian rhythms, relevant to all stages from Early Years to KS5.

ESTA Education will introduce their new professional development programme, which includes the RQOLQH (67$ 3RVWJUDGXDWH &HUWLÃ&#x20AC;FDWH IRU VWULQJV DQG SLDQR OHYHO DQG WKH RQOLQH (67$ &0( IRU all instrumental, piano and singing teachers. There are sessions on dhol drumming in the classroom, Alexander Technique, the new ABRSM piano syllabus, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Listening Mapsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for each movement of Vivaldiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Four Seasons, producing a school musical, how to sight-sing, lessons learned from the new VSHFLÃ&#x20AC;FDWLRQ IRU .6 PXVLF DQ LQWURGXFWLRQ WR DJing and music production, and more.

All photos of the Music and Drama Education Expo courtesy of Rhinegold Media & Events

Continued overleaf Ã&#x2C6;

19

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

,60 ZLOO EH UXQQLQJ WZR VHVVLRQV RQ 0DUFK ² VHH EHORZ IRU GHWDLOV +LJKOLJKWV RI 'D\ DOVR include a vocal warm-up and sessions on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Running a thriving music department on a tiny budgetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the RSL exams in music production and contemporary music, recruitment and retention of brass and woodwind players, the new Trinity College brass syllabus, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;whole body learningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for instrumental teachers (drawing on the work of KodĂĄly, Dalcroze DQG 2UÍż WHDFKLQJ OLWHUDF\ WKURXJK UDS DQG DQ LQLWLDWLYH WKDW RÍżHUV SLDQR VWXGHQWV D XQLTXH performance opportunity at the Royal Albert Hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Elgar Room. There will also be a Question Timeâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; VW\OH SDQHO GLVFXVVLRQ RQ PXVLF SROLF\ IRU in respect of a refreshed National Plan for Music Education in England.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am so proud of our programme for London ¡ VD\V +HDG RI &RQWHQW 6DUDK /DPELH â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve squeezed in yet another increase to the number of sessions available for drama delegates, and instituted a new â&#x20AC;&#x153;Meet the Expertâ&#x20AC;? aspect to the Sharing Labs, where topics are hosted E\ D GHGLFDWHG H[SHUW LQ WKDW Ă&#x20AC;HOG WR IDFLOLWDWH discussion among delegates but also to pitch in with their own considerable experience. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got something for everyone at Expo, no matter which part of education you work in.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Clare Stevens Music & Drama Education Expo is a Rhinegold event. You can view the full programme and register online at Musicanddramaeducationexpo.co.uk Follow the Expo on social media for updates and live streams during the conference Facebook @musicanddramaexpo Twitter @MusicedExpo

ISM AT THE MUSIC & DRAMA EDUCATION EXPO ISM: A Guide To Progression, Curriculum And Assessment

ISM Trust: Primary Music Toolkit

7 March 2019, 12.30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 13.15

The ISM Trust, supported by the Schools Music Association (SMA), has commissioned the Primary Music Toolkit to help primary school teachers further their self-assurance in teaching music in the classroom. The toolkit, created by Dr Ally Daubney, explores ideas about music teaching and is packed with practical help and strategies to equip primary teachers with the conďŹ dence to lead inspiring musical experiences.

Dr Ally Daubney and Dr Martin Fautley (on behalf of the ISM) will deliver this seminar designed to guide school teachers through the challenges currently affecting music education and teaching in the classroom. Music hub and service leaders are also encouraged to attend as these invaluable sessions will help develop INSET days.

20

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

SoundState at the Southbank A festival of new music with a global outlook launching at the Southbank Centre is an experiment in concentration, says director of music Gillian Moore. Interview by Kimon Daltas

The headline grabber may be that there will be over ZRUOG DQG 8. SUHPLHUHV GXULQJ WKH Ă&#x20AC;YH GD\V RI 6RXQG6WDWH RU WKDW DFURVV FRQFHUWV EHWZHHQ :HGQHVGD\ DQG 6XQGD\ -DQXDU\ WKHUH ZLOO EH only one work by a dead composer. But discussing the genesis of the festival, Southbank Centre director of music Gillian Moore starts at the grass roots level, with the Composersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Collective â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an educational initiative linking aspiring, student and professional composers through workshops, GLVFXVVLRQV DQG RSHQ UHKHDUVDOV ZKLFK RÎ&#x20AC;FLDOO\ ODXQFKHG LQ $SULO Above: Kimon Daltas

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;It was the development of an idea that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d already been developing for a few years, without a name, acknowledging that London is a real centre for composers, particularly given the number of people studying in the universities and colleges,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; says Moore, noting that, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;almost without trying, we also developed a national reach. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Whenever we have a premiere from a living composer here, we invite mainly young composers to have really in-depth conversations with them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done sessions with Harrison Birtwistle, Helmut Lachenmann, Unsuk Chin, Esa-Pekka Salonen ...â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): Ensemble Modern Photo: Katrin Schilling Du Yun Hermes Experiment Photo: RaphaĂŤl Neal

That feeling, of the necessity of supporting living composers from big names to students, even people just curious about the possibility â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there are no entry requirements as such for Composersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Collective â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is the real driving philosophy behind SoundState.

Through numerous free talks, workshops, and performances in foyer spaces, there has also, REYLRXVO\ EHHQ DQ HÍżRUW WR FUHDWH QHDU VHDPOHVV WUDQVLWLRQV IRU DXGLHQFHV IURP FDWFKLQJ Ă&#x20AC;YH PLQXWHV RI VRPHWKLQJ RQ WKH ZD\ WR JHW D FRÍżHH to participating, to buying a ticket to see substantial new works at the Royal Festival Hall. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;With this site on the South Bank, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually quite hard not to do this, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s such an open place,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; says Moore. Sophie Ransby, education manager at the Southbank Centre and overseer of all things Composersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Collective, agrees: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We try to Ă&#x20AC;QG ZD\V LQ IRU FRPSRVHUV ZD\V LQ IRU IDPLOLHV ways in for people who are just walking through the building â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to try and demystify things a bit, starting with something fun and participatory in the ballroom.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; But of course the core of the SoundState festival LV LQ LWV FRQFHUWV WKRVH HYHQWV RI PXVLF E\ OLYLQJ composers, forming what Moore describes as an experiment with what happens when you create concentration â&#x20AC;&#x201C; dispensing with the classical programming orthodoxy of slotting new music into a sandwich of more familiar repertoire.

That approach has its advantages, but can also end up hiding the new work, says Moore.

A festival, on the other hand â&#x20AC;&#x201C; she name-checks WKH +XGGHUVĂ&#x20AC;HOG &RQWHPSRUDU\ 0XVLF )HVWLYDO Sound Festival in Aberdeen and relative newcomer the London Contemporary Music Festival as LQVSLUDWLRQV ² RÍżHUV FRQFHQWUDWHG RSSRUWXQLWLHV IRU young composers to meet senior colleagues from around the world, as well as for its various resident groups to have a context to present new work.

Gillian Moore Photo: Tricia de Courcy

Continued overleaf Ă&#x2C6;

23

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Right (from left to right): Rebecca Saunders Photo: Astrid Ackermann Claire Chase

SoundState has three featured composers, the London-born, Berlin-based Rebecca Saunders and two big-hitting New Yorkers who may not be as familiar to London audiences: Pulitzer Prize ZLQQLQJ 'X <XQ DQG Ă DXWLVW &ODLUH &KDVH ZLQQHU of a MacArthur Foundation â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Genius Grantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fellowship. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We wanted to create a truly global festival,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; says Moore, and the Southbank Centre team has certainly achieved that, with programmed works by composers from Iran, Pakistan, Estonia, Turkey, China, Bali and Japan, as well as the US and all over Europe.

Noting that it already represents a substantial investment from the Southbank â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;One of our biggest budget items of the yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Moore says that, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;our partners have really come on board with the idea which has made it much more ambitious.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; FKHFNV RÍż FRQFHUWV E\ WKH /RQGRQ 3KLOKDUPRQLF Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra and Aurora Orchestra, as well as visiting international orchestra the Frankfurt-based Ensemble Modern.

The festival also recasts the Park Lane Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usual January series of concerts by promising young classical artists entry into a set of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;SoundState sessionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We also want the public and industry to think about composition, including round-table When it comes down to it, the philosophy discussions on issues around new musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not least is simple: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great to see great performers the crucial question, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Do we need new music?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; championing new music.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Kimon Daltas Find out more about the SoundState Festival at: VRXWKEDQNFHQWUH FR XN ZKDWV RQ IHVWLYDOV VHULHV FODVVLFDO VHDVRQ VRXQGVWDWH

SOUNDSTATE HIGHLIGHTS

24

â&#x20AC;˘

17 concerts, of which ten are free. 18 free talks and workshops

â&#x20AC;˘

the LPO with Marin Alsop kicks the festival off with a concert of premieres, including a new percussion concerto by Helen Grime for soloist Colin Currie, and a major new commission from Dutch heavyweight Louis Andriessen in his 80th birthday year

â&#x20AC;˘

the London Sinfonietta will perform James Dillonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tanz/haus: Triptych which Moore heard in HuddersďŹ eld and thought was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;stunningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

â&#x20AC;˘

ensemble Modern plays two short concerts on the same day, one a focus on Rebecca Saunders and one tapping into the global theme, with works from US, Iran, Gremany, Slovenia and Turkey, conducted by the ZimbabweanAmerican Vimbayi Kaziboni

â&#x20AC;˘

aurora Orchestra accounts for that one piece of non-new music in the festival, in a concert themed on emigration, which will include a chamber orchestra arrangement of Mahlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Songs of a Wayfarerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;)

â&#x20AC;˘

Claire Chase â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;an absolute force of natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; according to Moore â&#x20AC;&#x201C; performs material from her long-term commissioning project â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Density 2036â&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and leads a free community workshop

â&#x20AC;˘

Bounce Beat: a free concert followed by workshop investigating the rhythmic potential of ping-pong

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS We welcome your brief news (max. 150 words) and high res images. Please email mj@ism.org.

The next deadline for copy is 1 February for the March/April issue.

Brighton Centre With so many busy musicians it is always difficult to arrange meeting dates to suit everyone. The smaller than expected gathering of members and friends who joined the Brighton Centre’s group visit to view the magical Theatre in the Woods at West Horsley Place was treated to an equally magical tour of this new home for Grange Park Opera.

We began outside in warm sunshine which showed the splendid cross-gartered brickwork of this Surrey theatre at its best.

The theatre was opened in 2017 and has had two hugely successful seasons. Staff member Jack Rush (coincidently a former pupil of our committee member Geraldine Rowland) gave us an excellent in-depth tour of the building from the backstage area with dressing rooms, green room fitted with Joanna Lumley’s cast-off kitchen units (that’s stylish recycling for you!), the orchestra pit and into the auditorium with its fine acoustic. Finally the doors to the fanfare balcony were opened revealing a wonderful view across the landscape still bathed in sun.

This was certainly a memorable tour to entice us into attending the opera company’s main season. A look at grangeparkopera.co.uk will reveal the operas to be staged in 2019.

Simon Nicholls Together with professional Russian pianist and researcher, Simon Nicholls has translated the writings of the Russian composer Alexander Skryabin (1872–1915). Skryabin’s private journals, presented with relevant letters and other material from the composer and his contemporaries, go far towards explaining the origins of Rachel Shapey his idiosyncratic world-view. Simon Nicholls has researched original Secondary school music teacher material and comments by Skryabin’s Rachel Shapey, from Stockport, associates and contemporaries, was recently shortlisted for the and provided commentaries and Stelios Business Award for Disabled annotations which dispel popular Entrepreneurs. She will receive misconceptions and reveal the £10,000 for her I can compose website, constellation of philosophies that which guides students through the shaped the composer’s ideas. The academic side of composition with book has been hailed by Marc-André resources designed to build confidence Hamelin as, ‘an immensely valuable at GCSE and A Level. Rachel was addition to our understanding of diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS every aspect of this most enigmatic 12 years ago and her musical journey of Russian composers’, and has a began with the piano at five years foreword by Vladimir Ashkenazy. old, progressing through the flute and Illustrated with photographs from the playing the organ in the Skryabin Museum, The Notebooks of local church.

Alexander Skryabin is published by Five projects were shortlisted for the Oxford University Press and is available 2018 Stelios Award, supported by through their website (global.oup. easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Iannou com), Amazon and the website of on behalf of the international charity Waterstones (waterstones.com).

Leonard Cheshire. The overall winner of the award, Joshua Wintersgill, received £30,000 for designing a sling transl ated by SIMON NICHO LLS & MICHA to help people with reduced mobility EL PUSHK IN annota tions & comme ntar y by to be transferred safely, comfortably SIMON NICHOL LS forewo rd by and with dignity to and from VL ADIMIR ASHKEN A Z Y aeroplane seats.

I can compose is aimed at students, but includes a dedicated Teachers’ Area, packed with useful and timesaving resources such as ready-made Homework Assignments, Cover Lessons and Classroom Aids to help teachers during the lessons. icancompose.com

THE NOTEBOOKS OF ALE X ANDER SKRYA BIN

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Wendy Hiscocks

David Mackie

Paul Seeley

Explorer, a collection of piano duets for adventurous students and teachers by Australian composer-pianist Wendy Hiscocks, has recently been published

by Revolution Arts. It consists of 27 beautifully crafted miniatures in seven different keys in a range of styles and moods, providing exciting new material to supplement teaching students of any age, from children to adult learners.

A memoir of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in its final years – 19751982 – has been written by David Mackie, who was a repetiteur with the company and then chorus master and associate conductor. His time with D’Oyly Carte included a Royal Command Performance at Windsor Castle in 1977, a tour of the United States and Canada in 1978, a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1979 and the company’s involvement in the making of the film Chariots of Fire in 1980.

North Wales member Dr Paul Seeley, for many years associated with the West Yorkshire ISM centre, has written the first biography of theatrical entrepreneur and hotelier Richard D’Oyly Carte, the founder of the D’Oyly Carte Opera company. The book is the result of many years of research as well as inside knowledge, for Dr Seeley was a repetiteur, latterly also assistant to the touring manager of the D’Oyly Carte company, which was disbanded in 1982 following the Arts Council’s decision against providing a grant.

The duets are suitable for beginners up to approximately Grade 1-2 and can help support the development of sight-reading skills for both ABRSM and Trinity College London exams.

The music is sure to appeal to lovers of good piano music of all ages and ability, while an exceptional design

by Revolution Arts uses attractive full colour illustrations by the composer.

This publication is a valuable addition to any musician’s library.

Nothing Like Work or Right in the D’Oyly Carte is available from Grosvenor House Publishing Limited (ISBN: 978-1-78623-316-5), and from all major retailers, price £12.99.

Explorer is available for £9.99 plus p&p by following this link to the Revolution Arts website www.revolutionarts. co.uk/product/explorer-pianoduets-for-students-and-teachersprint-edition/

Classified advertising TAX AND ACCOUNTING SERVICES. Tax and accounting noise interfering with your melody? Then let us help you tweak the tune of your song. At PAC, we are specialist accountants on property business, companies’ year-end accounts, tax planning and advice. Whatever your tax music, you can

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rely on us to change your melodic contour – for the better. For no obligation advice, call 02036575696 or email team@practical adviceconsulting.co.uk.

Visit us on www.practical adviceconsulting.co.uk

Published by Routledge (ISBN 9781-138-48628-7) in its series ‘Music in Nineteenth Century Britain’, and simply entitled Richard D’Oyly Carte, the biography will be of interest not only to fans of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas but to anyone who appreciates the musical scene in the late nineteenth century.

How to book: please send advertisement copy with payment (cheques payable to the ‘Incorporated Society of Musicians’ or T: 020 7221 3499 with credit card details) to the ISM, 4–5 Inverness Mews, London W2 3JQ or email mj@ism.org by 1 February for March/April issue.

Private and Trade 50p per word, minimum £5.

Advertisements from ISM members are half-price (i.e. 25p per word, minimum £2.50). Name, address and contact details must be paid for if included. Box numbers £2 extra. Prices include VAT. A series of six or more identical insertions qualifies for 10% discount.

MUSIC COPYING SERVICE. Quality printed music produced at reasonable prices. For further details contact David Turner, computer based music copyist, at 23 Overbrook, Hythe, Southampton SO45 5BE, Tel: 02380 848146, email: dfturner@ waitrose.com

NEW EARLY KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS for Sale.

Visit www.harpgear.net for details.

STUDENT CELLOS, mostly German, various sizes, from £100. Tel. 07974 412269

FRENCH HORNS, several from £150. 01747 828552

BASSOONS several. 07974 412269 DOUBLE BASS PAESOLD concert model 590.

SPINNETT WITTMAYER Excellent condition cost (German) 4 octaves, C-D, £3k plus in 1997, £895 light walnut. VGC needs ONO 01747 828552 tuning, hence £395 for a quick sale. Tel 07974 412269

VARIOUS BRASS, WOODWIND & STRINGED instruments for sale and/or rental. Tel: 07974 412269.

COR ANGLAIS: B&H. Blackwood, Conservatoire, Low E, serviced. £1,050 ONO. 07974 412269

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Our new members We offer a warm welcome to the following members who joined before 30 November.

Full members Birmingham Russell Collins BMusHons Samuel Deakin Thomas Earl BMusHonsBCU Natalie Petch BMusHonsLancaster

Bournemouth Andrew Law BMus

Brighton Miriam Roberts Christopher Witherall BMusChichester

Bristol

Devon & Cornwall

Liverpool

Lizzie Kirwan BAHonsLCoM Timothy Noon MA Emma Nottage BAHonsExeter Simon Stevens BMus Judith Catherine Anne Wooster BMusBirm PGCE

Eleanor Kelly BAHonsLivHope

Eastbourne & Hastings Jamie Harris Lucy Morrell BAHonsCantab Galina Tanney PGDipRAM BMusHonsRNCM

Michael Bacon BMusCCCU Kimmerle Boehm MMusWisconsin David Dodd MARWCMD BALeeds Ana-Marie England Niall Percy BMusHonsHuddersfield Emma Tyers BAHonsBathSpa

Guildford

Cambridge

Hull & East Riding

Alison Daniels BAHonsCantab Graham Dolby BAHonsAngliaRuskin Seb Fayle BALancaster Esme Welland LRSM

Laura Bradford BMusHons Sarah Leonard BA Sarah Lucy Penny BMusHons

Cheltenham

Adrian Bawtree BMusOxon Sarah Jane Peters BAHonsOU Josephine Swallow

Angela Marsh BAHons PGCE Tonia Price MABCU

Croydon Su Fang Chua DipABRSM BMusHonsMelbourne Anna Margolis BMusHonsLond Penelope Homer BMusNott Claire Overbury PGDipTCM

Richard Fisher BAHonsSoton Jacinda Palmer BMusHonsACM James Sutton Sarah Thomas BAChichester

Hereford & Worcester Katharine Harrison

Kent

Lancaster Gill Hoyle Robyn Emma Martindale BAHonsOU

Lea Valley Abigail Bruce BAHonsKingston David Burles MALondon Nicole Hobday CTABRSM DipABRSM Alice Perrin BMusHonsTrinityLaban

London – North Anne Aldridge BAWales Reiss Beckles BMusTrinityLaban Adam Bonser BAHonsYork Laura Forbes BAPlymouth Ivana Gavric MMusRCM BACantab David Halstead BAHonsCantab Nicholas Hennell-Foley BAHonsFalmouth Marcas Lancaster David Morris MMusTCM Marino Onissi LTCL Francesca Papadakis DipABRSM LRSM Lucy Parham AGSM ConcertRecitalDip Sarah Perkins GradDipMus Djumash Poulsen MARAM Alison Rayner Melanie Self MAMusEdUCL Sean Shibe Kathryn Smith MMusGSMD Rosemary Walker BMusGoldsmiths Kemal Yusuf

London – South East Lauren Atkinson MMusTrinityLaban Nicholas Beever BMusHonsRNCM Nicola Billington MAOxon ARCM Feargus Brennan BMusHons Matthew Down BMusHonsTCM Samuel Eagles BMusTrinityLaban Olwen Foulkes BMusHonsRAM Vinzenz Gstrein BAMozarteum Deborah Holborn BMusHonsEdin MSc PGAD

Victoria Jerico BMusLiceu Marta López Fernández PGCertGuildhall Sarah Martin Mbombo Mfuni BMusHonsICMP Susan Phillips Michelle Santiago ArtDipGSMD Tereza Stachova BMusHonsTrinityLaban Helena Svigelj PGArtDipTrinityLaban George Tarlton BMusHons(CityUniv/GSMD)

Manchester

London – South West

Sarah Ridy MMusKoninklijk Conservatorium

Benjamin Ashby BMusHonsRCM James Bowers BMusHons MARWCMD Greta Dilyte BMusHonsAberdeen Thea Gayle Ben Harker MARWCMD Flamur Lokaj Frederick Mercer BMus Richard Miller BMusHons Naomi Scott De Moncloa BMusNewEngland Helen Neilson PGDipRCM Kate Rankin BAHonsKingstonPoly Callum Smith BMusBIMM Ross Wilson MMusRWCMD

London – West Virginia Black FRAM Naomi Kilby Krystyna Palamarchuk MMusRAM Anastasia Prokofyeva DipRCM Alessandro Sotgiu

Isobel Mortimer MMusRNCM Lucy Nolan BMusHonsRNCM Adam O’Shea BMusHonsGSMD Samuel Partridge BMusHonsNewcastle Jeremy Salter BMus Jessica Tomlinson Emily Wainwright BMusHonsRNCM

Norfolk

North of England Amy Baker BAHonsNewcastle Carol Bradshaw BAHonsOU Dougal McPherson BMusHonsRCS John Peacock

North Wales Alan McGuinness BMus(Hons) GRNCM

North Yorkshire Joseph Christie BAYork MAYork Naomi Meredith PerfDip

Northern Ireland Sean Brown BAHonsKingston William Goodwin Alexandra McNulty BMusHonsGlas Rebecca Murphy BMus Shauna White PGAD(TLC)

Nottingham Claire Bryan PGCE Deborah Norman ARCM Sophy Yeoman

Oxford Eniko Nagy BAHonsTimisoara Olive Walton

Continued overleaf È

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Portsmouth

Wiltshire

London – West

South Wales

Obituaries

Mark Anstead BMusChichester Ciara Burrows

Maria Adaixo Khyam Allami Ella Bodeker Lily Anna Cosima Frascina Laura Joeckle Jose Luis Uceta-Martin

Emma Davidson

Mr Martin Dalby of Glasgow Mrs K Helen Shaw of Wolsingham

Scotland – North East

David Coram Emma Leigh-Currill BAReading Alison Porter BMusSurrey Ricardo Zwietisch Pellegrino MMusRCM

Jasmin Cameron-Greig MMus PhD BAHons

Overseas

Scotland – South West

Bren O Ruaidh BAHons(UCC)

George Blakesley Emmanuel Charalabopoulos Lok-Yin Hui

Reading Nicholas Bates BMusHonsICMP

Rebecca Cheminais BMusHonsRCS Hannah Lee BMusHonsRCS

Sheffield Liz Armour DipRCM Caroline Cant Charlotte Hardwick Biller BMusSheff Andrew Hornsby

South Wales Edward-Rhys Harry MMus(TVU) MA BMusHonsWales Lucy Mellors MARWCMD Annette Morgan GRCM Catherine Showell BMusHons

St Albans Anne-Marie Munoz BABirm PGCE Cameron Sinclair MASussex

Suffolk Tracy Douglas Samuel Plackett

Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Mary Jane Dixon Dawn Loane ARCM LTCL BA Daniel Spirrett BMusHonsBCU Ellena Taylor BMusHonsBCU

West Yorkshire Daniel Marks BMusHonsTrinityLaban David Pipe MACam Monique Slattery BAHonsHuddersfield

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Student members Birmingham Anna Olsson Sophie Rheam Richard Ward

Manchester

EVC Music Publications Ltd elenacobb.com 01889 271 554 team@elenacobb.com

Mid-Wales Thomas Mathias

Reading Yina Cai

Scotland – North East Euan Macdonald

Scotland – South East

Cambridge

Shane Brogan

Alberto Mastrocostas

Scotland – South West

Guildford

Laura McFall BMusHonsUlster

James Hutchinson

Liverpool

Sheffield

West Yorkshire Corporate members

Megan F Helstrip

Kent

Helena Bale Samuel Bridges Samuel Exon

Brighton

Sarah Baldwin

Warwickshire & Northamptonshire

Slater Music School slatermusicschool.uk +44 (0)7789 760 884 admin@slatermusicschool.uk Vivace Music vivacemusicservices.com 07722595964 info@vivacemusicservices. com

George Carnell Liam Memmott

Jaclyn Rosenfeld BAHonsCantab

London – North Nilly Brook Robin Haigh Darcie Jago Zoë Kundu Haley Myles Nicole Petrus Barracks Mingyue Ruan

London – South East Noelia Cotuna Oleta Haffner David Lovegrove Rebecca Money Veera Piilo Alleya Weibel

London – South West Marcus Feld Elliot Nicklin Giuseppe Pucciarelli

Letters after your name As a member of ISM you are automatically entitled to use letters after your name: MISM (Member of the ISM) or SMISM (Student Member of the ISM). If you have been in continuous membership for 15 years or more, you gain FISM (Fellow of the ISM) status. Download the appropriate logo from the members’ area of our website to add to your website, personal stationery and marketing materials. We also have a corporate member logo.

If you are a platinum, gold, silver or bronze corporate member and would like to display the logo on your website or in your publications, please contact us on 020 7221 3499 or membership@ism.org.

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

NEWS FROM OUR CORPORATE MEMBERS We welcome your brief news (max. 200 words for Platinum and Gold members, max. 150 words for Silver members) and good photographs. Please email mj@ism.org. The next deadline for copy is 1 February for March/April issue.

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Right:WNO’s General Director John Fisher at WNO’s Open House Photo: Neil Bennet

The College was able to make this acquisition as a result of a generous gift from The Foyle Foundation.

This Collection will be available for public and academic access later next year.

annual list of national honours. In the same week the Conservatoire building was named Construction Project of the Year at the Insider West Midlands Property Awards. bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire

rwcmd.ac.uk

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Right: Portsmouth Music Hub – One World Photo: Courtesy of Portsmouth Music Hub

This term we were delighted to welcome Leonidas Kavakos – one of the great violinists of our age – who gave a unique two-hour masterclass at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) in December. Three lucky students each played for 40 minutes to Maestro Kavakos. In November, RBC and the British Viola Society presented viola students and staff at the 45th International Viola Congress in Rotterdam. Two attendees – Alistair A hugely respected and experienced Rutherford and Anthony Hewitt – figure across the opera world, John certainly turned up in style, cycling the Fisher is Assistant General Manager at 180 miles to Rotterdam to raise money the Metropolitan Opera in New York. for our ARCO project, which was He will take up the post at RWCMD in established in 2015 between RBC and Cardiff in August 2019. the Morris Isaacson Centre for Music, an inspiring institution in Soweto, ‘Over these last years, the profile and Johannesburg. ARCO provides regular reputation of the college in general, distance-learning opportunities for and the vocal/opera department in talented children in South Africa particular, have soared, making it, without doubt, now one of the foremost ‘ who do not have access to the same level of musical education as we do go to’ places for advanced training in the UK. Earlier in the term we also in voice and opera in the world,’ he presented a star-studded double bass says. ‘I am very much looking forward benefit concert to raise funds for ARCO, to having a more consistent role in headlined by New York Philharmonic continuing this growth, and to help Principal Double Bassist Timothy Cobb. shape and hone the extraordinary resources available at RWCMD.’ Our stunning new building continues Continuing its ambitious plan for the development of its international opera training provision, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) is delighted to announce the appointment of John Fisher as the first Artistic Director of the David Seligman Opera School.

He has been the Hodge International Chair in Opera at the College, and this new post is also generously funded by the Hodge Foundation

Together with Opera Rara, the RWCMD has acquired The Foyle Opera Rara Collection, a major collection of historical research material relating to 19th-century Italian opera and a unique resource of international significance for scholars and performers.

to receive awards recognising the unique design and specialist engineering that has produced the conservatoire of the future; this time it has been granted the ‘Design through Innovation’ award by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors at its

Portsmouth Music Hub Portsmouth Music Hub launched a One World national environmental campaign at a beach clean last September. It aims to harness the power of music and the arts to inspire children, their teachers, their families and the wider community to take positive steps to improve the local environment, its wildlife and precious resources.

At the heart of One World is a song resource, available free to every school in the country. The 17 songs cover a wide range of subjects including rising sea levels, plastic pollution, the plight of bees and blue whales and chlorofluorocarbons. They focus on local issues that may have a global impact, and encourage children and young people to take action now to save the planet.

One World includes art and sculpture competitions, drama in schools, poetry and musical events, together with a social media campaign that targets a younger generation seeking authentic and engaging communication.

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Since the launch the BBC, environmental groups, local councils, policymakers, regional media and schools have been supporting One World; there was even a thumbs up from Sir David Attenborough on Twitter! portsmouthmusichub.org/ one-world

Trinity College London As we develop our music exams, we’re always thinking more widely about relevant performance and communicative skills that learners need across a broad range of contexts.

Our newest syllabuses use a new, simple to understand format which makes each element of what is required for each level of assessment clear to teachers and learners alike, whether familiar with, or new to, Trinity exams.

Image: Trinity College London

Our repertoire lists have been updated for all instruments, and now contain more than 3,500 pieces selected by our specialists. These, together with the option to submit own-choice pieces for approval, enable every performer to craft a programme which reflects their own unique musical interests and individual strengths.

Further information, early bird rates and a registration form can be found on our website.

Feedback from our diplomas consultation highlighted the importance of performance skills and the examiner’s report now details specific performance areas: fluency & accuracy, technical assurance & application, and musical sense & communication, with 96% of the marks allocated to the recital.

Set an inspiring & creative challenge for your musical pupils.

Take a look at our wide range of supporting resources on Spotify, Youtube and online at trinitycollege. com/resources. Our articles give advice on selecting repertoire and developing stagecraft skills, while video interviews with examiners and professional musicians explore musical, creative and performing skills even more widely to put instrumental study into context.

Enter online 1 February - 31 March 2019

The latest of these is the 2019 Performance Diploma syllabus (available from trinitycollege. com/diplomas), which will be used for exams from 1 August 2019 onwards. Trinity diplomas provide the first steps into professional trinitycollege.com musicianship and the focus of these qualifications is performance. There are no prerequisites for our ATCL or LTCL Dalcroze UK diplomas, meaning you can prepare International Easter Course for them whether you have taken a Grade 8 exam or not.

We are very excited to have the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, England as the venue for our Easter Course in 2019. The RNCM is a leading international conservatoire located in the heart of Manchester, with a reputation for attracting talented students, teachers, conductors and composers from all over the world.

The course will run from Sunday 7 to Wednesday 10 April.

The course is for anyone interested in finding out about the method but also for those who wish to refresh their skills and understanding of Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Classes will take place in Rhythmics, Aural Training and Improvisation and there will also be workshops to attend including a chance for teachers to exchange good practice.

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dalcroze.org.uk

Song Academy The Young Songwriter 2019 competition

Calling Young Songwriters!

Aged 8-18? Written your own original songs? Want to get your songs heard & get connected to an exciting community of young songwriters?

Get ready!

2019 star judges include songwriters/ producers Tom Odell, Imelda May, Chris Difford, Eg White, Emily Phillips, Dan Gillespie, Miranda Cooper, Lyn Goddard, and Nicky Cox (editor, First News).

Our 2019 sponsors include PRS for Music, Focusrite, Rockschool, Dawsons, Casio and ICMP. songacademy.co.uk/says19

Music Mark Music Mark has consulted its members on the future of the National Plan for Music Education and offered recommendations to the Department of Education. (Find it online: musicmark.org.uk/marketplace/ useful-reading/) Music Mark and ISM have released a joint statement on the falling provision of secondary music education (link musicmark.org.uk/news/musicmark-and-ism-respond-to-fallingprovision-of-music-education-insecondary-schools/ )

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Music Mark Leadership Development Programme 1) The Five Dimensions of Leadership 2019, Leeds

Right: Rocksteady employer Photo: Courtesy of Rocksteady

After the London sessions sold out in record time, be sure to book your spot in Leeds. The Music Mark Leadership Development Programme is for Senior Leaders, Middle Leaders and Aspiring Leaders within the arts and music education sector. The programme consists of five specifically-designed sessions, each developing an inquiry-approach into leadership and professional learning. Attend a session at any time or sign up to all five at a discounted rate.

British Kodály Academy

Rocksteady

Major Events 2019

Over 100 professional musicians now teach Rocksteady band lessons in schools across the UK, helping thousands of children enjoy the holistic benefits that come from playing music they love.

Foundation Course Huddersfield University Part 1: 13-14 April 2019 Part 2: 15-16 June 2019 This course is intended for those with little or no musical experience, but would be appropriate for anyone wishing to gain some practical ideas for use in the nursery/primary classroom. Material will be provided which is suitable for children aged 3 to 11. The course will be practical covering key aspects of a child’s musical development: beat, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, phrasing etc.

Tickets: musicmark.org.uk/events/ leadership-development-programme- For further information contact Lucinda Geoghegan E: education@kodaly.org.uk leeds/ Spring Course Huddersfield University 13-16 April 2019 A Music Mark afternoon training session Non-residential led by our advice partners Bates Wells Braithwaite, exploring HR and Contract and Law. Topics covered will include: Summer School University of Nottingham (tbc) • Employed versus self-employed 12–18 August 2019 • IR35 Residential • Holidays • Sick pay Two major courses offering Choir, • Pensions Musicianship, Methodology, and much • Contracts of employment more, with tutors from Hungary joining • Employment status our experienced BKA tutor team.

• Termination of employment More information and news of our • Claims Certificate Courses: kodaly.org.uk • Redundancy • Disciplinary and grievance procedures British Suzuki Institute • Misconduct The British Suzuki Institute is holding • Performance and absenteeism an Open Day for prospective Suzuki • Discrimination teachers on 17 April 2019 at Trinity Tickets: musicmark.org.uk/events/ Laban Conservatoire. We run training hr-and-contract-law-training/ courses for violin, piano, cello, flute and recorder based in London. Violin courses are also held in the Midlands and Scotland (with viola). To find out more about the Suzuki method or to register for the Open Day, please contact us on 020 3176 4170 or info@britishsuzuki.com 2) HR and Contract Law 11 January 2019, London

Below: Marc Kirsten Photo: Music Mark

The company employs talented musicians with real-world band experience to inspire children through music. Uniquely, all employees benefit from a full-time, permanent employment contract including up to ten weeks paid holiday per year, leaving plenty of time for staff to continue to perform gigs.

Rocksteady passionately believes that ‘no child should be left behind’, so as well as weekly lessons, the company provides completely free music experiences to over 200,000 children every year. This includes free assemblies and whole day band experiences for charities and groups supporting children not in traditional education or who can’t access Rocksteady lessons.

Internally, the Rocksteady Academy provides staff development with structured and supported CPD and development paths to complement extensive line manager support. Staff can specialise in areas such as special educational needs and English as an additional language.

Rocksteady tell us: ‘If you are a professional musician who is passionate about music making a real difference in young people’s lives, Rocksteady could be the perfect place for you to develop your career.’ rocksteadymusicschool.com/career Continued overleaf È

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Right: NCCGB Photo: Karina Lyburn

Right: Annual Awards Programme Photo: Adrian Cleverley

Right: Schott Music London MGrainger room Photo: Schott Music

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Awards for Young Musicians offer up to £100,000 in grants each year to Schott Music London, one of London’s exceptional young musicians whose oldest and most popular music shops, families are on a lower income, has added two brand new practice providing flexible funding towards rooms at its historic premises. These musical costs (like tuition, instrument two new rooms have been built using costs or travel) plus individual support state-of-the-art, sound-isolating to cater for personal circumstances. components from Studiobricks and This could be anything from mentoring, were installed by Black Cat Music. to workshops with professional The custom-built rooms are ideal for musicians, the chance to observe one or two musicians, and include professional orchestras, free tickets to 2019 promises to be another a choice of Yamaha digital or Essex concerts and performance opportunities. busy and exciting year, and we are upright pianos. The rooms are n now preparing for our Easter and available for hire and, along with the SSummer residential courses at existing three practice rooms, will SShrewsbury School, a new recording serve to meet the growing demand for aand annual summer concert. quality and convenient practice rooms n nccgb.com in central London.

All five practice rooms contain a piano, Music Education Solutions M and they range in size from rooms suitable for one-to-one teaching, to ((MES) those large enough to host a string CCurriculum Music Conference quartet rehearsal. in Walsall Schott Music London stocks music from Applications for up to £2,000 are The third annual Curriculum Music every major publisher, genre and style. currently being accepted via a-y-m.

Conference takes place at Forest It also sells a range of instruments, CDs, org.uk. Young musicians must be Arts Centre, Walsall on Thursday 21 accessories and musical themed gifts. aged 5-17, live in the UK and March 2019. ISM members get a 20% can be playing any genre of music. schott-music.com discount on tickets for this event The deadline is Friday 8 March 2019 for primary and secondary music aand the awards will be announced teachers. The day features a mixed iin May 2019. programme of sessions designed to inspire all aspects of curriculum TThe National Children’s music. Highlights include a highCChoir Of Great Britain energy PanIndoAfroSamba workshop, a speed dating event for primary It is always a pleasure to meet teachers to meet the providers of the aaspiring young musicians, and during latest curriculum schemes, a GCSE N November we enjoyed auditioning composing workshop, and several ssingers from a wide range of schools chances for primary and secondary aand choirs. There was a high standard teachers to have detailed discussions o overall, and we look forward to with one another. All the details and m meeting the successful candidates the booking link can be found at again at our Easter 2019 course. musiceducationsolutions.co.uk We are currently celebrating a Awards for Young Musicians generous donation of more than Grant applications now £10,000 from South Winchester being accepted Golf Club, where we have been the Captains’ Charity for the past Talent is everywhere, but opportunity year. The money will be shared isn’t. The biggest barrier for many between our bursary fund, outreach talented young musicians can be workshop programme and internship a simple lack of money. They have programme, and other activities the talent, they have the drive, but to promote musical education for developing their musical potential can children and young people. be an expensive endeavour.

Schott Music

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Association of English Singers and Speakers The Association of English Singers and Speakers (AESS), continues its work in running its unique singing, acting and composing competitions in order to promote English in speech and song.

The finals of the Catherine Lambert Junior Recital Prize took place on 17 November in the wonderful Carole Nash Hall at Chetham’s Music School in Manchester.

The winner was Matilda Wale from Swindon. Our next competition is the Courtney Kenny singing competition for students aged 18-23, with the finals taking place on 10 March 2019 at Tonbridge School, Kent.

The closing date for entries is 23 February 2019. The finals of the Actors Prize will take place on 27 April 27, and the Senior competition for singers aged 23-32 will take place in late June. aofess.org.uk

EVC Music EVC Music is an internet-based sheet music publisher with vision to inspire young pianists worldwide with a wide-ranging recital repertoire, which can create unforgettable moments and valuable musical experiences for performers.

The catalogue includes both traditional books and digital sheet music, written in a variety of styles by living composers, including Nikki Iles, Mark Goddard, Heather Hammond, Donald Thomson, Andrew Higgins, Graham Lynch, Sam Wedgwood, Paul

Birchall, Melanie Spanswick, Lindsey Berwin, Irina Nenartovich, Pam & Olly Wedgwood and Elena Cobb.

Bernard Rands and Erika Fox. NMC continues to develop projects and resources for young people, including Many Voices: a music book and CD of The collections have been well received violin pieces commissioned by London by reviewers at International Piano, Music Masters, and activities created Music Teacher and Pianist magazines with Music Hubs to mark the landmark as well as by music education bloggers album of work by BME composers in the UK and abroad. recorded by Chineke!. NMC will also The Elena Cobb Star Prize Festival at promote releases by partner labels the Royal Albert Hall Elgar Room is from Huddersfield University, City the publisher’s annual showcase University London, Royal Birmingham where young pianists from across Conservatoire, and Club Inégales, and the world perform piano pieces will be the digital partner of PRSF’s

by EVC composers.

New Music Biennial. elenacobb.com

nmcrec.co.uk/NMC30

NMC Recordings

Middlesex University

30th birthday celebrations

December 2018 saw the second fruitful collaboration between Middlesex University’s music, dance and art students, responding to items from the University’s historic design collection (MODA) and performing at the Handel & Hendrix in London museum. In addition, the University Choir Christmas concert focused on women composers including Strozzi, Poston and Smyth.

‘NMC is an indispensable part of our history and our future: long may it flourish!’

In January-March 2019 we welcome our professional ensembles in residence, the Allegri Quartet and London Firebird Orchestra, to work with composition students and solo performers. 28 March Sir Simon Rattle (NMC Patron) sees our annual Spring showcase concert at St Pancras Church, featuring This year NMC celebrates its 30th the University Choir and Firebird anniversary. In the last three decades Orchestra – the latter playing the winning we have built a catalogue of over 250 piece(s) from the Middlesex University/ albums featuring 350 composers from Firebird Composition Prize 2019, and the British Isles that we are immensely accompanying student soloists in proud of, and 2019 sees us continue concertos by Alkan, Piston and Séjourné. our work championing composers at all stages of their careers.

March also sees concerts/masterclasses

by Jeremy Huw Williams (5/3) and The Philharmonia Composers Alessandro Vena (19/3), featuring Academy’s young composers will music by academic staff Brian Inglis receive digital releases and Debut and Peter Fribbins alongside student Discs will introduce the work of work and music by Sorabji and Vir. Edmund Finnis, Joanna Bailie and David Fennessy. Leading British mdx.ac.uk groups feature on albums by the Nash Ensemble ( Julian Anderson), BCMG (David Sawer), BBC Symphony Orchestra (Sam Hayden) and the last recording made by The Hilliard Ensemble ( John Casken), plus two significant releases celebrating the work of established composers Continued overleaf È

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

National Symphony Orchestra

Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH

The National Symphony Orchestra has We are delighted to announce the announced that Paul Bateman, known release of Cubase 10 and Dorico 2, two not only for his extensive conducting of the latest updates from Steinberg. experience, but also for his world-class arranging work, joined them as principal conductor in November 2018. He takes on the role at a time of renewed energy and direction for the orchestra, building on its rapidly increasing national and international profile.

Photo: Courtesy of Black Dress Code

‘I could not be more delighted to become principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra,’ said Paul. ‘I’ve known and worked with many of their members for many years and I feel that together we will all be very keen to make music of the highest standard. We share an enthusiasm for making music that will become abundantly clear to audiences around the world. I look forward to taking the orchestra forward to ever greater heights of achievement.’

Justin Pearson, artistic director of NSO, said he was thrilled by the appointment.

‘Paul possesses a wide range of musical skills, bringing a vast wealth of experience and a firmly established international reputation. The musical versatility required by NSO with its hugely varied musical projects means that Paul is perfectly placed to build on the impressive legacy created by Anthony Inglis, meaning a seamless transition is possible. The appointment has met with universal approval by members of the orchestra and we look forward to performing abroad and working in the studios here in London, as well as continuing to give popular concerts for which the orchestra is closely associated.’

Paul Bateman has conducted the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Concert and Russian National orchestras among many others. Paul Bateman has conducted for a whole host of celebrated artists including Sir Bryn Terfel, Jose Carreras and Sir Paul McCartney, and has an enviable reputation as an orchestrator and arranger, most notably on recordings for Lesley Garrett and Daniel Hope. nso.co.uk

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Cubase 10 is available in all previous formats (Elements, Artist and Pro) and is full of new features that will benefit every musician. Please watch the new ISM Webinar by professional producer, Dom Sigalas, to see how to create music in Cubase. We also have new educational site license update prices from as little as £14 per site for Elements, £35 for Artist and £43 for Cubase Pro.

For women, our Jaqueline jumpsuit is the perfect winter style when performing in cold churches. A quick, one-button closure makes this an easy-to-wear style for taller women.

Made in a crease-resistant easycare fabric, this jumpsuit is a stylish alternative when you just don’t feel like wearing a dress.

Boys will soon be catered for too.

Our new Felix shirt is about to go into production. This shirt will be made in a hard-wearing 80% cotton 16% polyester 4% elastane fabric that will require less ironing than our men’s shirts. Designed with many of our performance features, the Felix will come in sizes to fit boys from ages eight to adult with a slimmer fit than the regular cut of our men’s shirts. blackdresscode.com

Dorico Pro 2 and Dorico Elements 2 were released early summer 2018.

Dorico Pro comes with live MIDI input, automatic cues and the ability to compose using microtonality, and complex key and time signatures.

Dorico Elements is our cut down ‘light’ version of Dorico, with restricted players (up to 12) but still with the great playback sounds and ease of use.

Educational cross-grade site license prices for Dorico Pro from £51 per site. steinberg.net

Black Dress Code Black Dress Code’s latest addition to its concertwear range is the mandarin-collared Amadeus shirt.

Made in a lightweight, cotton poplin with 4% elastane, the shirt has all the performance features expected from our range, including high-set sleeves to prevent cuffs and shirt tails riding up. Designed by musicians, this shirt provides extra width in the collar allowing extra comfort for wind players but leaving the collar still looking smart for everyone else.

Alfred Music What we love about working at Alfred Music is the sheer variety.

Each day offers unique and exciting challenges: music from the latest movies, Christmas music, a new piano method, a multimedia Drum tutor; all particular experiences relevant to specific musicians eager to learn-toplay, to teach, develop their technique, or sing their favourite songs.

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

In just one month we released: A Star is Born from the hit movie starring potential Oscar-winner Lady Gaga; a new ‘older-beginner’ piano method from the delightful Piano Safari team developed from their influential method for children; the effervescent Wynne-Anne Rossi gave us Música de Navidad, four books of Christmas classics arranged in Latin style for piano; and, continuing the Latin theme, we put the final touches to Paul Hose’s second book in the Drumset for Beginners series – DS4B ‘Latin’ as we affectionately call it – including access to audio video examples for each exercise and several recorded ensemble pieces for playing along to. alfred.com

songs of home to sing, and sharing via For full info please go to: social media (#VF25, #songsofhome). pianoteacherscourse.org/ cpd-workshops The Voices Foundation hopes that the songs in this collection are sung by as Enrolling on The Piano Teachers’ many children and staff as possible Course UK can be quite a in schools up and down the country – commitment. To find out more before they are to be shared and enjoyed! making the decision is a bonus. Our Open Days offer a unique opportunity voices.org.uk to do just that. During February, April & May you can visit Purcell School for Piano Teachers Course the day to observe the sessions, take a look around the facilities and connect A new and exciting Piano Teachers with both students and tutors.

Course (PTC) CPD Programme of lecture workshops and teachers’ discussion forums has kicked off to a great start. Open to any interested pianists, piano teachers and students, there is no minimum requirement – everyone is welcome.

Running parallel with the core PTC 2019 course days in February, April & May, we are presenting a broad range of topics including sessions on the Dalcroze, Kodály & Suzuki methods – plus private consultations and 1+1 lessons – delivered by a combination of the PTC Principal Tutors and established Guest Tutors.

The web link is: pianoteacherscourse.org/ open-days Accommodation is available at Purcell if you require it for both the CPD and Open Days If you are in London on 6 & 7 March, come and visit us on our stand – F4 – at the Music & Education Expo at Olympia, where there is lots to do and see. pianoteacherscourse.org

The Voices Foundation Right: Dalcroze session at Piano Teachers Course Photo: Courtesy of Piano Teachers Course

The Voices Foundation is delighted to publish a collection of songs from around the world to mark its 25th Anniversary, supported by an Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant.

Songs of Home is a celebration of singing from every continent and culminates with Song of Until, a specially commissioned folk song of our times by award-winning composer David Bruce. Following its premiere on 28 November 2018, the resource pack is free digitally to all schools and Music Education Hubs to use and perform.

We want to encourage schools to explore what their communities’ Songs of Home are by singing the songs from the pack and asking their children and parents and carers to collect their own Continued overleaf È

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ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Association of Teachers of Singing 2019 promises to be an exciting year for us with our new partnership with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. We will be offering teaching mentoring to their Fellowship Octet who will come and sing in master classes at our area days and conferences. This is a wonderful opportunity for both of us to collaborate and work on musical excellence.

Starting at 10.30, this is a day where you can come along to see if voice teaching is for you with some individual mentoring. Experienced teachers Penny Price Jones, Liza Hobbs, Janet Munro, Amanda Morrison and Sarah Stroh will all be on hand to guide you through.

We have two events on 24 February.

In the South West Area, we have a day with David Combes, a renowned pop vocal specialist. ‘From Pachelbel to Pop’ explores the similarities and We kick off the year with our Pathways differences in techniques across all genres. The day will be held at King ‘Access Day’ on 20 January at St Paul’s Girls’ School, Hammersmith in London. Edward’s School in Bath.

If you are near the Manchester area on 24 February you might like to come along to the Royal Northern College of Music where Dr Jenevora Williams is presenting at our North Area Day ‘Teaching Children and Young Voices’.

All these events are very popular and we advise booking early to be sure of a place. Information about all these and more can be found on our website. aotos.org.uk

Get £10 off your membership fee Take the hassle out of renewing your membership by setting up an annual Direct Debit. Your membership will automatically renew every year and you won’t have to contact us unless you wish to cancel or change your payment method. If you are a full member, you will get £10 off your membership fee if you pay by annual Direct Debit.

It’s quick and easy to set up Direct Debit payments with us. Simply login at ism.org/my-ism and click on ‘set up Direct Debit’, call us on 020 72213499 or email membership@ism.org

AMATIS PIANO TRIO Mengjie Han piano Lea Hausmann violin Winners of the 2015 Parkhouse Award

Andrea Tarrodi ‘Moorlands’ Mendelssohn Piano Trio in C minor No.2 Op.66 Brahms Piano Trio No 2 in C Op.87

Samuel Shepherd cello

Monday 15 April 2019 7.45pm

Saturday 20 April at 1pm

2019 Parkhou Parkhouse se Aw Awar ard d Finals Concert Wigmore Hall, London

Two hours of varied and exciting chamber music will be performed by the four finalist ensembles chosen from an international entry.

The jury’s decision will be announced c. 3.45pm www.parkhouseaward.com

Supported by

Gordon Foundation The Tertis Foundation Registered charity 1014284

David Parkhouse 1930-1989

Tickets: £5 (free to Friends of Parkhouse Award and Wigmore Hall) 0207 935 2141

Wigmore-hall.org.uk

Supported by

Gordon Foundation The Tertis Foundation Registered Charity 1014284

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

We are very grateful to all our corporate members for their support.

GOLD CORPORATE MEMBERS

PLATINUM CORPORATE MEMBERS

ALFA Education Ltd ABRSM

Allianz Musical Insurance Duet Group Insure4Music

NMC Recordings

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Park Lane Group

Black Dress Code British Youth Band Association

Rhinegold Publishing Rocksteady Music School

Leeds College of Music

The Royal Central School Of Speech & Drama The Royal Philharmonic Society

MGR Music Tuition Musicians Insurance Services

Henri Selmer Paris Impulse Music Consultants Music Mark National Preparatory School Orchestras Oxford University Press Portsmouth Music Hub The Curious Piano Teachers

Tido London College of Music

EVC Music Publications Ltd

Len Rhodes Music

Kawai

Lark Insurance

Classic FM

Trinity College London Victoria College Exams

The Piano Teachers’ Course UK Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trybooking.co.uk University of Huddersfield University of St Andrews

Yamaha Music Europe

For further information about our different levels of corporate membership and a full list of over 160 corporate members, visit ism.org.

37

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38

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

LOCAL EVENTS LISTINGS Full listings can be found on our website, ism.org

Sunday 6 January 2019

Sunday 13 January 2019, 3 pm

Sunday 24 March 2019

Brighton New Year Lunch

Oxford New ABRSM Piano Syllabus: Highlights and Pathways

Lea Valley Pupils Concert

12.30 for 1pm, The Old Tollgate Restaurant, Bramber, West Sussex, BN44 3WE Come and meet fellow ISM members for this popular annual gathering now in its twentysecond year. Friends and colleagues are also very welcome to join us.

The Old Tollgate is a Carvery restaurant.

The four-course lunch consists of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, roast joints, casseroles and vegetarian dishes, hot and cold puddings, and the cheeseboard. Drinks and coffee are extra.

Cost: £22.50 Contact: Shirley Linford T: 01903 783692 or Jill Elsworthy E: jelsworthy@btinternet.com

3pm, Silk Hall, Radley College, Abingdon Oxford, OX14 2HR Lecture/demonstration by Anthony Williams MMus, DipRAM, GRSM, LRAM Anthony Williams is Head of Keyboard at Radley College. As well as being a concert pianist, writer, lecturer, ABRSM examiner and festival adjudicator, he also gives piano masterclasses, public lecture recitals, and seminars on performance. He is the author of the acclaimed book ‘The Piano Teachers’ Survival Guide’ and will be able to throw plenty of light on the new syllabus.

Refreshments will be available.

Admission: ISM members £7, guests £10.

Contact: Carolyn King T: 01235 522774 E: carolyn2king@btinternet.com

2pm, Old Harlow Anyone interested in entering pupils please contact Carolyn Richards E: Carolynwestrip@aol.com T: 07768 086123

ISM Representative Vacancies We are currently looking for members to act as ISM Representatives for the following local groups:

Croydon Cambridge (will work with current Representative Stephanie Reeve)

Brighton Looking for ad-hoc volunteers to support the Representatives

Devon and Cornwall

Volunteering as an ISM Representative is perfectly suited to members who enjoy planning or organising events and meeting other members in their local area. Supported by ISM, local group events provide networking opportunities, social events, professional development and performance opportunities in your area. They are a fantastic way to meet other musicians and enhance your career.

For more information or an application form please call 020 7313 9323 or email membership@ism.org.

Deadline for applications is Friday 1 February 2019.

39

ISM MUSIC JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Ask me a question Miranda Summers-Pritchard Private Piano Teacher in Hitchin, Hertfordshire Tell us a little about yourself I started playing the piano at the age of seven and became quite obsessed with it!

After gaining a degree in music and education at Oxford Brookes University (then Oxpoly), I started teaching piano. Twenty-six years on, I’m still at it! I love the job, it’s perfect for fitting around my family commitments, and even after all this time, I still hear myself explaining something in a new way. Often my students will throw me a fresh perspective, which I value enormously.

Who (or what) has most influenced you and your career?

It’s two musician friends of mine, Anne and Chris Pyne, who practically commanded me to quit my job and start teaching! I was full of self-doubt and felt like a fake, but they were insistent. I know if it hadn’t been for their inspiration, support and mentorship, I wouldn’t ever have got started.

What would you say is your greatest achievement to date?

There isn’t one thing that stands out, really.

I am very proud that I have established myself as a piano teacher in my town, have a good reputation, have coached literally hundreds of students through grade exams and, I hope, helped them nurture a lifelong love of musicmaking. Being self-employed is important to me, and I have built a successful business that has provided a good, stable income for me and my family.

Who is your all-time favourite artist and why?

What a tricky question! Top composers for me include Bach, Mozart and Stravinsky.

Amongst my favourite artists are Kate Bush, Prince, Pink Floyd and James Pearson, resident pianist at Ronnie Scott’s. But I think I’d have to go for Ben Folds, an amazing pianist and singer-songwriter, whose content covers everything from the profound to the profane – he’s a joy, and I love him!

Wh t was the th last l t CD/ i d l What CD/music download that you purchased?

Hmm, I think it was Culcha Vulcha by Snarky Puppy. They’re described as a‘fusion-influenced jam band’– great fun.

What are your plans for the future?

I have four children, currently ranging from 11 to 27,, so have done a very long shift in parenting! I hope that as they grow up, I will be able to reclaim some time to devote to practising or forming some kind of group.

I also play the saxophone and would love to join (or start) a big band!

Finally, what is your ISM membership to you?

Before I joined the ISM, I used to struggle if there was ever an issue with my teaching agreement/fees/non-attended lessons etc.

It’s hard, when the buck stops with you, to assert your conditions. The ISM has given me the backup that I need, and I haven’t had a single problem since joining! learnpianohitchin.co.uk

Recommend a friend and save £10 Tell your friends and colleagues about the ISM and encourage them to become part of our thriving community of professional musicians. We’ll give you £10 off your next year’s membership every time someone you recommend joins us as a full or graduate member.

To claim your discount, send the name and email address of the friend(s) you are recommending to membership@ism.org. Ask your friend to quote the code FULLREC if they are joining us at the full rate or GRADREC if they are joining at the graduate rate. If they join at the full rate we’ll give them £10 off their membership fee too.

Please note: the number of rewards you can redeem is limited to the value of your subscription upon renewal.

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