TUNE IN – AUTUMN/WINTER 2021 –
LPO PEOPLE
BACKSTAGE When did you begin playing the violin, and what was your first introduction to playing in an orchestra? I started playing the violin when I was about eight. I don’t come from a particularly musical family, so it was just luck that my primary school offered group lessons and I was given the opportunity to choose an instrument. I actually picked the flute first, then the cello, but (to my disappointment!) there was only space in the violin class, so I settled for that! I was then introduced to playing in orchestras really quickly. My teacher suggested that I audition for our local youth orchestra – Stockport Youth Orchestra – and I’m not sure if it was the music, the social side, or the amazing sweet shop at breaktime, but I loved it immediately. I played there every Friday evening until I left school and it’s funny, but I meet people all the time in the profession who began in Stockport Youth Orchestra too! What attracted to you applying for the LPO? As I approached the end of my time at the Royal College of Music, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to be, but I knew I wanted a job in an orchestra. I’d spent my student years watching London orchestras play, so when the LPO job was advertised I couldn’t not apply. When the audition came round it was during a really busy period, and I very nearly cancelled the night before because I felt so underprepared. In the end I asked myself ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ And here we are now! What’s it been like starting a new job during a pandemic? There have been pros and cons! First and foremost, I’ve felt hugely lucky and grateful to have started at the LPO this year, but it’s been pretty surreal with all the restrictions in place. From my first day we’ve been a reduced orchestra, sitting 2 metres apart and playing to an empty hall, and although people adapt so quickly, this does create a few challenges! There has been such a strong feeling of solidarity within the Orchestra though, and while I already knew the LPO was the friendliest orchestra, this has really brought to light what a close and supportive community it is, and that has been amazing to be part of.
is some of the most beautiful music ever written, as well as Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto with Truls Mørk. What music are you listening to at the moment? A friend of mine recently started up a string ensemble specifically to champion music by female composers, and so my playlist has become pretty packed with amazing music which is almost all totally new to me. Right now I’m obsessed with Caroline Shaw’s album Orange, which is from 2019, but I’ve also been listening for the first time to music by Hildegard von Bingen, who was an incredible female composer from over 900 years ago! I also have a pretty strong rotation of jazz and pop, and of course being from Manchester, Oasis is my ultimate comfort music.
– EMMA OLDFIELD – Emma joined the LPO Second Violin section in January 2021. She graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2018, and prior to her LPO appointment enjoyed building up a successful and varied freelance career in the UK and Europe. Which autumn LPO concerts are you most looking forward to? Over the past year, even when the Orchestra has been able to play, it hasn’t been easy to perform big symphonies due to restrictions on people and space, so it’ll be great to enjoy that again this season. I’m looking forward to Shostakovich 10, which we’re performing with Karina Canellakis on 1 December; and Rachmaninoff 3 with Jurowski on 8 December. It’s this kind of music that I’ve felt most starved of over the past year, and the thought of performing it again surrounded by a full orchestra gives me goosebumps! I’m also really looking forward to the concert on 24 November with Klaus Mäkelä: a whole evening of French music including Debussy’s La mer, which really Newsletter published by the London Philharmonic Orchestra 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Fax: 020 7840 4201 Ticket Office: 020 7840 4242 lpo.org.uk
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How do you relax when you’re not working? My happy place is cooking in the kitchen with friends, a glass of wine and a good kitchen playlist! It has become a bit of a personal mission to eat my way through London, so when I have the time I love trying new places, as well as eating out at my trusted South London favourites! My family up in Manchester have a beautiful Cocker Spaniel so when I can, I try to get home for some good long walks in the Peak District with her. What have you learnt over the past year? It’s been a real journey learning to be OK with not being busy all the time, especially coming from the freelance world where it’s so ingrained to try and fill all of your time with work. I missed the interaction of making music with others, and this is what I struggled with most – there’s only so much satisfaction you can get from practising alone in your bedroom. The flipside of this, however, meant having time for many experimental cooking nights – some more successful than others! I’m also now a pro at Monopoly Deal, and my London geography knowledge has skyrocketed, as I decided to walk anywhere and everywhere if it meant I could see a friend at the other end, or even just to pick up a particularly good takeaway coffee. Yoga also became an necessity for me mentally and physically, and that’s something I plan to continue as life returns to ‘normal’.