TUNE IN – SPRING / SUMMER 2022 –
LPO PEOPLE
BACKSTAGE
Who or what have been the main influences on your career so far? I can trace back throughout my career to some key people who helped me along the way. Around the time I started playing the bass, Aled Marshman took over as manager of the Four Counties Youth Orchestra in North East Wales and quickly drafted in some professional orchestral players as tutors, whilst also restarting the previously-defunct North Wales Youth Orchestra. Here I met Richard Lewis, who was then a member of the LPO. He was (and still is) so passionate about orchestral music and was a really inspiring tutor. He nudged me to audition for the National Youth Orchestra of Wales when I was 18, which was a key moment in my development. Richard also guided me towards studying with Kevin Rundell (LPO Principal Double Bass) at the Guildhall for my Masters. Kevin has taught so many successful and well-established orchestral musicians, and learning with him was a real eye-opener – I so appreciated his patience, as I had a lot to learn, given the fact that I came from studying an academic music degree and didn’t have much experience. This didn’t seem to faze him though ... I think Kevin likes a challenge! During this time I played regularly with Sinfonia Cymru – I feel like I cut my teeth here, playing a lot of key repertoire and learning a lot from my now-LPO colleague Seb Pennar. I also trained further in Southbank Sinfonia and on the Hallé Leadership Scheme. I started my first job at the Liverpool Phil in 2018. The RLPO is a great orchestra full of
– LAURA MURPHY – Laura became the first female member of the Orchestra’s Double Bass section when she was appointed in February 2020. She previously enjoyed a successful freelance career before joining the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018. wonderful musicians, and I was made up to be in a position so close to my home town of Wrexham. I think it meant a lot to my family too. What has joining the LPO meant to you? My appointment with the LPO has of course been the most recent defining moment of my career, for myriad reasons: the connections during my musical journey with current and past members of the double bass section; having freelanced with the Orchestra for years; and of course being the first female appointment in the section. It’s not something that has come easily, though I can say without a shadow of a doubt it was worth the graft. Not bad for a mediocre violinist from Wrexham!
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Can you tell us about your instrument? I play on a Northern English bass made by William Howarth in 1897. I am so fortunate to be the custodian of such a wonderful instrument, and the circumstances through which I came to find it were quite fortuitous. I had heard about the Howarth from Richard Lewis, who had suggested I keep an eye out as the owner – a member of the BBC Phil – would soon be reaching retirement. At the time I didn’t have the means to buy another instrument and quickly forgot about his suggestion. A year later I was living in Manchester, and a member of the Hallé mentioned in passing that the player in question was leaving the BBC Phil and I should give him a call and get a look at his bass – the very same one that Richard had mentioned the previous year! I didn’t waste any time and was the first person to see the instrument after he retired. I loved it so much I didn’t give it back (much to the annoyance of a few other players, I should think, who had been eyeing it up themselves!). If you look on the inside of the instrument, it seems to have been very well-loved by its previous owners too. One such person put a label inside, saying it was the ‘best bass he ever owned’. Hear hear! How do you unwind away from work? I love being in the countryside, so any chance I get to walk (or climb) up a mountain really clears my head. Obviously this can be difficult when working in London, so instead I tend to practise yoga, run, and go to the gym. Having grown up near the countryside, I sometimes find the city a bit cloying. Luckily I live not far from Lea Valley –a very special part of North London where you can actually see some horizon! Do you have any advice for young musicians hoping to pursue an orchestral career? From my personal experience, I would say that perseverance and adaptability are great characteristics to adopt. Follow your curiosity and get involved with the things that you’re passionate about. Take the rough with the smooth – every setback is a lesson to learn from. Lastly, have other interests outside of music to help bring a sense of perspective and ‘well-roundedness’.
Photograph © Nigel Tufty
How did you get started on the double bass? It’s a big instrument for a beginner! I played the piano and violin from a young age but it wasn’t until I was turning 16, and more adult-sized myself, that I picked up the double bass. We were lucky to have one bass at my school, and the person in the year above me who played it was leaving to go to sixth form college. I figured it couldn’t be THAT hard, and it was a pretty cool-sounding instrument ... so I picked it up and I just loved the depth and the grounded sound of the bass. Very soon my violin began to stay in its case more and more, much to the despair of my violin teacher!