Christ Church
Lovely opportunity to be back in my old stomping ground, Christ Church Oxford, to adjudicate their undergraduate Instrumental Awards. Great to hear the standard at least as high as ever!
Oxford Lieder Festival
/in newsThe Oxford Lieder Festival continues to thrive and expand so it was a privilege to be back again, giving a recital with Ciara Hendrick which set student compositions from the workshops we’ve previously led there alongside cycles by Britten and Schumann. The Holywell Music Room continues to be one of the finest song venues in the country!
Southwell Music Festival
/in newsA tremendously exciting evening at the launch of the Southwell Music Festival last night. Established by Marcus Farmsworth, the first festival will take place in August 2014 and promises to be a vibrant new feature of the musical landscape of Nottinghamshire, and indeed of the UK. There was a real buzz at the launch – good luck to all involved!
More microphones
/in news'Tis the season of microphones, with requests for demo disc recordings coming in thick and fast, for applications ranging from the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme by singers to the Yehudi Menuhin competition for violinists.
ABRSM
/in newsSpent the day yesterday recording the ABRSM's new oboe syllabus with James Turnbull as part of their sequence of official recordings, now released for most instruments and grades as a demonstration of how the pieces might be performed. We've been sworn to secrecy on the contents of the syllabus until all is released!
Hampshire Singing Competition
/in newsA relentless but rewarding weekend accompanying the prelims of this year's Hampshire Singing Competition. Now well established on the circuit of national competitions for young professional singers, this competition had a very full two days of singers, each presenting a programme of songs and arias. An impressive standard; congratulations to those progressing to the semi-final.
Penkhull Festival
/in newsGreat to be back at the Penkhull Fetival yesterday, four years on from the last visit, this time with countertenor Tim Travers-Brown and a programme of English song ranging from Purcell to Warlock and Howells to Michael Howard and Betty Roe. Lovely to see James Bowman, festival patron, in the audience, for whom much of the more recent repertoire was written! Next up, oboe music from Saint-Saens to Lutoslawski in the City tomorrow, and the Eton Boys' Concert of the Windsor Festival on Thursday.
Vivienne heads for publication
/in newsProductive meeting with composer Stephen McNeff and mezzo Clare McCaldin today to discuss the alterations made in the premiere of Vivienne this summer, prior to its publication by Peters in the autumn. It's always fascinating to see the twists and turns in the life of a composer's score as the piece is brought to life from the page. Further performances of this 5* reviewed show take place at the Bloomsbury Festival in October and the Linbury Studio in November.
New singing course
/in newsPlans are afoot for a new course for singers led in conjunction with director Joe Austin. Exciting couple of days of planning and reccying… Watch this space!
Autumn concerts begin
/in newsFirst recital of the new season tomorrow, of Messiaen, Britten and Poulenc, with soprano Susanna Fairbairn, in Peterborough Cathedral.