The Score - Dan Bates

Life as a professional musician is often demanding, challenging and full of surprises. In this new regular feature of ours, find out more about some of the members of City of London Sinfonia.

 

First up - Dan Bates, our Principal Oboist, answers a few hard-hitting questions!

 

Your CLS career to date

I had never played with the Orchestra before I applied for the job. I had heard that they play a lot with singers and in opera, which is something that I particularly enjoy, so I was really hoping that I'd at least get to play with them on trial a few times. I was so thrilled when I got the call from Barry offering me the position that I couldn't stop jumping up and down!

 

Your most memorable CLS concert?

It was an all English programme at the Brighton Festival under Richard Hickox (unfortunately the only time I worked with him and CLS, although I had worked with him in different orchestras). The highlight of the night for me was a performance of Riders to the Sea by Vaughan Williams. I just loved it and it was the first time I'd worked with the other wind principals. I remember thinking - "this is where I really want to be.”

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How do you relax away from CLS?

Before playing the oboe seriously, I was a professional actor and was on TV a few times - in Casualty and some comedy stuff, and also in the West End with Kristin Scott Thomas and Eric Sykes. I loved it but always missed playing. I ran the London Marathon last year and enjoy trying to keep vaguely healthy (really important for being a wind player!) I also enjoy learning languages - I'm still plugging away at Spanish and hope to brush up my French soon. Helen McQueen, our fantastic second oboe, is fluent in French so I look forward to the days when we can discuss Proust in the breaks!

 

What would be your choices on Desert Island Discs?

Der Rosenkavalier is my absolute number one favourite. I've never played it and constantly live in hope that one day I will. It's very cheesy but I even have a tattoo of the silver rose on my back (I had it done while I was a teenager - not something I'd consider doing now!). I'm also a total Wagner nut, so Tristan and Meistersinger would have to be up there too. I'm also a massive fan of Stevie Wonder!

 

 

There are only a few remaining tickets for the next CLS concert – book now!

 

Saturday 14 May, 7.30pm

Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh

MOZART, WEBER, MENDELSSOHN

 

The CLS Royal Wedding Playlist

With the big day approaching, we asked everyone in the office to select at least one track that, were they the royally appointed DJ, they would play on Friday. Here's what we chose:

 

Prelude

Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor (Otto Nicolai) – Barry, Chief Executive

 

Processional (bride’s entrance)

Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (Handel) – Elaine, General Manager

 

Hymns

Fight the Good Fight (Boyd)

Ride on, Ride on, in Majesty (Milman) – Robin, Development Director

 

Recessional (happy couple exit)

Let’s Face the Music and Dance (Nat King Cole) – Jacqui, Librarian

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Wedding reception

Paparazzi (Lady Gaga) – Alex, Marketing Manager

Common People (Pulp - sung from Kate’s perspective) – Ruth, Development Manager

Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometimes (Beck) – Sophie, Office Manager

This Time Tomorrow (The Kinks) – Patrick, Marketing Intern

Dancing Queen (ABBA) - Everyone

 

As you can see it’s certainly a varied selection! Download and enjoy the playlist.

Do you have any suggestions of your own? Feel free to post them in the comments section.

 

Have a good bank holiday Friday everyone!

 

The CLS team

Concert Focus: Handel’s Messiah

This Good Friday we’re helping the Huddersfield Choral Society celebrate their 175th anniversary with a modern interpretation of Handel’s masterpiece, Messiah.

 

We thought we’d look in a little more detail at how this great classical masterpiece was put together.

 

George Frideric Handel composed this most enduring work in London during the summer of 1741. It is often said that he wrote this piece with great speed, completing it in the space of roughly 3 weeks! Whether this is true or not, the resulting work; and in particular the Hallelujlah Chorus, has become one of the most popular and recognisable in Western classical music, and remains so today – people still often stand up during the Hallelujah Chorus!

 

Messiah is, essentially, a piece of scriptural music that can be appreciated on many different levels both within and outside of the religious world.  An oratorio in 3 Acts, the libretto for Messiah was carefully selected from the Old and New Testaments by Charles Jennens, a literary scholar and editor of the plays of Shakespeare. Rather than debut the work in London, Handel was invited to give the premiere in Dublin which he did on 13 April, 1742.

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Throughout the rest of his life Handel made many revisions to his Messiah and even after his death in 1759, other composers - Mozart in particular - continued to do so, adding instrumentation and revising sections as they saw appropriate. In the quest for authenticity this inevitably raises questions over which version of Messiah should be performed at any given time?

 

In spite of this one thing is certain – Messiah is an iconic composition by a toweringly popular composer, and it’s hard to imagine its presence ever waning. It also just happens to be the signature piece of the Huddersfield Choral Society too!

 

Don’t miss out on the last remaining tickets for the concert which can be purchased from the Barbican Box Office.

 

Handel Messiah

22 April 2011, 6pm

Barbican Hall

City of London Sinfonia

Huddersfield Choral Society


Joseph Cullen
conductor
Elizabeth Watts soprano
Dame Felicity Palmer mezzo-soprano
Mark Le Brocq tenor
Christopher Purves bass-baritone

Back in the recording studio

We’ve been busy in the recording studio with the orchestra and our Principal Conductor Michael Collins laying down tracks of some of the fabulous music they performed at our recent Cadogan Hall concert. Weber’s Clarinet Concertino and Concerto No. 1 as well as his Horn Concertino and Clarinet Concerto No. 2 have all been recorded for release later this year on our next CD.

Check out a few photos of the recording process below and keep your eyes peeled for the CD when it is released at the end of the year.

 

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CD release in association with CHANDOS.

 

 

 

Out of Office: Robin

Robin Jéquier, our Development Director, gives us a glimpse into one of the ways he spends his precious free time outside of the office and the city.

 

Very many (too many!) years ago I began organ lessons on a James Binns two-manual organ in a Worcestershire village church, and it was the start of a life-long passion.  Nowadays, one of my favourite Sunday tasks is playing on another James Binns organ coincidentally (and very helpfully) built to the same specs, although this one’s situated in Wiltshire.

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Hard at work in Potterne church

 

One of the questions I face at each service is what kind of ‘quiet piece’ to play as background music during the act of communion. We have a small, enthusiastic choir that sometimes asks me to accompany a communion anthem (for which I get only a few minute’s notice before the service!), otherwise I’m simply required to select  ‘something suitable’ to play.

A few Sundays ago I chose music to evoke the spirit of the changing season. As spring has arrived with its colourful burst of blossom, buds and flowers, I improvised on George Smart’s well known tune for the hymn, Through all the changing scenes of life.

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Spring is sprung: Robin and friend

 

There is a subtle connection between improvised music and Development activity (my role with CLS), in that structure is key. Being inept at making things up as I go along I prefer to plan ahead - which music phrases to repeat and any key changes, thus shaping my improvisation in a systematic way.  Careful planning is equally important in Development – detailed assessment of needs and identifying the most likely sources of support.

However, don’t read too much into the words from line two of Smart’s hymn: “……In trouble and in joy……”

Robin Jéquier

Development Director

 

Call & Response: Michael Collins

In honour of his very first appearance in London as Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia, Michael Collins sheds some light on a few of his firsts and some of his lasts for good measure.

 

What was the first performance you attended? It was Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. It was a Sir Robert Mayer Concert for Children.

How did your very first audition go? It was for the Royal College of Music Junior Department. I was so nervous that my fingers shook all the way through, but they still let me in.

When and where was the first time you performed in London? I played at a Youth Makes Music concert when I was 10 at the Royal Festival Hall to 3000 people playing a Brahms Sonata.

Who was your first mentor/inspiration? On the clarinet it was Thea King from a very early age. I went to see her and asked for her autograph then carried on to study with her. On the piano it was and still is Martha Argerich, and I have been lucky enough to play with her on several occasions.

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How was your first time stepping into conductor’s shoes? It seemed a natural progression from the clarinet as I had been doing a lot of directing from the instrument.

What was the last piece of music you listened to? John Adams’ Atomic Symphony.

When did you last feel truly challenged? I suppose whenever I walk on the platform it is a challenge as I am trying all the time to make the experience the very best, not just for me but for the audience as well.

Who was the last person to offer you some sage advice? Actually it was my 12 year old son who told me not to worry so much and take it easy!!

Michael will be conducting and performing at Cadogan Hall on Thursday 7 April, 7.30pm. Box Office: 020 7730 4500.

 

Have a listen to our Concert Playlist to hear all the pieces that will be performed on the night.

Spotlight on Carolyn Sampson

 We’re really excited to be joined by talented UK soprano Carolyn Sampson for our concert next Thursday at Cadogan Hall. 

Carolyn’s career straddles both the classical and operatic worlds and she has already performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the UK and around the world, including Glyndebourne, the London Coliseum, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Carnegie Hall, New York. 

She has performed alongside some of the most renowned orchestras and ensembles including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The English Concert, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras.

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We’re delighted that she is joining us to perform American composer Samuel Barber’s serene and luscious rhapsody for voice and orchestra, Knoxville: Summer of 1915. First performed in 1948, the piece is a nostalgic remembrance of a childhood past, written against the backdrop of a world torn apart by war and suffering. 

Have a listen to our 7 April Concert Playlist to hear all the pieces that will be performed on the night.

Thursday 7 April, 7.30pm
Cadogan Hall, London
Box office: 020 7730 4500
 

Concert Focus: Clarinet in Concert

Michael Collins makes his London debut as our new Principal Conductor at Cadogan Hall on 7 April. It’s an exciting opportunity for Michael to further solidify his presence on the conductor’s podium and at the same time remind us all of what makes him such a special musician.  Indisputably one of the leading clarinettists of his generation, Michael will take command of a programme that is full of virtuosic works, journeying from Weber’s Classical Europe to Barber’s evocative 20 Century America.

  

Carl Maria von Weber composed his Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in 1811 and it has since become a staple in the clarinet repertoire. Commissioned by King Maximilian I of Bavaria and written specifically for Weber’s friend Heinrich Barmann, this concerto is set over 3 movements, adopting a standard fast-slow-fast pattern that allows the soloist to express their remarkable range.

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Joining us for the concert is exciting UK soprano, Carolyn Sampson. Equally at home on the concert and opera stages, Carolyn has enjoyed notable successes in the UK as well as throughout Europe and the US. In 2011 she makes her debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra as well as giving recitals at Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York. 

 

Carolyn will be performing Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915. This serene and luscious rhapsody for voice and orchestra premiered in 1948 with Eleanor Steber (who commissioned the piece) and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Barber set the music to excerpts from James Agee's short story Knoxville, which conveys his childhood remembrance of an earlier, simpler era, free of the unrest brought on by the ravages of war.

 

Both of these pieces, along with the rest of the concert programme, can be found in our Concert Playlist.

 

Michael Collins: Clarinet in Concert

 

City of London Sinfonia

Michael Collins conductor/clarinet

Carolyn Sampson soprano 

 

Weber Clarinet Concertino

Mozart Aria: Ah, lo previdi

Weber Clarinet Concerto No. 1

Barber Knoxville: Summer of 1915

Copland Appalachian Spring

Five things you never knew about Jemima Puddleduck

It's our first Crash Bang Wallop! family concert of the year tomorrow, which sees Stephen McNeff's fantastic The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck performed. In honour of this we've put together our top five Jemima Puddleduck facts.

1. Jemima also appears in another Beatrix Potter book, The Tale of Tom Kitten. 

2. She’s over 103 years old, as the book was first published in 1908. 

3. The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck is the twelfth in the Beatrix Potter series.

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4. It’s set at Beatrix Potter’s farm Hill Top in the Lake District, which you can still visit today.

5. Jemima Puddleduck is the second most popular character in terms of spin-off merchandise, after Peter Rabbit.

 

Hope to see you at Cadogan Hall tomorrow!

The CLS team 

Crash Bang Wallop!
Saturday 26 March 12.00pm
Cadogan Hall, London