Thirteen for ’13 – Part 2

Continuing the introduction to our Summer Festival 2013 programme, with bring you the second half of Thirteen for ’13. Find what the rest of the Spitalfields Music team is eagerly anticipating in this June!

Aldeburgh

Phil, Development Administrator
It’s a near impossible task, but I have to pick Illuminating Britten as the concert I’m looking forward to the most. Featuring the fantastic Birmingham Contemporary Music Group performing a selection of Britten’s early works, it promises to be an evening of truly inspiring music – showing the genius of this composer that was already evident at a remarkably young age.

Benjamin Britten has long been a favourite composer of mine, and I’m so glad that Spitalfields Music will be able to play a part in celebrating his centenary. With the major celebrations taking place in Aldeburgh at almost exactly the same time, I’m sure this concert will be enough to satisfy the Britten fans who decide to stay in London. Fortunately for me, the concert also features music by another of my favourite composers, Aaron Copland, alongside works by Henze and Oliver Knussen.

Don’t miss the chance to hear this fantastic ensemble perform some beautiful works in the intimate setting of Shoreditch Church.

Illuminating Britten
Thursday 13 June, 7.30pm – 9.15pm

At Idea Store Whitechapel. Image: James Berry

Uju Maduforo, Finance Manager
I’m not a huge classical or contemporary music fan, not because I don’t enjoy it when I hear it, but because I just don’t know enough about it, or grew up listening to that type of music.  A slightly odd confession from someone who works for Spitalfields Music.  Anyway, I’m looking forward to this Summer’s Festival for two reasons.

1. I’m always pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy the different events and,

2. It’s such fun doing something you wouldn’t normally do as part of your day-to-day activities.

I’m looking forward to The Great Enormo because of its location.  How uniquely quaint – an orchestra in a library.  I don’t even what the theme tune for Mr Enormo Biggins’ Great Fun Park sounds like (should I?), but it doesn’t matter because I’m sure anyone attending Idea Store that day either to hear the orchestra or to read, will leave with a smile and pleasant memories.  And it’s something children can enjoy too.  I loved Musical Rumpus at the Winter Festival not just because of the music but for the looks of awe, excitement and wonder on the children’s faces (even the babies looked pleasantly puzzled).

Have you ever felt pleasantly surprised when you tried something new and discovered how much you enjoyed it?  I feel that way anytime I go to a Spitalfields Music festival event.  There’s always something for everyone, and the mixture of settings, sounds, ages, faces – beautiful.  Who knows I just might try my hand at conducting.  Now that would be an interesting sight.

The Great Enormo
Saturday 15 June, 2.00 – 3.00pm

Early Opera Company director Christian Curnyn. Image: Alys Tomlinson

Camille, Development Manager
Just over two years ago I discovered Monteverdi’s music at Spitalfields Music Winter Festival 2010, and I was delighted to learn that Monteverdi’s work would be programmed again this summer, conducted by Christian Curnyn. On top of that, being quite a ballet and dance fan, I am very excited that the performance will include new dance work. And if that wasn’t enough, the choreographer in charge is Tony Adigun – who I recently discovered at The Place, when I attended a performance by his Avant Garde Dance Company. I was struck by the physical strength, intensity and commitment of the dancers, and the unusual mix of music and moves.

So to sum it up: Monteverdi, new dance, Christian’s early music versus Tony’s contemporary dance, in a converted warehouse, in East London – talk about an intriguing concept!

Early Opera Company: Monteverdi Ballets
Monday 17 June, 6.30pm – 7.30pm & 8.30pm – 9.30pm

Women Sing East. Image: James Berry

Kathryn, Programme Manager: Learning & Participation
The first thing I did when looking through this year’s Summer Festival brochure was to write the Women Sing East concert date into my diary!  There’s always something very special about the Women Sing East concerts; whether they’re singing Vivaldi, Scritti Politti or Freddy Mercury, I always get the tingle down the spine, my lips form an instant smile and I feel so much more positive about life!

Women sing East is our all-female group with singers from all walks of life who come together every Wednesday evening simply because they love to sing.  It is a proven fact that the act of singing releases endorphins, reducing stress and making you feel energised.  Even if you’re not singing with Women Sing East, simply listening to them can have that same effect – it’s infectious!

Following on from their mesmerising performance in our most recent Winter Festival of Vivaldi’s Gloria I’m thoroughly looking forward to hearing them again in our Summer Festival.  Some people might be asking how can they top the Vivaldi? You’ll be amazed at how well this group can rise to a challenge – I can’t wait!

Women Sing East
Wednesday 19 June, 7.30 – 8.30pm

Musical Rumpus. Image: James Berry

Laura, Programme Officer: Learning & Participation
In a general sense, the excitement of our Summer Festival 2013 comes from its newness. Having experienced my first Winter Festival only a short while ago, I am looking forward to exploring what the warm weather and uplifting sunshine mood brings to a fantastic Spitalfields Music Festival.

Delving into the programme, Summer 2013 for me is the takeover of Monteverdi.  For a more matured ear, we have the cross arts celebration of Monteverdi Ballets. Combining the talents of the Early Opera Company and Avant Garde Dance, Monteverdi will be revealed in a new light.  For the more delicate ears, we have Musical Rumpus: Movers & Shakers which follows on from the massive success of Musical Rumpus: A Fairy Queen in the Forest which we toured in Barking & Dagenham and Newham last year. Monteverdi will be re-imagined into another interactive and captivating piece for 0-2 year olds. Working once again with the experiences of the Early Opera Company and East London Dance, the same magnificent minds will cultivate this piece, the only difference being that the audience members will be less than half the size!

As always I am looking forward to reaching new audiences, bringing new insight into the area of cross cultural and cross arts work, and of course, indulging in sunshine and ice-cream!

Musical Rumpus: Movers & Shakers
Thursday 20 June, 10.30am – 11.30am & 12.00pm – 1.00pm

Scanner. Image: Alys Tomlinson

James, Programme Manager: Festivals 
This is my first summer festival working on producing events for Spitalfields Music and I’m continually inspired by how rich and diverse the programme is to the extent that it is incredibly hard to single out any one event or aspect of the festival as one I’m most looking forward to; they all promise to be stupendous!

What I find most attractive about Spitalfields as a place is how the old and new seem to coexist seamlessly; one minute you’re walking past the former home of a Huguenot silk-weaver, the next you’re crossing the ruins of a 13th century crypt whilst gazing up at the wall of glass which is the Heron Tower. So, for me, what I’m most looking forward to is Gazelle Twin’s Flow Forms, which forms part of our Associate Artist series with Scanner and promises to celebrate this unique and diverse history.  It’s a wonderfully fresh project, inspired by John Dowland’s flow my tears where we’ll be taking a trip underground to visit some very unusual, unique and rarely seen spaces in Spitalfields.  I grow to love every element of this project more and more as it develops and how it is set to transverse such a variety of genres, periods and art-forms.

Scanner: Flow Forms
Friday 21 June, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Saturday 22 June, 3.30pm – 5.30pm & 6.30pm – 8.30pm

You can explore our full Summer Festival programme on our website. With general booking now being open, we look forward to hearing your own top picks!

Spitalfields Music Summer Festival
7 – 22 June 2013
Booking opens Monday 4 February, 10.00am
spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk | 020 7377 1362

The arts – a marginal activity? Not in our experience.

I began yesterday with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as I got ready for the day ahead (along with 7 million others). At 8.00am a piece on the arts was promised in the coming hour – I noticed this particularly because it’s the field I’m involved in on a daily basis and because I feel strongly about the importance of the arts and their value both in our collective lives and for us individually. When it came along at 8.20am the feature painted a picture which is quite different from my day-to-day experience and indeed from my sense of what’s going on generally in this field. It noted elitism, particularly in opera and ballet, and questioned whether subsidy of the arts serves the population as a whole. The suggestion was that the arts primarily serve a small privileged section of the population and reaching out to new audiences and participants is marginal and to no great effect.

Two hours later I was in Dagenham at Valence Library being greeted by the extremely cheery and helpful library staff along with around 100 parents and toddlers. We were there for a performance of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, as adapted for 0–3-year-olds and their parents. The performance was part of a 12-venue tour across Barking & Dagenham and Newham in libraries, children’s and community centres. The library had been transformed into a forest and six musicians, including two from the Orchestra of the Age Enlightenment’s young musicians’ programme and two from The Sixteen’s young singers’ programme, gave us a magical 45 minute show about fairies, trees, love and adventure. It was utterly enchanting and of the highest quality. 100 people – all of whom (I think) would be classed by the Today programme’s report as ‘not attending’ – had encountered Henry Purcell for the first time as performed by some of the UK’s most promising young musicians.

Musical Rumpus: A Fairy Queen in the Forest on tour in Barking & Dagenham.
Image: Laura Fensom.

Reaching an audience like this doesn’t just happen, but at the same time there’s nothing mystical about it.  The event was free, it was on their doorstep and it was in a trusted location. We told people about it and made it really easy to get a ticket and know what to expect.

My experience in Dagenham made me recall the Today piece and think about why it had got things so utterly wrong. The Fairy Queen project is not a one-off for Spitalfields Music – it’s just one of a whole range of things we do all of which are about offering music to as many people as possible in East London. And I know we are not alone in our outlook and indeed in our success at reaching new audiences on a daily basis. Quite the contrary.

Musical Rumpus: A Fairy Queen in the Forest at Rich Mix during
Spitalfields Music Summer Festival 2012.
Image: James Berry.

So why did the radio piece get things wrong? It’s probably easy to reach for some stereotypes and I suppose things going wrong is much more a story than things going right. And of course, the truth is that there is so much more which could be done.  The arts sector is tiny in relation to its potential – there will always be more to do, simply because the scale of the potential is vast. And there will always be examples of bad practice. But if asked to characterise the sector I work in, I’d say that effort to spend subsidy wisely and to the benefit of as many people as possible is everywhere. It’s certainly not a marginal activity. I’m pretty certain that the roughly 500 people in Barking & Dagenham who saw The Fairy Queen this week would not think so.

And at the end of the day it’s their view that I’m interested in.

Abigail Pogson
Chief Executive

Intern Diaries: Laura goes East

Laura recently joined us as our new intern working with our Learning & Participation programme. She took some time out to tell all about what she’s been getting up to in the run up to our Musical Rumpus tour and Women sing East’s Vivaldi extravaganza.

As I sit immersed in finances from the first Women sing East rehearsal, I overhear a little voice reminding me I need to complete my first blog entry as the new Learning & Participation Intern at Spitalfields Music. I smile, nod and try to carry on with what I was doing however, I find myself trying to figure out whether I am new or old… surely I haven’t been here for less than a month? I quickly remember I am in fact new and continue struggling to locate a file I have misplaced.

From the moment they buzzed me in; I have felt welcomed by this fantastic organisation. With a small but varied team, everyone was friendly and inviting. I slightly embarrassingly said when leaving the office on my third day, “I’m going to miss it here” knowing I wouldn’t be returning for 4 days. This statement was genuine; I whole-heartedly enjoyed being in the office and was sad to leave.

During my first week I spent some time getting to know the team.  Encouraged to set up one on one meetings with everyone, I got to learn what he or she contributed to Spitalfields Music. I also got to understand how they came to be where they are today. As the job market gets tougher and you are constantly battling between getting a job in something you love and settling for something that pays the bills, it is great to remember that nobody landed where they are without a bit of interning, struggle or worry.

In the past month I have dived head first into all that is Spitalfields Music. As someone who has a history of predominantly working outside the office, I revelled in the opportunity to sit at a desk (this usually works the other way round!). I send introductory emails to Women sing East, made maps for the Musical Rumpus: A Fairy Queen in the Forest tour, booked venues for our Trainee Music Leaders scheme and much more.

As time has progressed, I’ve spent more time out of the office taking my learning of Spitalfields Music, and the area it commits itself too, much further. In my first week I attended the audition workshop at the Brady Centre for the new Trainee Music Leaders scheme and got to voice my opinions of which individuals I thought would be most suitable for the posts. I went to Barking Learning Centre to meet the representative from six Libraries in Barking & Dagenham that we will be touring the magnificent Musical Rumpus: A Fairy Queen in the Forest to next month. I even visited five tour venues on my own which was a great moment for me to feel confident in my knowledge of what is going on. I experienced my first Women sing East rehearsal of the Autumn Term which is a project I shall be taking a leadership role in over the next few months.

On the whole I have had an immersive, enjoyable and exciting first month at Spitalfields Music.  Four weeks in I still miss it when I’m not there.  This is down to the people, the fantastic work they do and the amazing things I am learning along the way. I love it already and I am only one month in. Who knows what the next five months will hold!

Laura Fensom
Learning & Participation Intern

Gettin’ to know you: Samantha

Samantha recently joined the Spitalfields Music line-up as our new Director of Marketing & Development. Read on to find out more about our Schubert-loving, Kiwi falconist…!

What was the first recording you bought?
The first record I bought (and it was a record) was Nik Kershaw’s album The Riddle.  I was about 11 years old and obsessed with him.

I bought the album after saving up money from my paper-round.  He was also the first concert I ever went to see – I won tickets from a radio competition and took my mum.  The obsession was short-lived though.  I hit the teenage years and my attentions turned to Duran Duran and INXS.

Nik Kershaw – The Riddle

Do you have a favourite composer/artist? If so, who?
I really, really don’t – which is a terribly boring answer to the question isn’t it. But if I were banished to a desert island with the works of only one composer for company, in that instance I would probably choose Schubert.

What was the last concert/gig you went to?
One of the many wonderful benefits of working for orchestras is getting to attend their concerts. So my last concert was with Britten Sinfonia where I previously worked. My last proper gig was the Black Keys at Alexandra Palace, and in a few weeks I’m off to see Tinariwen – a band of Tuareg-Berber musicians from northern Mali who are playing in London. I’m a complete music magpie.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was very little, I wanted to be a vet. I had this idea that being a vet meant you got to play with animals all day. But when we had to put one of our dogs to sleep, not only was heart-broken about losing my pet, I was also heart-broken discovering what a vet had to do sometimes. Not long after I fell in love with music and radio and knew that’s what I’d do. Before working in the arts, I had a long career in commercial radio.

Tinariwen

What were you doing before coming to work with Spitalfields Music?
I was working with the fabulous Britten Sinfonia – a maternity cover position for the Marketing Director. Previous to that I worked for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) in New Zealand.  Until then I’d had a career in commercial radio working in Brighton, Oxford and London, but in 2008 I went back to New Zealand (where I grew up) changed career, heading up the Marketing and Development departments of the APO. I had a wonderful, wonderful time and now couldn’t imagine ever not working in some way with ensembles and orchestras.  Believe it or not, there are many similarities between radio and orchestras.

What’s the nicest or weirdest gift you’ve been given?
I’m bit of a twitcher, so the nicest and weirdest gift I’ve been given was from some colleagues who got me a Falconry experience for my 30^th birthday. It feels ‘awesome’ in the very truest sense of the word to have a powerful buzzard or tawny owl resting on your forearm, eating part of a small rodent. It’s not for the wary or for the squeamish.

Who would you cast as yourself in a movie about your life? And why?
Someone who plays a good geek. I’ve never aspired to be part of the in-crowd. I like a quirkier take on the world.

What excites you most about working with Spitalfields Music?
The companies I’ve loved working for have all had one thing in common:  they are grounded in place and champion their community.  That’s what drew me to Spitalfields Music, it’s an organisation that places as much focus on its learning programme as it does its performance programme. Spitalfields Music is incredibly innovative, more than is realised I think, and I’m excited and proud to be part of the team.

Where’s your favourite place in London?
Coming from New Zealand, which is such a green and mountainous country, I do get homesick for views and elevations.  So my favourite place isn’t a ‘place’ so much as a ‘view’. I will never, ever tire of flying into London, waiting for the moment that the plane finally breaks through the clouds to reveal the splendour of the city stretched out for miles below. Even that high up, you can see immediately that London is the most alive city in the world.

And finally, would you share an interesting fact about yourself with us?

Shortland Street’s early 90s cast

I was once an extra in Shortland Street, a New Zealand soap drama which screened for about two seconds in England during the hey-day of Neighbours. I was a student at the time and payment was all you could drink coca-cola.  Seemed a good deal to me.

Coming up this Winter

I am writing this on one of the hottest days of the year so far and at the end of London’s most festive summer ever.  It seems strange to be thinking about our Winter Festival and its aim to provide some relief to cold dark days and to the tiredness of an autumn’s work as London anticipates some time off to recharge.

Our scale is so different from everything which has been happening over the summer, but it has struck me that no matter what size, the joy of  a festival is that provides a happy space to do something beyond the everyday. And I hope that you’ll find this within our Winter Festival again this year.

Toujours et Pres de Moi

As we publish our brochure, with its drawings by local artist Adam Dant, we publish again the results of a whole range of artists’ approaches to invention and exploration. It’s becoming ever more difficult for any artist to make new work or to present unknown repertoire as funding pulls in, but this does not dull the imperative to innovate. Two regular festival groups leap out of the programme this year for their continued search for new ways of presenting work. I Fagiolini will collaborate with puppeteer Matthew Robins to present David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion, a modern classic with many resonances for our current times, performing it alongside Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude. EXAUDI will work with festival newcomers Opera Erratica to create an intimate opera with holographs to music from, amongst others, the infamous 16^th century madrigalist (and murderer) Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa. Performed in the tiny intimacy of Hoxton Hall, one of London’s small collection of surviving music halls, their project is one not to be missed.

Equally ambitious is William Whitehead’s Orgelbüchlein project, which will be performed in the splendour of The Chapel Royal at the Tower of London. He has invited some of our leading composers to create new pieces which will extend the collection.

Returning: In the House

We’re also welcoming back Early Opera Company, Gabrieli Consort & Players and The English Concert with a dazzling series of concerts and old favourites such as In the House and A Musical Feast appear once again. Plus, of course, our usual array of events for young ears offers the best music by the best musicians for a first-time hearing.

For me, hearing about these projects is a huge motivation to continue our quest to find the funding we need to promote them. This year we’ve added something different – drawing on some of our Festival photography in recent years we’ve created some Christmas cards and thanks to the generosity of our printers 100% of the income from them can be directed back into our work.  Do consider a pack as you buy your Winter Festival tickets!  We’re also continuing to run Buy One, Donate Oneand I hope you might consider helping us give a free ticket to someone from Tower Hamlets who has not previously attended.

Enjoy reading about our Winter Festival – I hope you are tempted by something within it and look forward to seeing you in December.

Abigail Pogson
Chief Executive

Full listings for the Winter Festival are now available on our website. General booking opens on Monday 24 September at 10.00am (spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk | 020 7377 1362)