Friends of Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra

Newsletter June 2014Chairman’s notes

The concerts so far in 2014 have been outstanding. We have recently had the final appearance this year of Tamsin Waley-Cohen, who enthralled us yet again, this time with her performance of Brahms’ violin concerto, a truly challenging piece which she played with great feeling and panache. The concert also included a world première - 'Morning Views of Spoleto' composed by the talented young Jessica Davies who plays the cello in the orchestra. Quite a challenge for David Curtis and the orchestra!  The Gloucester Cathedral concert 'For the Fallen' commemorating the start of WW1, where the CSO joined with the Gloucester Choral Society, was a very moving experience. The next concert will be at Bredon on July 5th, an event which is always very informal, truly 'Music for a Summer Evening' and something to look forward to. 

You will be aware of the sad news that Julian Lloyd Webber has had to retire from playing the cello for health reasons.  For Julian this must be devastating.  As you know Julian was going to play Elgar's Cello Concerto with the CSO on December 5th at the Town Hall in Cheltenham.  However, we are delighted that we have secured the services of Laura van der Heijden, BBC Young Musician of the Year 2012. So please come along and bring your friends as it is a chance to listen to an up-and-coming young musician who will undoubtedly be very famous in years to come! (I remember many, many years ago in Monmouth, we listened to an 18 year old Nigel Kennedy who showed such immense talent, and look where his career took him!)

Thank you all for your continued support for 'our' Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra. Monica Ellis

Tamsin Waley-CohenThe Orchestra has been privileged to play three of the great violin concertos with Tamsin Waley-Cohen. She agreed to meet Michael St. John for an “exclusive” interview for the Friends’ Newsletter in the Parcel Yard restaurant at Kings Cross above Platform 9 ¾.

When did you start to play the violin?After about a year and a half of nagging my parents, (so I have been told!) I began to play at age 3½. I had seen a TV programme of a Proms. concert and was hooked for

life on the instrument! My parents, who were not musicians, were very supportive of me (and my brothers and sisters in their respective interests) and I was taken to lots of concerts to see and hear people like Sarah Chang and Maxim Vengerov.

Do you have a second instrument?I played the piano for several years. I have no time for it now, but it was valuable experience and is still a useful skill to have today.

If you had participated in the CSO GradeOneAthon what instrument would you have chosen?Perhaps the clarinet as I love its sound.

How much practice do you do?When I am at home, I like to do between 6 to 8 hours, but when I am rehearsing or travelling, practice time is restricted to about 2 hours. In order to get the most benefit from practice time, I focus on what I am trying to achieve, practise slowly when appropriate, strive to be analytical and think about posture (looking in the mirror occasionally to ensure shoulders are relaxed). If I only have a short time available I ensure I have a clear target and remember that mere repetition is pointless.

How do you memorise so much music?When I was young, learning music by heart came easily. Nowadays I concentrate on the “corners” where I know that there are pitfalls.

Are there any works that you haven’t performed but would like to?Lots! For example, I would love to perform twentieth century concertos such as those by Berg, Stravinsky or Bartok which I have learnt but never performed. I would also love to play more chamber music – the repertoire is huge and I love chamber music as much as solo work.

A young Tamsin

Tell us a little about the Stradivarius that you playMy violin was previously owned by the Canadian, Lorand Fenyves, and is now owned by a trust fund. I was lucky enough to meet Lorand before he died, when he gave lessons at the International Musicians’ Seminars in

Prussia Cove, Cornwall. It was lucky that it came to auction at the time I was trying out lots of different instruments and the trustees offered it to me. It’s a very temperamental instrument and took a while to learn how to play, but I now love it – especially its dark sound.

What are the main differences between playing with an orchestra like the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra and professional groups?I love the fact that amateur players have such enthusiasm and energy and are playing music because they really want to, rather than doing it for a living. And it is usually possible to have more time to rehearse with amateur groups – too often in the UK there may be just an hour of rehearsal followed by the performance with professional orchestras. (Continental European orchestras often allow more rehearsal time, thanks to greater state subsidies).

What have been your greatest challenges?Everything I do is a great challenge! To play anything really well is very hard! I am constantly looking to improve my performances and I always want to make the music sound fresh. Although I have nerves before a concert, I regard this as being of positive benefit in performance, as it creates a “buzz” in my mind.

Have you had any bad experiences? In Cheltenham a few years ago when there was some serious flooding, all the lights went out in the middle of a recital. We carried on playing – luckily the lights came back on before our memories expired!

What about your best experiences?I always love playing the Beethoven violin concerto and chamber music gives me enormous satisfaction, especially the Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn quartets.

Do you teach the violin and what advice would you give to aspiring musicians?I teach occasionally at the Royal College of Music (where I studied) and find it very satisfying; I often learn a lot myself in the process! I would ask any young musician who is thinking of a career as a performer, whether it is really the only thing they want to do. And I would advise them always to be true to their own ideas and not to try to copy anyone else.

Do you exercise regularly?Not in the way that David Curtis does! When I am at home in London, I run most days for about half an hour. I find it refreshes and stimulates my mind.

What books do you read?I love the English classics and also translations of works by authors in other languages. Ironically, considering the crowds of tourists below where we are lunching, gawping at the luggage trolley embedded in the station wall, I have never read any Harry Potter books!

What about films or theatre?I loved the plays “Chimerica” and the National Theatre’s production of Othello with Adrian Lester. I rarely go to the cinema – no time!

You are probably asked this all the time, but are you related to a) the jockey and b) the famous Lord Mayor of London in 1960?Sam is my cousin but I don’t take much interest in horses; the Lord Mayor was my grandfather who died when I was 6 years old but I remember him.

How do you like to take your holidays (if you ever have them!)My first priority is to catch up with my extended family (who are mainly in London). My next holiday will be in Sicily when I hope to visit some of the ancient sites and enjoy the food! I am not a “beach person”.

Tell me about the Honeymead Ensemble and FestivalI am the artistic director of Honeymead.  It brings together a group of young professional musicians to live and work together for a week of intense musical participation and preparation.  They are based for the week at Honeymead, our family’s farm, in the centre of Exmoor. The annual festival of chamber music provides the musicians with an exceptional opportunity to study and explore in depth outstanding works in the chamber music repertoire while away from outside pressures. The week concludes with three concerts in Devon and Somerset which are organised by and for the benefit of local charities.

And you have a tricycle??The Tricycle Music series takes place at the Tricycle Theatre, London's leading political theatre. Nick Kent, the former artistic director, asked me to put on some concerts there, and the series was born. When Indhu Rubasingham took over, she was keen to continue the concerts, and now we do programmes where the concerts are linked to the play which is on in the theatre. There is often a connected exhibition too, and films, talks, and q&a sessions. It's a wonderful space, very intimate, and we play directly on the set, which leads to some very dramatic settings, such as Verklärte Nacht in a forest, and Strauss Metamorphosen in a nuclear reactor!

…..and then she had to dash off for another appointment without even managing to finish drinking her coffee!

But thank you Tamsin for giving time for this interview and for all the wonderful music you have played with us over the past year! We are looking forward to your performance of the Sibelius concerto next year.

The Journey Hilary Took to the CSO

“Show me your hands.” Almost the first words I heard at my second grammar school. “Would you like to play the cello?” were the next. I don’t remember replying but I went home with this box thing! My mother was surprised too and over the coming years she became a wonderful support and accompanist.

The following year I had to give up “my box” and then owned my first cello. I was now in my third grammar school. I was encouraged by my teacher – the local rat catcher – to play in a local orchestra and the school orchestra. I attended three residential courses as a member of North Wales Youth Orchestra. We had wonderful coaches from Manchester and I loved every minute.

Upper sixth. At yet another grammar school. (No, I didn’t keep getting expelled!) I travelled in a local

country bus to have lessons with Stuart Knussen, ex Hallé. He was a great teacher. After playing a solo on stage in a school concert, I was invited to join the Welsh National Youth Orchestra – unbeknown to me my school concert performance was my audition!

Off to teacher training college. I was the only cellist, so lots of music and fun. I remained in the Midlands for three years and played in the Midland Youth Orchestra in Birmingham – another great experience. Many players became professional. During this time I was invited on two occasions to join French instrumentalists together with ex-members of the Welsh Youth Orchestra. Going to Annecy with the CSO in 2008 brought back happy memories.

Now in Cheltenham. I was walking with my cello to the Cheltenham Philharmonic. A posh car (an Armstrong Siddeley) stopped by me. “Are you going to the Phil?” “Yes”“Well, hop in!” It was Jack Owen, a viola player who later became a founder member of the Sunday Players. We played together in trios etc. and for the musicals and operas in Cheltenham for the next few years.

Next my meeting with Douglas Smith. He was my dentist. While having treatment, hardly in a position to reply, I found myself invited to his home to play duets. Very soon Jamie Adams who also played duets joined us so now we were three. Jack Owen joined and Diana Hankins (Wilton), who later became the first leader of the Sunday Players. For some time we had been meeting in

Douglas’ dining room to play chamber music. The next step was to invite enough musicians to play Mozart piano concertos - a lifelong wish of Douglas’. In 1967 Eric Sanders was asked if he would be interested to conduct us. Sadly he died the following year and Roger Smith and Tony Baines became our conductors. That is how the Sunday Players happened. In 1968 the original idea was to take live music across the county where orchestras were rarely heard.

Douglas’ dining room was now too small so he built a music room. His wife Mary was such a support and always welcomed us to their home. We were invited to play at Barnwood by the vicar, Michael Seacome. Douglas was rather taken aback by this, as until then we had been playing together purely for our own enjoyment. We needed a name and Howard Vincent suggested that as we played on a Sunday evening we name ourselves the Sunday Players. This was the start of many concerts played around Gloucestershire and soon we became part of the Gloucestershire musical scene. Mark Foster became conductor in 1970 and in March 1990 the name was changed to the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra.

I met my husband Charles who played in the Phil. He played the clarinet. We played together in the Sunday Players. I stopped playing when my son was born and Charles’ work with Smiths Industries took us to Heidelberg in Germany. No more playing until after Charles’ death.

We returned to Cheltenham 1991 and I remember attending the 25th anniversary concert in 1993 in the Pump Room. I couldn’t believe the standard the orchestra had reached and never expected to be a member again.

In 2002 having had lessons for a short while, my teacher Peter Wood who played for the CSO suggested I should go along with him and give it a try. I was delighted to play in the orchestra again.

This year is the 45th anniversary of our first concert. Douglas and the other founder members would be so thrilled with the dedication of the present players. Under the baton of David Curtis and everyone who holds office and supports the orchestra it continues giving concerts of a high standard and to me great pleasure.

Tewkesbury Abbey and The Centaur feel a long way from Douglas’ dining room. I am thrilled to have been a part of this journey.Hilary Vallance

Mastering a cow horn – Paul Broekman

As Orchestral trumpet parts go the ‘Cow Horn’ in Britten’s Spring Symphony has to be the most unusual I’ve played, so far at least. Shortly after the instrument’s delivery (personally to our house by CSO’s very own purveyor of unusual instruments – Dave Todd) on the Tuesday evening before the concert, our neighbours were enthusiastically banging on the adjoining wall! Neighbourly harmony was dutifully restored the

following day when, after poking his head over the garden fence and enquiring along the lines of ‘what have you bought now’ we were able to offer our neighbours reassurance that this was in fact only a temporary, if necessary, acquisition.

Two days later and thankfully the Thursday night rehearsal before the concert was the opportunity for the orchestra members to come up with their best ‘horn’ jokes as I got to grips with the technique to produce a consistent and authentic sound from the instrument. This required as large a mouthpiece as I could beg / borrow – my thanks to fellow trumpet player Chris for the loan of his flugel horn mouthpiece which was ideal for the job. Back to the jokes and my fellow brass players did not disappoint, declaring my rendition ‘very mooving’! Britten was obviously very aware of the instrument’s (and most likely its players’) limitations. A repeated ‘moo’ note is sounded at various points in the last movement in order to simulate bellowing cows as Britten conjures up a boisterous Jacobean vision of Merrie England. Grace notes indicate where the player is to approach the note from above or below by altering the tension and position of the lips on the mouthpiece. A listen to a few YouTube performances had reassured me that it was perfectly acceptable to ‘split’ the odd note –

indeed this is practically compulsory when playing any sort of horn according to our chairman.

Conspiring together I was instructed by conductor and leader alike that I should, of course, stand up for this part of the performance as the audience would no doubt like to see as well as hear the instrument. Thankfully all went

well on the night after which the instrument was returned to its long-term owner. A photo was of course recorded for posterity and archive purposes…

Michael Bridge 1941 – 2014

We are sorry to announce the death of Michael Bridge who was Principal Clarinet of the orchestra for 40 years. His wife Jane says that Michael was given a simple system clarinet in C by a relative at the age of 10. He later bought a fine pair of French Louis clarinets, appreciating their refined tone. He was inspired by the playing of Gervais de Peyer and later Emma Johnson. He and Jane moved to Gloucestershire in 1967 and soon after, Michael joined the Cheltenham Sunday Players under the baton of Mark Foster where he continued to

play until illness forced him to retire. He was a founder member of the Berkeley Wind Quintet with Laura Kane, Peter Tomlinson and Paul Sawbridge, giving many performances in and around Gloucestershire.

Janet McKechnie, our present Principal Clarinet recalls meeting Michael when she began working at Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories immediately after graduating. They played duets together and Michael invited Janet to act as first reserve in the Sunday Players. Janet recalls with particular enjoyment playing Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony at Llandrindod Wells – Mark Foster thought the opening unison clarinet solo was particularly fine and continued to comment on it until his very last concert. Another vivid memory is Michael’s performances of the Finzi Clarinet Concerto at Minchinhampton, Bredon and Guiting Power. He played it with such energy and brilliance that many people were converted to a love of Finzi’s music. Janet played in several orchestras with Michael and although he didn’t chat much, as they were both physicists they did have a lot in common. During a concert at St. George’s, Brandon Hill in Bristol, they had to use all their persuasive power and the logic of physics to stop some enthusiastic helpers from pulling a very heavy and valuable chandelier sideways out of the line of sight of a performer.

Always professional and with a wonderfully natural sound and technique, he will be sadly missed.

Forthcoming Concerts

Saturday July 5th Bredon Village HallDag Wiren: Serenade for Strings

Richard Strauss: Suite for wind in Bb Opus 4Haydn: Symphony No.104 in D

Saturday October 18th Pershore AbbeyIn aid of Farmers Overseas Action GroupCopland: Fanfare for the Common Man

John Williams: Star Wars SuiteHolst: The Planets Suite Op. 32

Friday 5th December Cheltenham Town HallBrahms: Academic Festival Overture

Elgar: Cello concerto in E Minor Op. 85Soloist: Laura van der Heijden – BBC Young Musician

of the Year 2012Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F Minor Op.36

If you enjoy our concerts, why not persuade your friends to become Friends?

Editor of Newsletter and Secretary of Friends: Michael St. John Tel: 01285 651463 Email:

mikestjohn@cotspur60.freeserve.co.uk