What does it mean to be a cyborg pianist?

Zubin: “It’s been a long-term project of mine (over the last decade) to explore the use of electronic sound, visuals, keyboards and new technologies to extend and expand what I can do on stage as a pianist. But it’s also about exploring deeper questions about the future of musicians’ relationships to technology and how the technology can become integrated into our practice”.

When and how did you first become interested in this type of music?

Zubin: “I’d been commissioning and co-created new piano works since I was at school, and spent many years commissioning and performing works that pushed the limits of pianistic virtuosity, and explored new approaches to extended techniques inside the piano. When I first decided to do a whole concert exploring works with multimedia and new technologies, it was just an extension of this exploration of expanding what a piano can do. But I soon discovered the endless possibilities, and the huge array of different technologies to explore, from new digital instruments, to devices and technologies from other fields that have been adapted to music”.

How has this concept changed and developed through your Cyborg Soloists project?

Zubin: “Cyborg Soloists is my UK Research and Innovation research project, based at Royal Holloway. Cyborg Soloists has made the industry partners, now numbering 26, a major core of what I do, with partners ranging from instrument makers like MiMU to AI companies like WAVE AI, to biosensor companies like ANT Neuro. The collaborating researchers, like Professor Andrew McPherson of the Augmented Instrument Laboratory, have also been key to the project, allowing me to explore new experimental instruments and devices. The project has also extended beyond me to other players and ensembles like Explore Ensemble, Plus Minus Ensemble and Manchester Collective. And it has allowed me to push the boundaries of musical performance, including in Steady State by Alexander Schubert, which uses brain sensors to control sound and video, turning the brain into a component in an audio-visual feedback loop”.

Why do you think some people are concerned about the idea of AI music and what would you say to them?

Zubin: “AI is certainly a double-edged sword. Like many major technological changes in music history – the invention of sampling, the first sequencing software, going back to the invention of recorded music – all have become great tools for musicians, while also making particular musical jobs and roles obsolete. AI is a particularly disruptive technology, and it will almost certainly take the jobs of certain musicians, particularly in commercial music for advertising and background music, but it will also become a useful creative tool, allowing musicians to use it to support their creative work, and offloading a lot of the copyist/typesetting and programming work to AI. With such a rapidly changing technology, it’s impossible to make predictions, but I’m certain that audiences will always want to hear live music from real musicians, creating music by real composers that reflects their time and place”.

Why did you commission Schiller’s Piano and how does it fit with the Cyborg Soloist project?

Zubin: “This is my third collaboration with Laurence Osborn – when I discussed a new concerto with Manchester Collective, we both agreed on Laurence as an innovative and exciting composer who had written excellent works for both of us in the past. Laurence had used the ‘double-manual’ keyboard setup that’s used in this concerto in his two previous works, and we were both keen to explore how the sounds of piano construction, recorded at the Southbank Centre piano workshop, could be combined with the real piano”.

What can people expect?

Zubin: “Schiller’s Piano is an intricate, virtuosic and deeply moving work – like many of the great piano concerti. It uses the keyboard sounds of piano construction in sophisticated combinations with the real piano and the string orchestra, creating a masterful dialogue of sound and texture. Audiences can expect a piano concerto with echoes of the past while also creating some really unique new sounds and combinations that have never been heard before”.

What has it been like to work with Manchester Collective?

Zubin: “Manchester Collective are one of the UK’s top ensembles, and it’s been great to get to know Rakhi and the whole team. They’re an ensemble of virtuosi, with a dedication to pushing the boundaries of classical music performance, but also an understanding of how to put on a great show – the dedication of the players, the immersive lighting and sound, and the adventurous and eclectic programming are all reasons I love seeing Manchester Collective live in concert, and I’m really looking to performing with them for the first time”.

Once the Cyborg Soloists work completes next year, how do you see the work developing?

Zubin: “The project may be extended, but either way I’ll be continuing my work with new technologies. I now have a network of not just interested composers, but also companies, researchers and collaborators from the other arts across the world, and I’ll continue to explore new ways of using the latest technologies to expand what musicians can do on stage. Of particular interest for the coming years are ways of integrating AI, and also the exploration of audio-visual technologies like projection mapping and holograms into musical works”.

What advice would you give someone who was interested in becoming a cyborg musician or would like to learn more?

Zubin: “There’s a huge amount to learn, with skills in the use of relevant hardware, software and the practicalities of putting on a concert with a lot of tech, as well as the experience to understand how to make these sorts of pieces work on stage as compelling performances. All the performers I know who work with new technologies are largely self-taught in these skills. I’d recommend choosing some classic works for their instrument that use electronics, and gradually expanding the types and complexity of technology as they accumulate skills. And of course, having a mentor, or at least a more experienced musician you can work with for early concerts is very valuable”.

Is there anything you’d like to say about the concert?

Zubin: “Schiller’s Piano is a piano concerto for the 21st-century, reflecting on fascism’s empty attempts to create the past, including the building of a fake version of Schiller’s piano, while also looking to the future, with a sound world combining the rich virtuosity of the canon of piano concerti, with the strange sounds of the sampled piano construction, played on my keyboard. Manchester Collective will be performing a big programme around this, ranging from Tchaikovsky to Caroline Shaw. Expect a show that is exhilarating, exploratory, and emotionally rich, combining classical music traditions with groundbreaking new sound worlds”.

Manchester Collective: Fever Dreams is at The RNCM on 10 October 2024.

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Why did you initially apply for the fellowship?

James: “Manchester Camerata’s incredible musicians and their progressive approach to orchestral music has resulted in some incredible new works created in collaboration with contemporary composers that I really admire, for example Daniel Kidane’s ‘Be Still’. I’m a composer, so the forward-thinking approach that orchestra has really appealed to me, as a group I could learn a lot from, and the reassuring, real world experience that the fellowship offers is exactly what I needed to figure out where my place is and what I can offer as a musician”.

What did it mean to you to be awarded the fellowship?

James: “It was an incredible moment of validation, instantly a relief that a major orchestra thought my ideas were worth supporting and a dissipation of a lot of uncertainties I was feeling about a future as an artist at the time I applied”.

What have you done as part of the scheme?

James: “I’ve had training for and played in Music in Mind sessions (the orchestra’s trailblazing music therapy programme that has proven effects in relieving symptoms of dementia); had seminars relating to the technical aspects of what it takes to create and sustain artistic projects, both from Camerata’s management team and external experts; I’ve assisted the orchestra’s concerts team in preparing the Monastery in Gorton for orchestral concerts; and I’ve recently finished a commission for a new piece for a concert taking place at the Royal Northern College of Music for their Original Voices Festival on 14th March, which will be performed by the incredible musicians from the orchestra alongside current students”.

Was it what you expected – have there been any surprises?

James: “I was surprised by the courage of Camerata’s management team in their openness to other ways and perspectives of performing orchestral music. Doing things differently is quite a risk in a landscape as rooted in tradition as orchestral music, but a single-minded focus on the music of the past can hinder the development and proliferation of exciting new sounds and Camerata are very good at holding the past in one hand and the present in another, with an eye looking to the future”.

How has your work developed as part of the scheme?

James: “I’ve had lots of conversations about music with the orchestra’s musicians and the other fellows — who themselves are the most fantastic group of musicians, I’m very fortunate to have met them — and been put on to loads of great stuff that I hadn’t heard before and have had lessons in composition. I’ve also sat in on some of the orchestra’s rehearsals for concerts, which has been invaluable for the development of my compositional practice”.

Can you tell us about the new piece you have composed for the Original Voices Festival?

James: “The piece was written in collaboration with Chris Redmond, co-founder of Hot Poets — an organisation that works in collaboration with scientists at the forefront of developments in climate science. The piece comes in the midway point of the concert, which has been programmed with a narrative about reaching a peak in the urgent necessity for worldwide change in responding to the climate crisis while also acknowledging the positive changes that are being made in industries such as agriculture and technology, which themselves looks to be reaching peak of their own that will instigate tremendous, fast developments”.

What are the next steps for you now?

James: “Myself and the other fellows will be working with Camerata and community leaders in Pendle (an area which was very important to Ruth Sutton, founder of the trust for music that supports the fellowship) to develop a local arts project. I’m also going to write a new piece for the other fellows, who all play string instruments to a very high level, inspired by their personalities and their influences. Alongside these I’ll continue to take play in Music in Mind sessions, assist at concerts and receive practical training in How To Make Things Happen”.

What would you say to someone else thinking about applying to the fellowship scheme?

James: “The fellowship is an opportunity to apply your musical skills for genuinely life-affirming causes. In Music in Mind sessions, helping to hold someone in a present moment in a musical dialogue, who otherwise — as a consequence of living with dementia — has restricted capabilities of self-expression, has left me in no doubt to the vitality of being someone that makes music for both the health of an individual and a community”.

James has composed a new piece for Manchester Camerata which gets its debut performance on 14 March 2024 at the RNCM where it will be played as part of the Original Voices Festival.

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“I’m sharing my gift and I’m trying to do it in in the most pure and honest way that I can in the moment.”

Cleveland Watkiss is undeniably one of Britain’s best vocalists, his award-winning career which has spanned over three decades, has taken him around the world. He has worked with some of the biggest names in jazz, soul, rock and drum and bass; notably Stevie Wonder, The Who and Goldie to name just a few. He has endless expertise and experience to supplement his natural talent, something that he today shares with students at Trinity Laban through his role as a vocal professor. In 2021 he won the Ivor Novello Award for Innovation and in 2018 he was awarded an MBE for his services to music. He also won Best Vocalist at the Guardian Jazz Awards for three consecutive years, and the 64-year-old shows no signs of slowing down.

“It’s something I want to focus on,” Cleveland explains in regard to his VocalSuite concept, “In 2020, you know pre-pandemic, it was something that I was going to jump back in to, I wanted to focus on my solo voice performances and I’m just kind of getting back into it now.” There is a feeling that this gig couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for Cleveland, having his desires, like so many of ours, derailed by the global pandemic, the upcoming headlining of the Manchester Song Festival offers a remedy to that. “I’m excited about what’s going to happen, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it will find its way. It always does.”

The nature of VocalSuite lends itself to experimentation and improvisation, “It’s like splashing paint on the wall and saying okay where’s this going? Where’s the blue going, where’s the red going, what is it saying, how is it speaking to me?” He feels that half of the battle is getting out of his own way, “It’s frightening at times, but you’ve just got to let go and trust it, trust the moment, trust your musicality. There’s the other side as well of course, we’re soundboards, that’s what I believe anyway, the music is coming through us. We’re able to pull it from the clouds or heaven or God or from ancestors or past experiences, we’ve just got to catch it.”

VocalSuite as we see it today was born of the same trust in self. “The first gig that I did doing it kind of happened haphazardly,” he laughs, “I was supposed to do a gig with my good friend, Tunde Jegede, who plays Kora masterfully, but he had double booked himself, so he had to pull out. I said, I’ll do it myself, I hadn’t done any VocalSuite by myself, but I said it and I did it.” Cleveland sang for 90 minutes straight that night, his only friend his looping device. It was a leap of faith but one that paid off. He had reached a point where all he needed to create the soundscapes he desired was his own voice. In reality it was a long time coming.

“It was at that moment that I realised, right, now’s the time that I can do this”

Cleveland had long been fascinated by artists doing similar, particularly soloist Bobby McFerrin, who he admiringly described as having a wonder voice. “He’s one of the first singers that I saw on stage by themselves creating music in the moment. Just one man standing on the stage, and you heard, almost like a whole orchestra.” This was the 80s and it wasn’t just singers that were the subjects of Cleveland’s study, all soloists, no matter their instrument of choice, were of interest. He also took time to study orchestration, listening to Baroque and Atonal music, and trying to figure out how he could recreate what he had heard using his own voice. It wouldn’t be until the arrival of the tech of the mid 90s that Cleveland really began to explore what could now be described as the foundations for his VocalSuite performances, “I started to play around with looping devices where I could capture ideas, layer them and orchestrate them in the moment.” There was a new tool in his toolbox, and he would use it to great effect.

In a career that has long had a theme of collaboration, Cleveland was better equipped than most to contort his voice to create the illusion of collaboration in his VocalSuite performances, “I’ve always been interested in using my voice in different ways, it has such a vast scope and ability to attach itself to different aspects of music and sound. I love the exploration, whether I’m working with DJs or working with an orchestra, working by myself, or working with a choir, they all require different things. And it’s been an honour and a blessing to be able to do that.”

VocalSuite seems to be the culmination of all the work that has come prior, as a multidisciplinary artist who has always expressed creative freedom, effortlessly genre hopping for decades, VocalSuite is the perfect showcase for Cleveland to flaunt the musical fruits of his labour. It is a reflection of himself, free flowing and accomplished.

“I’m not bound by anything. The only thing I’m bound by is my own imagination.”

Cleveland Watkiss is at Stoller Hall on Friday 1 March as part of Manchester Song Festival 2024.

Manchester Song Festival is a three day event of concerts and workshops for all singing abilities, including introductions to folk and musical theatre, acting through song and vocal health. Family activities over the weekend include interactive storytelling sessions with live music for youngsters aged 3-5.

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Can you tell us a bit about String of Hearts and how you use music therapy to reduce isolation?

Amina: “String of Hearts was set up with my incredible colleague and friend Lucy Geddes, in December 2019. We work in the local area of Trafford, Wythenshawe and Manchester where we live, with older adults who feel isolated for so many different reasons. Because we set up just before the pandemic, we quickly found we couldn’t run live music sessions and the majority of our participants are digitally excluded, so we set up a Telephone Music Hotline and did music over the phone – and over Zoom where we could manage it.

“The Music Hotline still runs today and helps us continue to reach people who are highly vulnerable and housebound. As the pandemic eased and we were able to go live again, we’ve found that our sessions have really helped people reintegrate back in to everyday life after a really traumatic period of isolation. And lots of our participants now, inform the direction String of Hearts goes in and ideas for future projects. We showcase the talents of our participants as much as we can, as we want to promote positivity in ageing, and they have talked and sung on radio and TV. They are all amazing people!”

How does your music therapy work relate to your orchestral work as Principal Flautist with Manchester Camerata? How do you manage the two musical identities?

Amina: “I find that the music therapy work brings me much more musical clarity and alertness on stage, everything feels much more technicolour as a result. And having been an orchestral player for 25 years now, all that technique and facility comes in so useful in therapy sessions when it comes to creating a sense of ease. Between the two roles, the challenges and rewards of each really balance the other out”.

What advice would you give to people who would like to learn more about working in music therapy?

Amina: “There’s lots of information and articles online about music therapy, what it’s about and where you can train. Lots of music therapists have websites with great information about how they work. It’s definitely worth doing some research of the different types of music therapy that exist too, as there are different approaches that may resonate more with your particular philosophies. You are also very welcome to get in touch with me too directly if you’d prefer an actual chat.”

How can people find out more about Music in Mind and String of Hearts?

Amina: “Our weekly dementia music cafes run at the Monastery in Gorton on Wednesdays and fortnightly on Mondays in Wigan at the Museum of Wigan Life. These are free to attend, drop in and for anybody who lives with dementia and their carers.
For further information in Music in Mind have a look at our website www.manchestercamerata.com For String of Hearts you can have a look at our website www.stringofhearts.co.uk

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The festival includes a light trail throughout the town and combined arts performances including Surge 360, an indoor immersive dance piece where artist Tom Dale brings to life a duet between dancer and an animated light, and Sentinel, a multi-sensory performance of electronic music from composer, Richard Evans.

Carmel Thomason spoke to Richard to find out more about his inspiration behind the project.

Bands often produce and album and then take it on the road, but your album ‘Sentinel’ developed from your live performances. Can you talk us through how that happened for you?

Richard: “Sentinel was originally conceived back in 2016, mostly as a piece combining instrumental music with data visualisations around the climate emergency. At that point I hadn’t performed live for a long time so it was very much a return to the fray. It was first performed in 2017 for Manchester Science Festival, then went to other festivals around the country. During lockdown, I did more work on the songs as I wanted to put it all together in a recording. That’s when I started writing lyrics and singing, which changed the whole thing. The album came out in early 2022 and got some really nice reviews. This whole process has been quite organic, keeping it fresh from a creative standpoint as I’m not the sort of person who wants to do the same show now as in 2017”.

The album is a call to action around the climate emergency. How is that expressed in the album?

Richard: “I didn’t want to write polemical lyrics, so it’s more about what it’s like to experience this situation from a human standpoint. This is a scary time for lots of people for lots of reasons so the album and new EP are calls to positive action as much as anything – my view is if we give into despair in these distressing times, then we’re done”.

What was the inspiration behind the production for Prism?

Richard: “Because the visuals are projected onto the Waterside building itself, this totally changes the scale of the piece. It allows myself and the creative team to think much more expansively about how we present the visuals, the story we’re telling and the presentation of the music. Each of the songs are new versions created especially for this show and presented in a special audio mix. All of the visuals are new too, so for us, it’s really exciting and we hope the audience will enjoy it”.

How does the music combine with the lighting and visuals in the show?

Richard: “Everything is linked by a series of computers so it’s a grand technical exercise. As well as live synths and vocals, we use platforms including Ableton and Resolume. Our wonderful technical team – Joel, Tarrick and Hervé – make sure the machines all talk nicely to each other”.

What do you think this multisensory experience adds to the message of the album?

Richard: “Listening to an album and being at a live event are very different experiences, so to transition from one to the other means almost starting from scratch.
From a creative perspective, I’m very interested in total works of art – experiences that immerse the senses into a production. It pushes me as an artist to think in both sonic and visual terms. Although the subject matter is serious, we can’t forget that this is ultimately an entertainment experience and part of our role is to inspire and uplift people”.

How does it feel for you coming full circle back to the live experience with the album?

Richard: “I’m very grateful that there is still interest in this production after all this time. I’ve had space to refresh and reinterpret the songs for this festival, so it’s really enjoyable to create something bespoke for these shows”.

What do you hope people will take away from the show?

Richard: “That they’ve seen and heard something very different. That and the belief that we can change the world”.

Is there anything else you would like to say about Sentinel?

Richard: “I’m hugely grateful to Waterside for asking us to be part of this great festival and to the team at Things That Go On Things for putting it all together. We’re really looking forward to some special shows”.

SENTINEL is a free 20 minute show that will run each evening during the Prism festival using light and projections across the Sale Waterside building, to create an immersive, large-scale visual work. Catch it Thursday 23 November – Saturday 25 November / Thu 18:30. Fri & Sat 18:00 & 20:30.

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Carmel Thomason talks to flautist, Eliza about the development of the Freedom to Roam project and the power of art to inspire people towards creating positive solutions for a better future.

We loved the show when we first saw it at Stoller Hall back in February 22. It felt so relevant to the world then, as it still does now. What inspired you to create it?

Eliza: “I feel eternally lucky as a musician that what I love doing also somehow pays my bills. But I also feel we have a wonderful platform as artists; I’ve always been inspired by creatives who use their music, art or film to try to better the world, or the lives of others. I was desperate to set up something that resonated with all the topics that are so relevant today – climate change, mental health, humanitarian compassion, connection with – and the necessary preservation of – our natural world”.

Why did you choose to write an instrumental piece with no lyrics?

Eliza: “A good question! Many of us work recording large soundtracks for Hollywood movies with the likes of Hans Zimmer, Ennion Morricone – huge icons in the world of film music. I loved the idea that you can grasp people’s attention with just the music – attaching it to the stories in the film – and enhanced by the stunning visual art which completes the immersive experience. It was important to me that we didn’t introduce each track, that it runs like a film soundtrack , allowing the listener to be completely engulfed in the story”.

How did the writing team of four come together?

Eliza: “I studied at The Royal Academy of Music with Catrin Finch, we were great friends and both loved performing and wiring music from all genres. Jackie Shave and I met whilst touring with Peter Gabriel in 2010, she was leader of Britten Sinfonia at the time and we continued to work together on many recording projects over the years. She was a huge influence on me and the choices I made musically. Donal Rogers is my partner in life as well as Ranagri, and I love that he comes from a totally different style of writing – he can’t read a note, but can produce melodies and music that I can only dream of conjuring. To bring these wonderful friends together was a dream team.

“We actually did a lot of writing separately, as we weren’t able to meet up during covid, but I was very clear about the journey of the music. I’ve actually only written a small part at the top of the album, followed by music from Catrin and then several tracks from Jackie, taking us to the final tracks from Don. But it all fits together perfectly. You have to see it to believe it!”

The evening starts with ‘Connected’, a half hour documentary directed by Nicholas Jones, which you co-produced. What was the idea behind screening a film before the performance?

Eliza: “I didn’t really realise the enormity of my idea, until we were on our way to Scotland for the first part of our filming. But it was important to me – especially as the music was without lyrics – that we could portray the underlying ideas which have forged the main mission behind the Freedom To Roam ethos; that despite our endless negative bombardment of news, there are some ordinary people doing extraordinary things. There are uplifting possibilities everywhere, there are solutions to problems – small and large – and there are people coming together to work hard for a better world.

“Imagine if 80% of what we are told were the positive stories? The things we could all get involved with? This is an era of polarisation, of bubble-vision through social media platforms”.

Can you tell us a bit more about the visual art that accompanies the album performance?

Eliza: “Amelia Kosminsky is an incredible visual art designer. We had never met in person, due to social restrictions, until the first performance. But we spent hours discussing each track, the meaning, the topics we wanted to portray, and how the flow of the evening should be.

“All composers sent ideas over, and Amelia brought her unique interpretations which flow through the evening. From dry, arid deserts, to flowing rainforests, enslaved humans to the wonders of elephants, child refugees to the caress of a mother’s cheek with her baby. Interspersed with small shots taken from the documentary, and clips of music from the performance, it ties the triptych together”.

How does it feel as a musician to perform an album live all the way through?

Eliza: “Exhausting, exhilarating, uplifting, engaging. It’s the most amazing feeling at the start – to know you are stepping into 50 minutes of non-verbal storytelling – taking people on a journey with you. I absolutely love it, and it makes me nervous too!”

How important is it for you to produce work that speaks to social issues and why do you think music is such and effective medium for encouraging change?

Eliza: “Music has an ability to touch people in a way that many other forms of communication can’t reach. Whether it is classical, folk, rap, pop, we are all able to connect in some way. We know the power of music for illnesses such as dementia or Alzheimers, but using it to connect on every day topics, with people of all ages and stages of life, is a real privilege.

“I’m passionate about connecting people. I hate that we live in such polarisation, that we don’t engage in debate and society appears to judge one another’s politics and views and an often aggressive manner. We see podcasts such as The Rest Is Politics – two humans with opposing politics – at the top of the podcast charts. Why is this? In my opinion, people are in need of honest discussions, good conversations where we can listen to, and discuss, different opinions.

“I would encourage people of all thoughts to join Freedom To Roam, I’m keen to remain a-political, to be open to all opinions without aggression. If I can use my productions and music to encourage this then I will be fulfilled!”

The Freedom To Roam project is much more than a single album or event. Can you tell us a bit more about how you see the future of the work?

Eliza: “It is! Through Freedom To Roam I’m commissioning further collaborations – music, film, visual artists – with concerts and outreach work being planned for 2024. There are so many brilliant projects doing great things – Music Declares Emergency, Earth Percent, The Nest Collective the more we can use our mediums the more we can hopefully spread our message. I’m so excited about what we have in the pipe-line.

“I’ve always loved curating events, and love huge challenges. This pushed me to new limits and I’m extremely proud of what we achieved. I have big plans for the future, and believe you have to pursue everything you want to in life, no boundaries or fears. It takes all my efforts, and I’m a massive workaholic, but the rewards are amazing. If we can touch just one person, or motivate positive changes, my job as a musician and producer has been started. Touch a few hundred and I’ll feel happy, a few thousand and my job has been done.”

Is there anything else you’d like to say about the show?

Eliza: “Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far: Arts Council England, The Royal Philharmonic Society, Worcestershire County Council, and a successful Kickstarter Award. We have raised over £2500 for charities including The Born Free Foundation, Trees For Life, Malvern Welcomes, and Right To Roam.

“Interested in finding out more? Sponsor us, collaborate or just get in touch www.freedomtoroam.earth Empowering Positive Solutions Through Music Film And Visual Art”.

Freedom to Roam is at The Bury Met on 11 May 2023 before continuing its tour.

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Performing with Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra is the pinnacle performance opportunity for students at Chetham’s School of Music, the UK’s leading specialist music school for young people aged 8-18. Conducted by Ben Palmer, the evening’s performance at The Bridgewater Hall will feature Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring – a piece of music so ground-breaking that it caused a riot at it’s premiere in 1913. The programme also features Urban Fox, a companion piece for Stravinsky’s classic, composed by Palmer himself, who wrote the piece specifically for the students of Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra.

Quays Life chats to sixth-form student, Jordan ahead of his final performance for Chetham’s as he leads the programme finale, playing the violin solo in Korngold’s rousing Violin Concerto in D Major.

When did you start playing the violin and why did you choose that instrument?
Jordan: “I started violin at the age of 7. From a young age I was always fascinated by the shape and sound it produced”.

When did you realise you were serious about focusing on music?
Jordan: “When I first saw the violin on TV, I was very fascinated by the sound and shape. When I started violin, I could not stop playing on it. At that time, it was still strong hobby, and it was slowly becoming a passion. What really inspired me, was when I watched a performance of Sarah Chang playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto. That was when my eyes opened and showed me that the violin can do many things. This motivated me so much as I wanted to get to that level of playing. The more I practised, the more connected I felt to my instrument, and it helped me show that when I perform”.

You travelled a long way to study at Chethams. What was it about the school that made you want to study there and how did it work for you and your family?
Jordan: “I had some online lessons during the first lockdown with my current violin teacher, Jan Repko, who teaches at Chetham’s. He heard me play and said that he could help me come over to Chets. My plan was to always study overseas after my schooling in Cape Town. However, the opportunity shocked all of us as it was very unexpected. I only had two months to organise all my documents. It was rather stressful as many challenges occurred due to the pandemic, but it wasn’t an opportunity I wanted to miss!”

What have you enjoyed about studying at Chethams?
Jordan: “I’ve enjoyed the constant music making. Collaborating with different teachers and students in chamber music projects was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the social aspect. Although everyone at Chets is so busy, we still manage to make time for each other”.

How did you choose your solo piece for the concert and why?
Jordan: “I learnt the Korngold Violin Concerto during the summer of 2020 before I came to Chets. Every year at Chetham’s, there is an annual concerto competition, of which the prize will give you the opportunity to perform the concerto (which you chose) with the Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra the following academic year. I was fortunate enough to be one of the three winners and hence the reason I am performing in Bridgewater”.

How would you describe the evening for people thinking about coming along?
Jordan: “Magical and electrifying”.

What is next for you when you leave Chethams this summer?
Jordan: “I will be going back to Cape Town for the summer holiday. After that, in September I will move to London to study at the Royal College of Music”.

Jordan will join Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra and Chorus –made up of more than 200 of the UK’s most talented young musicians on the cusp of their music careers – to perform at The Bridgewater Hall for one night only on Friday 8 July 2022.

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What music will you be playing at the concert and how have you chosen it?

Daniel: “I will be playing my own compositions that form part of my production ‘Art of Believing’. I composed this body of work in 2017 over a couple of months and presented it in October of that same year to a sold out audience in Edinburgh‘s Lyceum Theatre. It all happened so quickly and naturally; from the composing, to the decision to present it, to recording a live album… it just flowed, it was a really special time”.

What attracted you to the flamenco guitar as an instrument?

Daniel: “From a very early age I was surrounded by music, my father plays the guitar and the piano (not professionally) and my uncle plays classical guitar, the lute and is a teacher at the Royal Conservatoire of Music of Cordoba where I studied for 14 years. At the age of seven I already knew I wanted to be a flamenco guitarist as I had fallen in love with the emotion and the harmonies of flamenco guitar. My parents nurtured this love I had for music and learning to play and I truly believe I have them to thank for such a great start in what’s turned out to be a wonderful music career so far”.

What do you wish more people knew about flamenco guitar?

Daniel: “My goal and dream is to continue to make flamenco guitar, music and culture accessible to music lovers across the UK! I still feel it’s a relatively unknown art form in this country and nothing makes me happier than showcasing my guitar and spreading awareness of this beautiful music”.

What does it mean to you to perform as part of the festival at Stoller Hall?

Daniel: “It’s fantastic to form a part of Manchester’s first ever Guitar Festival! Really happy that I will there to see the first edition and hopefully this will be a brilliant yearly guitar event we can all look forward to!”

What’s next for you?

Daniel: “We are embarking on our 2022 ‘Art of Believing’ tour and actually the guitar festival is our first weekend! We will be visiting many cities including Poole, Exeter, London, Bristol, Swansea, Cardiff, Norwich..to name only a few! Then in February 2023, straight after our last concert of the tour in London’s Sadlers Wells, I will be presenting my second production ‘Andalucia’ with a Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh‘s Usher Hall”.

Daniel performs on Saturday 21 May – the Daniel Martinez Flamenco Company, concert – where audiences can experience vibrant and authentic Flamenco music and dance from this spectacular and award-winning Spanish group. Their Art of Believing production won the prestigious Herald Angel Award at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is bursting with truly stunning flamenco music, bringing to Manchester the passion and fire of Andalucia. Composer and Flamenco guitarist Daniel Martinez presents his unique musical production, where the audience will enjoy a rich variety of Flamenco styles; from the intense emotion of Seguiriyato to the joyful sounds of Alegria. The show hosts an exceptional group of musicians; flamenco singers, guitarists, a violinist and a dancer, joining Daniel in a must-see powerful Flamenco performance bursting with life and authenticity.

The Spanish theme continues throughout the Festival, with Spanish food and drink available to enhance the experience.

There is even an Early Years Flamenco Workshop on Sunday 22 May, complete with story-telling, music and art where pre-school aged children and their families can learn about the artform. See Stoller Hall website for details.

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Can you tell us a bit about the show?

Hollie: “The show, curated by Nic Pendlebury, Head of Strings at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and performed by Trinity Laban String Ensemble, is called A Change of Season and will feature a re-imagined performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons directed by Anna Morrissey, with Production Design by Carla Goodman, as the first half. The second half of the concert features my immersive piece Melting, Shifting, Liquid World which is a stand alone piece and is not based on the Vivaldi, but instead explores ideas relating to the spatialisation of sound, of performers and the audience, and draws on data and sounds relating to climate change”.

Looking at climate change and the seasons as they may become, do you see the piece as a call to action?

Hollie: “I would describe the piece as a collaborative exploration of some of the issues relating to climate change, with a particular focus on the rising temperature and increased pollution of the oceans. When working on the piece I collaborated with many cross-discipline contributors including poet, Maura Dooley who wrote the eco-political poem that can be heard at the end of the work Still Life with Sea Pinks and High Tide (Blood Axe Books 2016), scientist Dr Hayley Evers-King who contributed a text that is included in the programme and helped me to work with and access Ocean Monitoring Indicators that I used to generate some of the sounds, and with a team of wonderful costume designers who created costume using repurposed and recycled materials, woven and patched to create new fabrics. The intention was to stimulate thought and discussion through creating the work with this team”.

How important is it for you to produce work that speaks to social issues and why do you think music is such an effective medium for encouraging change?

Hollie: “Music is a social art form and as such it feels very natural to me, for that to expand to influence the creative processes as well as the performative. Music also often carries wider messages, be those programmatic, narrative, political, physical – I don’t necessarily think it is a requirement to make work that engages with the outside world – but engaging with society and issues outside of just ‘sounds’ can often be inspiring to me”.

The piece grew out of your PhD. How does it push the boundaries and add something new to classical music?

Hollie: “The piece explores new technology, bone-conduction headsets, to create a multi-layered sound world that the audience can move around and within. This also means that sounds can happen very close to, far from and all around the listener. I love the idea of offering audience a more active participatory listening experience. I am certainly not the first composer to engage with this type of immersive spatial set-up but I am the first to try it with this technology”.

What are bone-conduction headphones and what is the idea behind the audience wearing them during the performance?

Hollie: The bone-conduction headsets, provided by Shokz headphone company, are a really innovative piece of technology. Transducers send mini vibrations through the cheekbones and deliver sound directly to the inner ear, bypassing the eardrum. This leaves the ears open to experience the surrounding environment. In this case the surrounding environment contains sounds from the string ensemble and electric viola, so there are many layers to the sonic experience”.

What is the importance of the piece being performed in the atrium?

Hollie: “The piece was originally written to be performed at the National Maritime Museum on their iconic Great Map. The space has a very particular acoustic – it is very resonant and reverberant but also very open. The atrium acoustic shares some of these sound qualities, so it felt to be a good fit!”

Performers and audience are free to move during the piece. Are there any rules for the audience or anything they need to be aware of?

Hollie: “The audience should feel able to move or sit as they wish during the performance. At times the string players will also be moving around in the space, so the only thing to be mindful of is not bumping into anyone”.

Is there anything you would like to say about the performance?

Hollie: “It has been fantastic to have the opportunity to have this piece performed again as part of a UK tour. It wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support of Trinity Laban, Nic Pendlebury, the wonderful student performers and production team. I hope that you will enjoy the show!”

Trinity Laban String Ensemble: A Change of Season is at Stoller Hall on March 23 2022 as part of its Sounds of Nature Programme.

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Jess found fame aged just 17 when she became the first saxophonist to reach the finals of BBC Young Musician and the youngest ever soloist to perform at the Last Night of the Proms. Soon after she became the first ever saxophonist to be signed exclusively to Decca Classics and her albums, Rise and Time, both reached No.1 in the UK Classical Music Charts.

Jess also presents a weekly show on BBC Radio 3, This Classical Life and encourages people at all levels of musical ability to get involved in performance with innovative projects like her Virtual Scratch Orchestra. Jess is a whirlwind of musical enthusiasm and has achieved all of this by the age of 23.

Can you tell us about the show, Jess Gillam with Manchester Camerata?

Jess: “It’s been put together in collaboration with the Manchester Camerata. They suggested some of the pieces they’d like to play, and I suggested some repertoire too and now we’ve got a really diverse programme actually that should hopefully be all tied together with the different atmospheres. We’ve got everything from Max Richter’s stillness and beauty to the fireworks in the Glazunov, so hopefully it’ll be an enjoyable concert”.

Do you play any other instruments as well as the saxophone?

Jess: “I’ll be playing soprano saxophone and alto saxophone. I don’t really play anything else other than those, but they’ve got really different sounds that in a way they are almost like individual instruments in themselves because they are so distinct”.

Can you tell us more about the concert’s theme of musical inspiration?

Jess: “I think inspiration can come from all over. It can be from meeting a person and having a conversation with them, because that’s what so much of music is about and inspired by – it’s stories of people and places and the Camerata themselves have come up with the theme about the path of creative endeavour and I can see how the pieces can fit into those. The Glazunov (Concerto in E-flat major for alto saxophone and string orchestra) for example, was inspired by the sound of the saxophone and that is quite tangible, but pieces can be inspired by political events, by stories, by people’s personalities – it can crop up when you are least expecting it.

How were you first introduced into music?

Jess: “I started playing saxophone when I was 7 years old and I picked it up at a community carnival centre in Cumbria, where I’m originally from. There were all different workshops on offer, and I’d tried everything and came to the saxophone last and just fell in love with the sound of it. I think I was really lucky to make a sound straight away and I just found that magnetising. It was probably a honk at that stage to be honest, but this huge sound coming out of this intriguing metal tubing was just fascinating to 7-year-old me and now I still love it”.

Was anyone in your family musical?

Jess: “My dad was a drummer and played a lot of Indie, rock-type music. My mum is not musical at all, but I’m lucky to come from a family that really love music – love listening to music and my dad playing the drums. I know not every young music student necessarily comes from a family who are really supportive about going down the musical path, but I was really lucky in that regard to have a supportive background”.

How did you keep up the momentum and get through the difficult phases when learning?

Jess: “It’s really interesting, you go through different stages, even now nothing is straight forward. You hear a lot of musicians talking about the fact that progress is never linear. You get better and then you go back 5 steps and then you go forward a couple and you’re constantly learning. I think an amazing thing about music is that it’s a job that you can never finish – and I say job, it’s more of a way of life – but it’s a learning process that never finishes. So growing up sometimes I would really feel like practising and other times my punishment if I’d been misbehaving would be that I wasn’t allowed to play saxophone. Then there would be other times when I would maybe need that encouragement to practise and realise that it was something that you needed to keep up regularly, but I was lucky to mainly enjoy it. And then I think it is more about getting inspired. If you don’t feel like practising, it’s finding the motivation and whether that’s watching a concert or watching a video, and just finding the inspiration again”.

How much practise do you do?

Jess: “Now it totally varies. A couple of years ago when I was studying it was much more regular and I would practise for a set amount of hours a day. But now with touring, and I also do radio and television presenting, it completely varies from nothing to 5 or 6 hours depending on what’s happening in the day. It requires constant upkeep and constant learning and curiosity. So there’s the time that it takes and also managing the time when you have a career where you have to factor in the practising. You need to travel and perform and do all of these different things, but keeping up that relationship with the instrument and connection to the sound is really important. Sometimes that can be a bit hard to manage”.

At what point did you think about making music your career?

Jess: “I think when I was late teens. I first entered BBC Young Musician when I was 14, which is a national music competition which is televised, and then I knew already that I wanted to be a musician and I don’t think I’d really considered much else. I wanted to be a writer when I was much younger, before I started the saxophone, but then it just became what I did, it was just kind of who I was, and I didn’t really consider that I would do anything else and, as I mentioned, I was really lucky to come from a family who helped me find that path and helped me find that way to do that. So probably I think I knew from about 14 or 15 that this was going to be what I wanted to do”.

Were you always part of a school orchestra or band?

Jess: “Playing with other people was really important. It is interesting with the saxophone because it doesn’t always have a place in a traditional orchestra. Some pieces do call for it. I was part of different bands but I studied at the junior Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, so I went there every Saturday from the age of about 13 or 14. I would travel down there and have the day working with different bands and ensembles and have my tuition there. Being part of a group with other young musicians was really important, I think that’s where you make some of your best friends through music and also where you learn so much because there is nothing better than being part of a huge group of people with a collective shared mission and making a massive sound”.

What was it like studying at the RNCM?

Jess: “I went to the junior Royal Northern College of Music and that was amazing – to meet other like-minded young musicians who I wouldn’t necessarily be meeting at school – that was my favourite day of the week, Saturday. Karen Humphreys, who runs that, is just incredible. And then I went to the Guildhall to study with John Harle, who was an amazing teacher as well. But going to Manchester weekly and being exposed to the cultural scene there, meeting people and getting a taste of the city was really inspiring as a young musician from Cumbria where it’s not the liveliest cultural place. Going to Manchester and seeing what was happening was brilliant. I went from the age of 14-18 to the RNCM and then I was going to go to the senior course but I was doing so much playing and was so busy just with my career that I didn’t complete my course but then I did a Masters at the Guildhall in lockdown”.

What would you say to a young person looking to make a career in music?

Jess: “I would say, listen to as much music as possible. There’s so much music out there and find the music that really speaks to you and that you really connect with. Then you can develop and look for an authentic voice and mission and something to say with your music. Take inspiration from music that you’re listening to and find your individuality within the music, find your voice, and share that with people. And don’t be afraid to try new things and go outside of the box. Create your own path and create your own career path because there are so many different possibilities with music. Of course, there are all the performing opportunities and playing in bands and playing with people, then there are so many parts of the musical industry and eco-system that you could go into something that you’re really passionate about. So, don’t close any doors, take every opportunity you can and be as authentic as you can”.

What would you say to people who like to try classical music but aren’t sure if it is for them?

Jess: “Classical music is such a broad term because it covers centuries of music, but there is so much within it. It can make you think that maybe the concert hall isn’t a place for you or it might not seem the most welcoming but I would say just give it a chance and go to a concert with a friend who maybe loves classical music and they can maybe tell you a bit about the piece. Or just listen and don’t be afraid to have opinions on it because everybody is equal in listening, we’re all listeners and all trying to take something from the music and there are so many different roads within it. It might be that you really love film music and orchestral music but you don’t necessarily love Baroque or you might find that you love the hard driving, I think almost raving rhythms of a lot of Baroque music, but give it a chance and don’t close the door on it because there is so much within it to enjoy, there is something for everyone”.

Jess Gillam with Manchester Camerata is at The Stoller Hall on Friday 11 March 2022.

Jess is also playing with Manchester Camerata at the Wigmore Hall in London on 20 March 2022.

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