Meet Jacqueline Shave

Jacqueline Shave has been the leader of Britten Sinfonia since 2005. In February 2011 she leads Britten Sinfonia in English Song, a series of concerts with Mark Padmore featuring some of the most beautiful music for voice and orchestra. Here she answers a few questions about herself;

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Performing Beethoven Quartet Op 131 in the Wigmore Hall about 13 years ago

Any low points?
I was pretty low when I left the Royal College of Music after 2 terms, gave up the violin and went into selling double glazing.

When are you happiest?
On the early morning ferry to the Western Isles with the light bouncing off the water.

What is your greatest fear?
That humans are destroying the natural world

Which living person do you most admire, and why?
My friend Robert who has battled with illness and despite not being able to walk,talk,or eat normally, still finds a will to be alive every day

What was your most embarrassing moment?
I was totally embarrassed when I broke down massively at a performance of Elektra and was introduced to Bernard Haitink with a swollen red face and bulbous swollen eyes from crying and I couldn’t speak.

What is your most treasured possession?
My stone collection

What would your super power be?
Definitely to fly

If you were an animal what would you be?
A sea eagle

What is your most unappealing habit?
Picking my mascara off my lashes late at night whilst watching crap TV

What is your favourite book?
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
I don’t feel any guilt about pleasure

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Beethoven, Prince Charles, David Bowie, Frida Khalo, Daniel Barenboim, Ted Hughes, Joni Mitchell, George Eliot, Peter Gabriel.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?
Paris at the turn of the Century

How do you relax away from the concert platform?
Walking in the Hebrides, traveling, exploring, writing and eating delicious food.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Still being married to my husband

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
That we are alone, even when surrounded by people.

In a nutshell, what is your philosophy?
Live your life with truth and love.

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Mark Padmore and Britten Sinfonia, led by Jacquline Shave will perform Finzi's Dies natalis in Cambridge on Monday 7 February, London on Wednesday 9 February and Norwich on Sunday 13 February. More Info

They will also perform Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Stephen Bell in Dartington on Sunday 6 February, Southampton on Thursday 10 February and Birmingham on Friday 11 February. More Info

A Journey of Exploration

by Mark Padmore

‘Exploration’ is one of my favourite words when talking about music. It carries an implication of not-knowing; of taking the ‘road less travelled’ and maybe not being sure of the destination. There is the possibility of surprise and discovery and a frisson added by the danger of disaster. Courage, intuition and imagination are called for.

This is a pretty good description of what it feels like to embark on a project with Britten Sinfonia. There is a palpable sense of adventure amongst the players and a certain disdain for the safety-first policy that too often pervades classical music.

Having recently completed a remarkable 13 concert tour with the band and the inspirational Pekka Kuusisto in Holland, Austria and the UK, my respect and admiration for this extraordinary group of musicians has reached new heights. Far from feeling relief that a gruelling tour was over, I experienced pangs of regret that it was not longer and a realisation that I would be extremely lucky to ever enjoy performing Britten’s Les Illuminations quite as much again. Every performance on the tour was different; every night the programme was freshly minted. There was a sense of discovering the music each time for the first time and this communicated itself to the audiences with an immediacy and excitement that was deeply appreciated.

I know that I am not alone in experiencing the thrill of this kind of music-making. Imogen Cooper has told me on numerous occasions how much she loves working with Britten Sinfonia and what a wonderful musician and leader Jacqui Shave is. Indeed the collaborations nurtured by Britten Sinfoni seem to have a particular intimacy and mutual enthusiasm that is far-removed from the aloofness that can often be found between orchestras and soloists in the ‘shotgun-weddings’ arranged by agents and promoters.

I now can’t wait for my next project with the band in February 2011 when we will perform Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Stephen Bell and Finzi’s wonderful Dies Natalis. These two works will be joined by Britten’s Nocturne on our first recording together which we will make immediately after the tour for Harmonia Mundi. This will be a disc that contains some of the most perfect word-setting in the entire repertoire of English music and poetry of genius: Blake, Shelley, Wordsworth, Keats, Shakespeare and Thomas Traherne.

And the journey continues - I am already in discussions with David Butcher planning further explorations to new and interesting places. Watch this space!

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Mark Padmore will perform Finzi's Dies natalis in Cambridge on Monday 7 February, London on Wednesday 9 February and Norwich on Sunday 13 February. More Info

He will perform Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Stephen Bell in Dartington on Sunday 6 February, Southampton on Thursday 10 February and Birmingham on Friday 11 February. More Info

Meet Sophie Dunn

In the second of our occasional series of Q and A’s with soloists, musicians and staff, our Creative Learning director, Sophie Dunn answers a few questions.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
For the sheer surprise of how much I enjoyed it, a songwriting project with lifers in Wandsworth prison.

Any low points?
Not being able to find funding for a project is always disappointing, especially when lots have people have worked hard on it.

When are you happiest?
Work-wise, I love watching children perform at the end of a long project. Out of work – skiing down a long run in the sunshine.

What is your greatest fear?
Not a fear, but I can’t bear to have a mug of cold tea anywhere near me! (A hint to my colleagues in the office to do their washing up…)

What is your earliest musical memory?
Going to see Atarah’s Band – I met her afterwards and she told me I was going to be a flautist. Which I was, sort of.

What is your most treasured possession?
My wedding ring

What would your super power be?
Flying or breathing under water. Can I have both?

If you were an animal what would you be?
A squirrel.

What is your favourite book?
Bill Bryson’s A History of Nearly Everything answers many of the questions that have bugged me for years, including the most confusing one of all – how on earth did people work that stuff out?

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
I have been known to watch The X Factor…

If you could go back in time, where would you go?
1920s Paris sounds like fun

The next Creative Learning event, the annual Cambridge University Composer's Workshop takes place on Saturday 29th January 2011. For more details and ticket info click here