Joey Roukens on composition

Composer Joey Roukens is writing a new work for Britten Sinfonia, which will be premiered on Wednesday 4 March 2015 in London's Wigmore Hall followed by performances in Cambridge and Norwich as part of our At Lunch 4 programme. Joey is one of the composers you can support through the Musically Gifted campaign. Find out more about Joey in this blog post as he answers questions about himself and his music...

How would you summarise yourself in one sentence?

I'm a composer with an eclectic (yet hopefully distinctive) musical language embracing the great diversity of styles and genres that make up our current musical age.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

Probably listening to my father’s vinyl records: mostly crooners, country and folk music. But I also remember a record of songs played by a Dutch street organist, which I was very fond of.

What do you like most about composing?

What I like most is when you stumble upon an idea that seems brilliant and you think this is going to be the masterpiece you’ve always wanted to write… only to realize the next day that the idea is not that brilliant after all and the piece you’re working on is definitely not going to be a masterpiece. For the most part, it’s not fun to compose: it’s an agony – 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration!

What inspires you?

Anything can be a source of inspiration – a good movie, a museum, a night club, etc. But what inspires me most is other music. When I hear music that really moves or excites me I get inspired to write my own.

When was the last time you experienced writers’ block, and how did you move on from it?

With each piece, I go through a stage of writers’ block, sometimes it lasts only a day, other times it can last many weeks or even months. Frustratingly, there’s not much you can do about it; it’s part of the creative process. What works best for me is to just accept it and take a break.

How do you feel about new music and what we’re trying to do with Musically Gifted?

In these times of arts cuts it is very important that projects such as Musically Gifted exist to make alternative financing of new music commissions possible. Musically Gifted is a wonderful initiative I can only applaud. New music that’s being written today must be performed today, for it has something to communicate to the audience of today.

What would you like to be recognised for?

Frankly, I don’t care. I just write the music I want to write and as long as there are listeners out there who think my music is worthwhile, I am happy.

What advice would you give to other composers?

I don’t think I’m in the position to advise other composers, but if I had to advise younger, aspiring composers, I’d say: Be open to the whole gamut of styles, genres and sources that the current musical culture has to offer. Embrace everything, question everything and write only what you want to write, even if you think you shouldn’t write it.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

I’ve got plenty: the lush film scores of John Williams and Morricone, Strauss waltzes, Bacharach songs, new agey ambient music, at times I can even enjoy a bit of Einaudi.

If you turned your iPod on now, what would be playing?

That could be anything from Renaissance vocal music to the new Aphex Twin album.

  

Favourite five tracks of all time?

That’s difficult to say because I have so many favourites, plus, they change all the time. So let me just give you my favourite composers. As of now, they are (in no particular order): Bach, Mahler, Mozart, Sibelius, Stravinsky.

The last concert you saw?

A concert with orchestral works by Dutch composers, including a piece by me, about a month ago.

If you hadn’t been a musician, what might have happened?

Either I would have become a researcher in cognitive psychology (in fact, I studied psychology at university, as well as music composition), or I would have ended up a tramp.

Which musical instrument do you wish you could play, and why?

The violin. Because of the enormous emotional range it is capable of expressing.

Is there anything else you want to share with the world?

No, enough said, just listen to my music!

Joey's new work will be premiered in March 2014 as part of our At Lunch 4 programme, which also features works by Lou Harrison and Shostakovich.

You can find out more about Joey's music by listening to some tracks on his website.

Meet Clare Finnimore - viola

Clare Finnimore studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama where she co-founded the prize-winning Guildhall String Ensemble. Her musical career has included multifarious appearances as a soloist in a variety of festivals, venues and continents. She has been Principal Viola of Britten Sinfonia for the past 12 years, plays regularly with her chamber group, Britten Oboe Quartet, and can be heard on many a cinema soundtrack including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the latest James Bond film, Skyfall, and The Hobbit. She has also performed live with such artists as Kylie Minogue, Sting, Bjork and Florence and the Machine.

In this blog post Clare discusses various highlights of her musical career so far (as well as the odd embarrassing moment), her favourite pastimes and super-power of choice.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

When you play music you love with people you love playing with it's always a high!

When are you happiest?

Swimming.

What is your greatest fear?

A world controlled by multi- nationals and the diminishing of the dawn chorus.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Trad Jazz at home and my parents jiving...The Beatles: Rubber Soul....Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice....Holst: The Planets.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

Camilla Batmanghelidjh- her big heart, determination and tireless work for vulnerable children...and of course her style!

What was your most embarrassing moment?

Asking a very famous singer/songwriter: 'Is this your son?' His reply: 'No, she's my wife.'

What is your most treasured possession?

A goodbye letter from my sister Jan.

What would your super power be?

I would like to be multi-lingual.

If you were an animal what would you be?

A cat in a loving home- what a life of luxury they have! But I would NOT kill birds.

What is your most unappealing habit?

At home, being unnecessarily fussy about recycling. But if everyone did it......

What is your favourite book?

Middlemarch, Pride and Prejudice, Lost London 1870-1945.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Freshly baked almond croissants.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

My husband, 2 sons and 2 nephews and my best female friends.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

To the 60's - I would inject all the giant Elm trees so that they would still be here now.

How do you relax away from the concert platform?

Wine, tapas and friends.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Stepping up as soloist at a few hours notice for a live broadcast.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

To make every day the best you can.

In a nutshell, what is your philosophy?

I saw this recently on a park bench: "Love, be loved and never stop learning."

John Woolrich's piece for viola and orchestra, Ulysses Awakes, was written for Clare, and she will be performing this work with the orchestra on 20 & 21 November in London and Cambridge as part of the musical celebrations of Woolrich's 60th birthday this year. 

She will also be performing as part of our At Lunch 3 concert in February 2015, which will feature a new composition by Ben Comeau and string chamber pieces by Vaughan Williams and Beethoven.

There’s something about print

For the past few months, one of my projects as part of the fundraising team has been working on developing new print for our annual giving programme. I’ve researched other giving print, collated ideas, helped decide on our message, developed the copy, worked with a new designer, our printers and the marketing team to create something that hopefully stands out and will encourage more people to give to Britten Sinfonia.

I know what some of you might be thinking: ‘in a world of digital marketing and social media campaigns, what’s the point in print? We’ve all seen the hugely successful selfie campaign and ice bucket challenge…’ But even though digital campaigns are important drivers of both marketing and fundraising we don’t want our print to get left behind because it’s important, too. You’re right that much of the information we print is available in some form online, but if you’re anything like me however much you might walk around with an iPhone glued to your hand there’s still nothing better than sitting down (or snuggling into bed in your pyjamas) with a magazine or a good book; turning the pages, feeling the weight of it (or lack of, depending on whether you’re reading Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries or Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea) enjoying the experience of holding an actual book with a lovely cover and beautifully printed pages... And, let’s face it, we get much more excited to receive post through the letter box than an email in our overflowing inboxes.

We decided to update the annual giving print for a number of reasons. The text was out of date (highlighting Britten Sinfonia’s 20^th birthday while we’re now approaching our 25^th) the cover image was dark and dated, and since it was produced over two years ago it feels like every orchestra has chosen to entice potential donors to ‘play your part’, and Britten Sinfonia is no ordinary orchestra. It was time for a change and for something a bit different.

Our previous annual giving print

After a lot of research and thought we came up with a few things that we wanted to achieve: something different, bold and eye-catching yet simple, concise and tidy. With our ideas settled we left the final design in capable hands and continued to work on our overall message and how we were going to communicate it.

Although our previous ‘play your part’ stance was, and still is, relevant, we think there’s much more to your ownership of the orchestra than that. There’s more to being a supporter of Britten Sinfonia than sending a cheque or setting up a direct debit and playing a part in financing our concerts. Everyone who is a regular concert-attender and even those who only come along occasionally should feel that the orchestra they have invested even a little bit of their time and/ or money in is truly theirs for the taking.

Instead of highlighting funding cuts and the need for more gifts from individuals, we have chosen to emphasise the positives: in spite of everything, Britten Sinfonia is growing and achieving more than ever before and it’s thanks to our current partners, donors and everyone who has ever purchased a single ticket. All of you have contributed to our successes and so each concert and project belongs to you. And giving, whether it’s your time in a concert hall or your hard-earned cash, is all about you and your relationship to us. You’re not just playing your part; we’re here because of you, so Britten Sinfonia is your orchestra.

Our exciting shiny new annual giving print

Nothing beats a good book, and (at least at Britten Sinfonia) it’s always exciting to receive a pallet-load of new print. I think everyone in the office could do without the smell of ink that lingers for weeks, but it’s great to write letters, stuff envelopes and post out our latest leaflet or brochure to our donors and audiences, because there’s definitely something about print.

Izi

Development Assistant

Well isn't that Pinteresting....?

Being part of an orchestra's marketing team isn't always just about promoting concerts, keeping up to date with the latest marketing techniques, or sourcing biographies for performers... it's also quite often about cake.

At Britten Sinfonia we enjoy celebrating our staff member's birthdays with cake, and as our office team has grown to a mighty 14 members that means we get to sit down for a slice of cake more frequently than ever before! Not only do we all enjoy eating cake but quite a few of us are keen bakers. So what better way to launch our brand new Pinterest profile than with a board dedicated to just that: Office Cake. 

I was so inspired by the Blackberry and Lemon Cupcake recipe on our Office Cake board that I had a go myself! Sadly these were so tasty that none of them made it into the office...

Whilst being relatively new to Pinterest, I have found that this social media platform is an excellent way to collate all sorts of information, and has been relatively underused for sharing details about upcoming concert programmes and giving our audiences a better insight into the life of the orchestra off the concert platform. 

My favourite board is our Guest Collaborators 2014-15 board, where you can see at a glance all the fantastic artists who we will be working with over the coming season. It's a testament to the quality of the orchestra that these names include such a range of inspiring musicians (I was going to highlight a selection of the best here, but they are all so brilliant I would have ended up listing all of them!).

Music isn't just about what you hear however, and the visual element of a concert performance can be very important. It can also be fascinating, as our Onstage Fashion board demonstrates. It is sometimes easy to forget just how extravagant some concert dresses can be so we thought we would start collecting some of our favourites for all the fashionistas out there. 

One of our pins from the Onstage Fashion board - a quite extreme costume for a rather unique performance back in 2011.

To end with perhaps a more relevant note, our interest in Pinterest came about in the search for somewhere we could create a 'virtual birthday card' of sorts for composer John Woolrich, whose 60th birthday we are celebrating in concert this November. Why not have a look on our board John Woolrich at 60 where we will be adding messages from some of the musicians involved in these concerts, memories from working with John, and details for the two performances. You can even pin your own link!

We hope you enjoy seeing a slightly different side of Britten Sinfonia and keeping up to date through our boards, and remember you don't need to sign up yourself to have a browse through our profile...

See more at www.pinterest.com/brittensinfonia

Karys
Marketing Assistant

Blog sign off

Today is my last at Britten Sinfonia, and what a great way to finish - I'm off to Glyndebourne this morning to see The Yellow Sofa. Way back in April 2007, when we were getting our digital act together, we thought Britten Sinfonia should have a blog and, for reasons I don't clearly remember, I took on the writing. Well, it's been brilliant fun trying to give a wider perspective on the orchestra's work, starting with our tour of South America (the very first proper entry being uploaded from Madrid airport at vast expense (it was pre-wi-fi)). Umpteen visits to Krakow, promotional visits to Spain and Asia, blogs on many of the multifarious composers we have commissioned, the tours around the UK, our collaborations with the Michael Clark Dance Company and the Royal Opera House, London Jazz Festival concerts, concerts in some of the most beautiful buildings in the country (not least our reegular haunts of Ely and Norwich Cathedrals and King's College Chapel here in Cambridge): it is a rich vein from which to draw, and I know the blog will continue to illuminate our work. I'm off to The Sixteen as Acting General Manager, so paths will cross...........

John Bickley

The Yellow Sofa

There are two more performances of Julian Philip's new opera The Yellow Sofa at Glyndebourne, tomorrow and on Friday. I haven't seen it yet, but reports from colleagues and members of the orchestra suggest it is well worth trying to see. The libretto, by Edward Kemp, is adapted from a novella by one of Portugal's best loved writers, Eca de Queiros. It tells the story of Godofredo Alves, a small businessman who comes home from work one day to find his wife in the arms of his best friend and business partner. He determines at once to seek revenge. A tale of sex, a city and the seductive power of furniture.

Cricket result

Closest match yet, but we still lost our third cricket match against Aldeburgh Music. Even with a brilliant wicket keeper (one of the Buddhist monks on our team from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery). It was a Twenty Five/25 match, and Aldeburgh scored 96 in their alloted overs, before getting us out for 72. Brilliant Suffolk afternoon, as light rain gave way to warm sunshine. There are some pictures of the Snape mandala on On an Overgrown Path, the cricket being a short break from the intensive work its creation takes. I'll add some cricket photos in a day or two.

Monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery return for a cricket match

We welcome back our friends the Monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery for our annual Britten Sinfonia vs. Aldeburgh Music cricket match, taking place this afternoon at Sudbourne, nr. Orford, in Suffolk. You can see them above at last year's match in Cambridge. The Monastery was founded in Tibet in the 15th century and re-established in exile in South India three decades ago.
Whilst here for the match the monks are also giving a concert in Snape Maltings tomorrow evening: 'the sacred world of Tibet is filled with the chanting of Buddhist texts, the recitation of mantras, the ringing of bells and cymbals, the blowing of long horns and the beating of drums.' There is also a programme of workshops, and on Sunday they will perform the Sand Mandala Striking Ceremony. My photo below shows the equivalent event outside King's College Chapel, a few days after last year's match.

Pianos Day: first reviews

Geoff Brown in The Times on yesterday's Proms. I'll add more reviews as they emerge. Here's The Guardian one, just published.

Our BBC Prom

The sound (and view) might not have been perfect from my seat in our Loggia Box yesterday, but there was a fantastic atmosphere at our Prom yesterday. You can't really beat a sold out Albert Hall, especially when there are alot of family groups, excited children, and a packed Arena. All three pairs of piano soloists were good, but the Labeque sisters have that little extra star quality. Time was when admitting to enjoy their performances was akin to liking Girls Aloud; but that inverted snobbery seems to have waned - their experience and delight in entertaining shone through. Anyway, you can judge for yourself if you missed the live transmission: a few clicks via our website news pages will take you to the BBC iPlayer link to the broadcast.

A breath of fresh air?

Conductor Charles Hazlewood's article in the Guardian the other day certainly seems pretty ironic here, when last month we actually played to more people outdoors than inside concert halls. It is, I realise, the silly season, but as there is increasingly limited coverage of serious music in the press, you would think editors could commission better-researched pieces. Traffic on our twitter feed overwhelmingly disagrees with him, too.

Morlot and Meredith on In Tune

Conductor Ludovic Morlot, who joins Britten Sinfonia for our BBC Prom on Sunday afternoon, will be on In Tune on BBC Radio 3 on Thursday evening at around 7pm, discussing with composer Anna Meredith her new work Left Light which receives its first performance in the concert.

Lidija and Sanja Bizjak

It is the week of our BBC Prom, when we are performing with three pairs of piano soloists, including Lidija and Sanja Bizjak. Full details are here.

Fen Soundscape

Here's a video from our Fen Soundscape project. Since March 2009, children at Ramsey Spinning Infants School and young people from the nearby village of Yaxley have been working with professional musicians and composers to write, record and edit music inspired by the Great Fen.

On Tuesday 21 July, the results of all their hard work were displayed to the public for the first time at St Thomas a Becket church in Ramsey. On entering the church, visitors were greeted by the sounds of birdsong and a series of signs and arrows taped to the floor. Following the arrows around the church, they came across doormats concealing "trigger pads" which, when stepped on, triggered a series of sounds to be played from the speakers attached to the church's pillars. Sounds ranged from the peaceful (birds twittering - both real and as interpreted on flutes and violins) to the more startling (geese flying overhead, a simulated storm). The whole thing added up to a magical experience brilliantly recreating the sounds and atmosphere of the Great Fen.

A series of performances included young children from Ramsey singing some of the Little Songs for the Great Fen which they have written with composer Jane Wells, followed by a Britten Sinfonia flute quartet playing Mozart and Rossini. Speeches, including a polished performance from Yaxley teenager AJ Mulley, set the scene and explained how the Soundscape had been put together.

The exhibition continues at St Thomas a Becket Church, Ramsey, until Sunday 26 July. Entry is free, and the exhibition is open daily from 8.30am to 5.30pm, except during Sunday services.

Lizzie Ball's Latitude BBC video diary

Check out Lizzie Ball's video diary, made for the BBC on Saturday at Latitude.

Tango meets Vivaldi

Astor Piazzolla's take on Vivaldi's ever-popular Four Seasons is - like all his music - very clever, but not in an arch or arcane way. It's hugely enjoyable and we look forward to playing two of the movements (Autumn and Summer) during our sets at Latitude this weekend. We are scheduled to be on the Waterfront Stage at 18.00 on Saturday and then again at 11.00 on Sunday morning (but look out for any last minute changes: we'll tweet any changes).

Platforms

Being based in Cambridge, we know the platforms at King's Cross pretty well. But those other types of platforms - the digital ones - are becoming increasingly vital to what we do. Our own digiSpace has created considerable interest, but we are always exploring new outlets for our digital material. Yesterday I went to the launch reception for Plushmusic Live's website Plushmusic.tv. It is still in beta but it's worth a look. The competition for this type of channel is increasing rapidly as more and more audio and video platforms are established, and different financial models are tested. One of my favourites is MonteVerdi.

Updates, multifarious

There has been so much interest in our appearances at Latitude Festival on 18 and 19 July that I thought you might like to know what we are planning to play:

BACH Brandenburg Concerto no. 3
PIAZZOLLA Autumn from Four Seasons in Buenos Aires
REICH Duet
VIVALDI Concerto for Four Violins in B minor from L’estro armonico
PIAZZOLLA Summer from Four Seasons in Buenos Aires
BACH Concerto for Two Violins
with, as a possible encore,
RAUTAVAARA The Fiddlers

Perfect, whatever the weather!

*********************************************************************

'It is Ibragimova's ability to pick out those melodies and shape them with deceptively unfussy nuance that makes her mesmerising.' Erica Jeal in the Guardian the other day, reviewing Alina Ibragimova's two concerts of bach's solo repertoire, part of the City of London Festival, in which we are playing tonight.

Esa-Pekka Salonen's Stockholm Diary

The virtuosic Stockholm Diary for string orchestra was commissioned by the Stockholm Concert Hall Foundation for the Stockholm Phiharmonic Orchestra and Stockholm Chamber Orchestra to mark the occasion of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Composer Portrait at the Konserthuset in Stockholm October 2004. Salonen's work receives its UK premiere in our concert tomorrow night at the Mansion House in London. You can see the full programme here.

Not one, not two, but six pianists

Anna Meredith has written Left Light for two pianos and Britten Sinfonia; commissioned by BBC Radio 3, it will receive its world premiere at our Prom on 9 August. We will be joined by no fewer than six pianists: Katia & Marielle Labèque, Simon Crawford-Phillips & Philip Moore, Lydia & Sanya Biziak. Full repertoire here, but as well as Anna's new piece, there are works for two pianos by Mozart and Lutosławski.

The afternoon of 9 August seems many hot, lazy days away, but I am flagging this concert up now because it is selling fast and I don't want you to miss out on tickets!