The Ulster principal audition was in October - the excerpts were:-
Beethoven - 9, recit
Brahms - 2, 1st mov bits
Britten - Young persons guide var H
Ginastera - Var Conc solo
Haydn - 31 the post horn, var 7, bass solo
Mahler - 1, you know the bit!
Mozart 39 - last mov, the common excerpt
Prokofiev - Lt Kije solo
Saint Seans - the Elephant
Strauss - Don Juan, four common excerpts
Stravinsky - Pulchinella
Sight reading - nasty 7/8 bit from Holst's The Perfect Fool.
It certainly main a perfect fool of me! I stuffed up the sight reading. Am not sure why we have sight reading - even in the UK surely the days of bands having to read stuff are long gone? If if a piece is put on the stand for a reh before a gig, then surely you have time to look at it and do some preparation before the gig. Or are we saying players need to sightread stuff perfectly for the rehearsal? I dont get it.
I was not offered a trial. One thing I learnt from this audition was that there is little point in doing any audition without adequate preparation, I need to be at 110% to even bother.
And it was good to meet Steve Williams, who was running the auditions in London on behalf of the Ulster Orchestra. The others on the panel with principal cello and concertmaster.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Nov 2011
The WNO tour was in full swing by Nov 2011, with the company in Llandudno, Bristol, Birmingham, Oxford, and Southampton. Am really enjoying my time with WNO, and are a fantastic company.
Earlier in the month I nipped from Llandudno to Manchester/Macclesfield, to work with the Northern Chamber Orchestra, play Brandenberg Concertos no 3, 4 and 6, as well as Stravinsky's Apollo Musagete. NCO are awesome, both musically and socially. If I could have negotiated a few of 2p per note am sure I would be in a position to retire comfortably straight off! A lot of notes and a lot of fun.
Earlier in the month I nipped from Llandudno to Manchester/Macclesfield, to work with the Northern Chamber Orchestra, play Brandenberg Concertos no 3, 4 and 6, as well as Stravinsky's Apollo Musagete. NCO are awesome, both musically and socially. If I could have negotiated a few of 2p per note am sure I would be in a position to retire comfortably straight off! A lot of notes and a lot of fun.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Oct gigs - Forest Phil and Opera Project
October 2011 was another busy month. The main course was my WNO trial - the company prepares 3 operas in Cardiff then hits the road on tour, a week in each port. The first was the Empire Liverpool, another first for me to work in that city. The Empire is a wonderful old theatre, huge pit, great sound. Kayta went well, even if the house was only 1/3 full, which is a shame as its a terrific show. I met Danny Hammerton after the Katya show - great bloke and we got talking about old basses. Nothing new there then!!
Forest Phil opened thier symphony series for 11/12 with a concert on 16th October, featuring Vaughan William's "lush" Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus and Rachmaninov Symphony no 2. The latter was a first for me - great tunes. The former I had played before, 20 or so years ago, and a show that will stick in the memory. Nigel Amherst was conducting a chamber group in Cornwall. When we got to the end of the theme section, where the celli and bass gets the tune there a huge thud came from the bass. Nigel and most of the audience looked over in shock. To this day I have never broken a bass string, and I thought to myself, "be cool, a string has gone, just work out which one it is, and carry on". They were all floppy, no break at the bridge, none at the nut......what could it be. Nigel stopped the show, we inspected the bass and found the tailwire had broken, but luckily for me it was a stiff wire, that failed, opened an inch or so but kept its shape, or else the strings and bridge would have flown in all directions. I found a wire dry cleaning clothes hanger in the car, bent it in the interval to make a temporary tailwire and did the second half of the concert on my bass. One for the memoirs. There were no such dramas in Walthamstow, thank goodness.
The last show of the month was with the Scottish Ensemble, a youthful, talented, tight knit hi energy group that remind me for all the world of the Australian Chamber Orchestra - they have in fact worked together in a London prom. Jon Morton, leader/director played Vivaldi's four seasons with style and panache in the first half and Bobby McDuffie directed us thro Philip Glass's American Four Seasons, his violin concerto no 2 in the second half. It was a memorable occasion - SE are fantastic in every way and the result was an electric performance that was a honour to be able to take part in. Nicky and I stayed with Mike and Glynis Calder in Helensboro - Mike was my first bass teacher. I met Terry Darke, ex SNO, so there were lots of bass conversation going on, despite Nickys yawns!!
Scottish Ensemble
Forest Phil opened thier symphony series for 11/12 with a concert on 16th October, featuring Vaughan William's "lush" Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus and Rachmaninov Symphony no 2. The latter was a first for me - great tunes. The former I had played before, 20 or so years ago, and a show that will stick in the memory. Nigel Amherst was conducting a chamber group in Cornwall. When we got to the end of the theme section, where the celli and bass gets the tune there a huge thud came from the bass. Nigel and most of the audience looked over in shock. To this day I have never broken a bass string, and I thought to myself, "be cool, a string has gone, just work out which one it is, and carry on". They were all floppy, no break at the bridge, none at the nut......what could it be. Nigel stopped the show, we inspected the bass and found the tailwire had broken, but luckily for me it was a stiff wire, that failed, opened an inch or so but kept its shape, or else the strings and bridge would have flown in all directions. I found a wire dry cleaning clothes hanger in the car, bent it in the interval to make a temporary tailwire and did the second half of the concert on my bass. One for the memoirs. There were no such dramas in Walthamstow, thank goodness.
The last show of the month was with the Scottish Ensemble, a youthful, talented, tight knit hi energy group that remind me for all the world of the Australian Chamber Orchestra - they have in fact worked together in a London prom. Jon Morton, leader/director played Vivaldi's four seasons with style and panache in the first half and Bobby McDuffie directed us thro Philip Glass's American Four Seasons, his violin concerto no 2 in the second half. It was a memorable occasion - SE are fantastic in every way and the result was an electric performance that was a honour to be able to take part in. Nicky and I stayed with Mike and Glynis Calder in Helensboro - Mike was my first bass teacher. I met Terry Darke, ex SNO, so there were lots of bass conversation going on, despite Nickys yawns!!
Scottish Ensemble
Sept 2011 - WNO trial for principal bass
September was all about WNO - the start of my trial for principal bass. There are three bass players on trial - I am one of two based in the UK, and there is a third coming over from the US for a week's work on an orchestral concert in late Oct. Kai Carson West is principal for Don Giovanni, and half of Barber of Seville - I am doing the other half of Barber and all of Janacek's wonderful opera Katya Kabanova.
WNO is a stunning company and orchestra - this is my real view, not just a flimsy attempt at point scoring should one of the band come across this blog! I am seriously impressed with all musicians I haver worked with to date. It has been tough - its a trial in every sense of the word, which is the way I guess it should be.
Lothar Koenigs is WNO's principal conductor - he is passionate, focussed, incredibly well prepared, very clear and consistant among his other talents. There are not many conductors for whom that list of adjectives could be applied. He is also driven - he pushes himself and all those around him to the limit, and sometimes beyond, in his focus in the best possible result. This creates pressure for all of us. The result - a stunning interpretation of Katya, one that should not be missed. I have learnt a lot.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
August News
From one end of the UK to the other
Minehead - after a hectic, but enjoyable month with the Northern Chamber Orchestra in Buxton, I shot off South to Minehead and yet another festival. MF has been running for 48 years, and Richard Dickens has been conducting the last 30 of them! My desk partner, Nicko, is a relative "newcomer" as he has only been going down for 10 years. Its great fun, good music, wonderful hosts, crochet, local beers, skittles in the pub and joie de vivre.
Up to Scotland - I was very lucky to be able to use John and Ann Kerrs wonderful flat in the New Town of Edinburgh, for my week with Scottish Chamber Orchestra. What a wonderful band they are. They are so musical, play wonderfully together. It was a great experience to work with them and Sir Roger Norrington. The basses are great blokes - regulars Nikita and Adrian, plus my deskie, Chris Sergeant.
And on the way to Edinburgh I did a Katherine Jenkins gig in Lytham. What an act KJ is - its a special performer who can get thoasands to an outside gig in cold wet weather and pay 40 quid a head to do so. Great fun.
Photo - poster at Usher Hall
Minehead - after a hectic, but enjoyable month with the Northern Chamber Orchestra in Buxton, I shot off South to Minehead and yet another festival. MF has been running for 48 years, and Richard Dickens has been conducting the last 30 of them! My desk partner, Nicko, is a relative "newcomer" as he has only been going down for 10 years. Its great fun, good music, wonderful hosts, crochet, local beers, skittles in the pub and joie de vivre.
Up to Scotland - I was very lucky to be able to use John and Ann Kerrs wonderful flat in the New Town of Edinburgh, for my week with Scottish Chamber Orchestra. What a wonderful band they are. They are so musical, play wonderfully together. It was a great experience to work with them and Sir Roger Norrington. The basses are great blokes - regulars Nikita and Adrian, plus my deskie, Chris Sergeant.
And on the way to Edinburgh I did a Katherine Jenkins gig in Lytham. What an act KJ is - its a special performer who can get thoasands to an outside gig in cold wet weather and pay 40 quid a head to do so. Great fun.
Photo - poster at Usher Hall
Thursday, August 11, 2011
July News
| Up North, with Northern Chamber Orchestra July was a very busy month - from 27/6 I had 43 calls to the end of July, at an average of over 8 per week. This includes 18 in 10 days at the start of the schedule. The UK bands work VERY hard indeed. NCO are fantastic - socially and musically. They are a tight knit bunch of amazing musicians, individually and collectively. And the home made cakes are a traditional going for years! Gigs - are coming in thick and fast now. The WNO trial looks like being the Autumn opera season from Sept-Dec 2011. A nice booking with Roger Norrington and Scottish Chamber Orchestra in August has just landed. Photo - the final night of the La Boheme season in Melbourne. Christian Badea was fantastic, guiding the cast and orchestra towards a stunning performance. I was principal for this production, shown here sharing a desk with Dennis Vaughan. | |
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Loren's new Tom Martin bass
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