Dorset, Somerset &amp; Bristol


<p>Local live music has been suffering ever since the pandemic, so when Muddy got wind that <a href="https://www.asmf.org/whats-on/asmf-cathedrals-tour/">The Academy of St Martin in the Fields</a> chamber orchestra were embarking on a Cathedral Tour of the UK and were stopping by Bristol – it was well, music to our ears. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/ASMForchestra-ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg-converter.jpg" alt="ASMF" class="wp-image-97263" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/ASMForchestra-ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg-converter.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/ASMForchestra-ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg-converter-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/ASMForchestra-ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg-converter-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/ASMForchestra-ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg-converter-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Taking place at Bristol Cathedral on Mon 24 June at 7pm, they promise pitch perfect performances (whatever else?) of everything from Mozart and Beethoven to Vaughan Williams, and a new piece from Errollyn Wallen CBE. </p>



<p>Preferring to go by the ASMF acronym, the orchestra was built around the idea of player autonomy and responsibility. We like their style! And every musician takes musical ownership with the aim to create unparalleled musical connection with their performances.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Muddy wasted no time in speaking to multi-award winning violinist, Catherine Morgan&nbsp; – a West Country girl, who grew up in Bristol and went on to study music at Oxford, and then violin at the Royal College of Music, and in Salzburg. She’s been playing with ASMF for over two decades and is poised to share all about performing on the Paris catwalk, preventing music from being elitist, how to get your teens into classical music and ways to enjoy orchestral performances if you’re not usually a fan.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/06/1-10.jpg" alt="orchestral concert near me" class="wp-image-68939" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-unique-about-performing-with-this-orchestra-nbsp">What’s unique about performing with this orchestra?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>In Chichester, as usual, we will play without a conductor. It means that everyone involved has to take responsibility, and no one can just follow. We feel it’s energetic and communicative, and it’s a lot of fun to perform like this, with such wonderful players. There’s a lot of variety in our work; we can play in many different combinations of instruments, and beside our recordings, and performances in big concert halls we also get invited to unusual venues (I have to name drop that we performed on the Paris catwalk for Alexander McQueen). We also often coach music students, but we are particularly proud of our workshops with people experiencing homelessness, at the Connections Centre in Trafalgar Square.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-do-you-think-live-music-and-performance-is-so-important-nbsp">Why do you think live music and performance is so important?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Our Connections sessions have reminded me just how much live music means to people all across society. When you experience it live there is a depth of sound, and variety of emotion and atmosphere in the room that not even the most expensive speaker could reproduce. There’s always a shared sense of occasion between the performers and audience, and you can watch the interaction between musicians as the piece develops. It can be relaxing, challenging, moving, thought-provoking all at the same time. Getting lost in music can help reboot us; personally, I don’t know how I would cope without it.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-we-secure-the-future-of-orchestras-for-future-generations-nbsp">How do we secure the future of orchestras for future generations?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Honestly, I think we are at risk of throwing away a huge legacy and heritage as world leaders in music. We have not one but many world-famous conservatoires, orchestras, and festivals, which draw students and audiences from all over the globe. We should be really proud of our musical reputation, as a nation. Most of all, we need politics of all sides to get back behind music right from childhood, grassroots level. Elitist? Ask the ladies and gentlemen at Connections. We are also increasingly going to have to depend on private contributions to the Arts; it’s going to take a team effort.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/06/2-8.jpg" alt="orchestral concert near me" class="wp-image-68940" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-which-composers-are-being-championed-at-the-moment-nbsp">Which composers are being championed at the moment?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>We have a brand new piece for this tour, written for us by Belize-born British composer, Errolyn Wallen. Parade is a sort of swirling whirlwind of instruments. It’s very theatrical, like it’s very charismatic composer, and it includes lots of jazz rhythms and percussion. It makes a great contrast with the Vaughan Williams which is sublimely ethereal, and the elegant beauty of the Mozart and Beethoven in the programme.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-can-concert-goers-expect-from-your-tour-that-comes-to-chichester-nbsp">What can concert goers expect from your tour that comes to Chichester?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>ASMF mostly plays in big halls in Europe and the USA, but the programme we are bringing to Chichester has the incredible cathedral setting at the centre of it. Our Leader and director Tomo Keller will be playing the exquisite Beethoven violin concerto (a must-hear), and directing the rest of the programme, with the orchestra standing. The piece by Vaughan Williams (Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis) uses the acoustics of the building, as we divide into two orchestras, set apart from each other – the echo orchestra creates a wash of sound from afar. It was one of the Academy recordings I grew up with, and it still gives me goose bumps.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2024/06/4-9.jpg" alt="orchestral concert near me" class="wp-image-68941" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-your-tips-for-people-who-aren-t-used-to-going-to-orchestral-concerts-nbsp">What are your tips for people who aren’t used to going to orchestral concerts?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>First and foremost, your reactions to music are just as important as those of any expert. You could try to spot ideas which get repeated or answered between instruments, the conversations in the music, and notice the many different ways musical sound can be produced. But do take the chance to just zone out, for that hit of mindfulness. Then, at the risk of lowering the tone, I challenge you to try to work out which of the orchestra are married to each other (actually I think it’s only one couple – so far as I know). I suspect I may get into trouble for this answer! Musicians do spend a lot of time with other musicians, as we train together and then keep late working hours. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-any-tips-on-encouraging-children-and-teens-to-enjoy-classical-music">Any tips on encouraging children and teens to enjoy classical music?</h3>



<p>Chances are, they already have favourite pieces of classical music, and don’t even realise it. So many wonderful film scores, and great soundtracks for games, use classical idioms. Classical playlists are popular when teens are revising, too. If you want a hit of culture over the long summer holidays, we have much reduced ticket prices for U25s for our London concert at the end of July. You could make a day of it with our Soundwalk- recordings made by us with the Connections musicians, which you access via an App on a walking route around Trafalgar square and Covent Garden, and listen to on your headphones. I’m told it’s been big on TikTok, if you need help persuading the kids. Details on <a href="https://www.asmf.org/">ASMF website</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-do-you-see-the-future-of-live-performances-going">Where do you see the future of live performances going?</h3>



<p>I’m so glad you’ve asked! I think there will always be a place for absorbing ourselves in a concert of great music, but we also need to be creative about live music in more everyday settings. As part of our celebrations this year for the centenary of our founder, the great Sir Neville Marriner, ASMF are supporting the personal projects of our musicians. I’m really excited that they will be helping me with my informal classical chamber music performances, which take place in a gorgeously refurbished, community-owned pub in central Oxford, the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lambflagoxford/?hl=en-gb">Lamb and Flag</a>. </p>



<p><em><a href="https://www.asmf.org/whats-on/asmf-cathedrals-tour/">The Academy of St Martins in the Fields </a>perform on Mon 24 June at Bristol Cathedral.</em></p>


Muddy meets: violinist Catherine Morgan

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