On Wednesday 19 March, Vox Cantab, a chamber choir comprising current and former Cambridge University singers, will treat us to a varied programme of choral works, including several inspired by Petersfield and the surrounding area, under the direction of Louisa Denby. Read preview notes by Louisa.
Louisa (third from the left in the photo) tells Simon O’Hea more about herself.
What are you looking most forward to when performing at this concert?
Making music with some of my best friends!
Who and/or what have been the most important influences on your musical career or interest in music?
Too many to note here, I think! My time at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music in my teenage years had a deeply profound effect on me – truly formative experiences spent making music with some extraordinary people. My Director of Music at school also shaped me as a musician and introduced me to many pieces which I now enjoy sharing with my own students. There are many more individuals I should like to name if space allowed, but my parents should definitely have a mention – sixties pop music still forms the soundtrack to my life!
What have been the greatest challenges of your musical career so far?
Juggling so many different disciplines (performing, teaching, researching etc.) is always a challenge, but I couldn’t have it any other way, and moving on from somewhere I always find impossibly hard, even if it’s leaving to go on to something I am excited about.
What for you are the particular pleasures and challenges of collaborating with other musicians?
I am lucky enough to be able to play chamber music (my first instrument is the bassoon) with some wonderful musicians whom I have known for many years, and we know each other’s playing inside out. It is such a joy when you just don’t really have to say much! Challenges are usually logistical – getting everyone in the same place at the same time and triumphing over the machinations of National Rail is often quite a feat.
Are there any composers with whom you feel a particular affinity?
Not particularly, if I’m honest… I tend to go through phases, depending on what I’m working on at any given time. But there have been some constants throughout my life, for example Brahms, Handel, Parry.
Which works do you think you perform best? Why?
My answer would depend on whether I’m playing or conducting, but in any case I think one has to really believe in a piece and what it’s trying to express in order to perform it at all, otherwise there’s no point.
Which performances are you most proud of?
It’s hard to pick out examples, but a performance last year of Stainer’s Crucifixion was an utter triumph for all sorts of reasons. Another occasion would have to be a concert of English madrigals Vox Cantab gave at a tiny little church in the back of beyond about a decade ago – it just worked!
What are your most memorable concert experiences, either as a performer, composer or listener?
I heard a performance of the Fauré C minor Piano Quartet a few years ago, given by some colleagues, and it was one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Another occasion which springs to mind is playing timpani in a concert at the Cadogan Hall, and accidentally letting go of one of the sticks, which flew across the orchestra, smacked the first bassoon on the side of the head, ricocheted off one of the trumpets, and finally came to rest at the back of the second violins. I spent my bars rest trying to crawl inconspicuously underneath lots of chairs in order to retrieve it.
I also vividly remember playing Walton’s 1st Symphony with the Junior Academy Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Stark, and feeling as if we’d entered some sort of higher plane – everyone was so completely absorbed in the music – we became it, somehow!
What advice would you give to those who are considering a career in music?
If you absolutely cannot imagine yourself doing anything else, then do it. If not, keep it as part of your life but earn your money doing something else. And if you do absolutely have to be a musician, get out of the UK!
How would you define success as a musician?
I used to exchange letters with Sir David Willcocks in the final years of his life, and he once wrote to me that Vaughan Williams had said to him that the most vital thing was to enjoy what you are doing, and more importantly – the people with whom you do it. I have always tried to stick to that, and I think it’s as close to success as any of us can ever get!
What would you like to be doing in five years’ time?
I’m really enjoying everything I’m doing at the moment, and so it would be good to still be doing it, possibly to a higher standard – we’re always learning!
