Welcome to MfE’s eleventh annual Summer School. Prepare to be enchanted and beguiled as we explore the realm of folklore, fairytale and fantasy! The choir will journey through the underworld, battle storms and tempests, and encounter witches and ghouls with a programme drawing on popular folk tales and mystical stories by composers including Mozart, Purcell, Stanford and Humperdinck.
The orchestra will march to the scaffold with movements from Berlioz’s epic ‘Symphonie Fantastique’, whilst the string orchestra will swoon and delight with movements from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Serenade‘. Our saxophone ensemble will be busy getting ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered’, and our wind band will soar skywards with unicorns, dragons, and our very own conductor’s composition ‘Phoenix Flight’.
It doesn’t stop there… Music for Everyone has a long reputation of providing top-quality guest performances throughout the course from both established and emerging musicians, and this year is no exception. We will be welcoming violinist Emma Crossley, and Nottinghamshire-born baritone soloist Marcus Farnsworth, to perform in our lunchtime recitals – and once the concerts are over, you’ll be able to get top tips and tricks from these great artists in specially organised workshops just for you!
We also celebrate the return of our three guest conductors, Hilary Campbell (choir), Keiron Anderson (wind band and saxophone ensemble), and Alex Robinson (orchestra and string orchestra) and, of course, the wonderful Richard Cox returns as Summer School accompanist.
The Music:
(more to come…)
For Singers:
To include music by Mozart, Purcell, Stanford and Humperdinck
For Orchestra:
Hector Berlioz – March to the Scaffold from Symphonie Fantastique.
Other works to be announced
For Wind Band:
Keiron Anderson – Phoenix Flight
Ernest Tomlinson – English Folk Dances
Rossano Galante – Cry of the Last Unicorn
For Saxophone Ensemble:
Keiron Anderson – Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Other works to be announced
For String Orchestra:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Extracts from Serenade for Strings
Other works to be announced
The Details:
A Summer School pack with all your music will be sent out to you approximately four weeks in advance.
Each day will start at 10am (registration from 9.30am) and finish at approximately 5.30pm with Showcase Concerts for the singers and instrumentalists early on Wednesday evening.
“It was great fun. A varied and fascinating mix of music. Tutors were excellent.”
Be part of the social buzz. There is plenty of time to chat to tutors, browse the stands and enjoy the school grounds.
There will be coffee and pastries to welcome you on the first day and a farewell buffet on the final evening.
The Venue:
Trent College
We will be back at the beautiful Trent College in Long Eaton, where expert-led rehearsals will be interspersed with inspiring recitals from acclaimed musicians.
How to Enrol
The Summer School fee: £160 for MfE Members, £190 for non-members, £85 for Students, covers all music, tuition, refreshments at breaks, and drinks and buffet after the showcase concert. In order to provide the best quality experience for all participants, some instrument numbers will be capped. Please book early to avoid disappointment.
Instrumentalists: minimum of grade 4 is suggested.
Clarinet places are now full, please contact anne@music-for-everyone.org if you would like to be put on a waiting list.
Singers: ability to read music is expected.
Conductors:
Alex Robinson
Orchestra & Strings conductor
Alex Robinson is an experienced conductor and harpsichordist with a first-class Music degree from the University of Manchester and an MMus in Performance (Conducting) from the Royal Northern College of Music. He studied under Mark Heron, Justin Doyle, and Clark Rundell.
He is currently the Music Director of Haffner Orchestra, Furness Bach Choir, Amaretti Chamber Orchestra and Nottingham Youth Orchestra. Alex has worked with a number of orchestras and opera companies in the UK and internationally, including the BBC Philharmonic, the Hallé, Northern Chamber Orchestra, English Touring Opera, Heritage Opera, Radius Opera, Spokane Symphony, Prague Philharmomia, Hradec Kravlove Philharmonic, Moravian Symphony Orchestra, Eboracum Baroque, Psappha, House of Bedlam and Ensemble Laus Deo.
He has worked as an assistant conductor to Sir Mark Elder, Juanjo Mena, James Lowe, Clark Rundell, Gerry Cornelius, Nicolas Collon, Jonathan Peter Kenny, Vassily Petrenko and Sir Andrew Davies. Alex regularly works with many international soloists including Martin Roscoe, Milan Al-Ashab, Inon Barnatan, Sophie Rosa, Savva Zverev, April Koyejo-Audiger, Simon Walfisch, and many more.
Recently he conducted at Snape Maltings for the 75th Aldeburgh Festival with House of Bedlam, and assisted English Touring Opera with Judith Weir’s ‘Blond Eckbert’. He has also recorded an album of continuo improvisations on harpsichord, conducted the premiere of Samson Young’s ‘One of Two stories or Both’ for Manchester International Festival, worked as repetiteur for several operas including Handel’s Tamerlano, Ottone, Agrippina and Silla, and worked as Assistant Conductor for the premiere of Alan Williams’ ‘The Arsonists’ opera in a Yorkshire accent with the BBC Philharmonic.
Keiron Anderson
Wind Band & Saxophone Ensemble conductor
Keiron Anderson was born in Aberdeen and studied trumpet and keyboard at the Royal Northern College of Music where he started both a light orchestra and big band.
Keiron currently directs Yorkshire Wind Orchestra, Nottingham Symphonic Winds with whom he has produced many excellent concerts and recordings, and Phoenix Concert Band.
He has worked with many other groups including Harlequin Brass, Leeds Conservatoire Wind Orchestra, Nottingham Symphony Orchestra, the National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain and numerous chamber ensembles throughout the UK and Europe as part of a diverse and rich schedule of conducting.
Keiron is a prolific Composer producing unique and exciting new music across an eclectic mix of styles. Some of these works are written specifically for the groups he directs or as commissions for other ensembles. He recently conducted his own music at the Bavarian Music Academy Annual Wind Orchestra course in Germany, coaching composers and conducting the excellent orchestra.
Keiron has worked extensively as a freelance performer working with the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, London Festival Ballet, Welsh Opera, Scottish National Orchestra and the BBC Northern Radio Orchestra. Keiron established the Keiron Anderson Orchestra and completed several years working on cruise ships followed by a period in Spain before returning to the UK and performing all over the country with artists such as Cannon and Ball, Ronnie Corbett, Bob Monkhouse, Little and Large, Frankie Vaughan and many more.
Keiron’s teaching experience includes 10 years as a peripatetic teacher of brass and composition, three years as Head of the Ilkley Music Centre and 18 years as Head of Music, then Head of Creative Arts at Ilkley Grammar School.
Hilary Campbell
Choir conductor
Hilary Campbell is a freelance choral specialist, Founder and Musical Director of professional chamber choir Blossom Street, and Musical Director of Bristol Choral Society, West London Chorus and West London Chamber Choir. Her project work includes guest conducting ensembles such as the BBC Singers, Trinity Laban Chamber Choir, the Fourth Choir and the University of Greenwich Choir, and Chorus Mastering the BBC Symphony Chorus and Royal Academy of Music Symphony Chorus. She is also Associate Conductor of Ex Cathedra, and often runs projects with Master of the Queen’s Music, Judith Weir, at the Royal Academy of Music, in conjunction with Blossom Street and the RAM composition department. Hilary also leads workshops for the Royal Opera House and is a course director for Helicon Arts.
Hilary gained a Distinction for an MMus in Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music with Patrick Russill; she was also awarded the three choral conducting prizes. She received a Distinction for an MA in Vocal Studies at the University of York and undertook an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in singing at Trinity College of Music. Following her studies, she returned to the RAM as the Meaker Fellow 2012-13, the first choral conductor to have been thus honoured.
In 2018, Hilary was delighted to be made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM). In addition to her regular conducting work, Hilary also acts as an adjudicator, choral workshop leader and guest conductor. She is a founder member of the Voices of London Festival, and is also a published and prize-winning composer. With Blossom Street, she has released two award-winning Naxos recordings, and recently released a third.
Richard Cox
Summer School accompanist
Local pianist Richard Cox has worked in the Nottingham area and beyond for many years, accompanying numerous soloists and ensembles. He studied music at the University of Nottingham specialising in piano performance with Brenda May, and began working with community organisations after graduating, initially through Music for Everyone (then known as the Nottingham Choral Trust).
He now spends the majority of his time running music-related businesses, including Europadisc (selling recordings of classical music to collectors around the world), and local woodwind specialist, Windblowers.
Guest Artists:
Marcus Farnsworth
Marcus Farnsworth performs in opera, concert and recital around the world. He is also a conductor specialising in choral and vocal music. He is a past first prize winner of the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the Song Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Competition.
Marcus began his musical training as a chorister at Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire. He went on to study at Chetham’s School of Music, the University of Manchester and the Royal Academy of Music. In addition to a busy career as a performer, Marcus is Head of Vocal and Choral Studies at Chetham’s, Musical Director of the Southwell Choral Society and is Founder and Artistic Director of the Southwell Music Festival.
He has appeared as a principal artist with opera companies in the UK and abroad including English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Bergen National Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and Teatro Real Madrid. Equally at home on the concert platform, Marcus has performed and recorded extensively with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Gabrieli Consort, Academy of Ancient Music, Arcangelo, and Aurora Orchestra. He is also a keen recitalist and an advocate for new music. He has given recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, La Monnaie, the Oxford International Song Festival, Leeds Lieder and the Wigmore Hall.
Marcus lives in Southwell with his wife and two young sons. He is a keen cook and consumer of food, and enjoys cycling and hiking, both of which are good for working off all that food.
