The Monteverdi Blog

Monteverdi Choir Apprentices Concert Report

2009-02-12T11:53:00.002Z

As part of the Monteverdi ensembles' residency with Spitalfields Music Winter Festival 2008, the Monteverdi Choir Apprentices devised and performed a concert for 176 children from schools around Tower Hamlets. You can read more about this concert, and how the Apprentices felt it went, here

The Monteverdi record label SDG nominated for BBC Music Magazine awards

2009-01-26T16:30:00.004Z

SDG has been nominated in two categories at the 2009 BBC Music Magazine Awards. The nominated releases are:

SDG702 – Brahms Symphony 1 – ORCHESTRAL

SDG138 – Bach Cantatas Volume 27 – CHORAL

To vote for these releases, please click here

Monteverdi ensembles on BBC Radio and Television

2008-12-20T15:57:00.002Z

Monteverdi ensembles on BBC

In the run up to Christmas, the Monteverdi ensembles will be appearing on both BBC Radio and Television:
The television broadcasts, on BBC4, were first broadcast in 1999/2000 and were recorded, in the Herderkirche in Weimar, right at the start of the Monteverdi ensembles' monumental Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000.
The radio broadcasts were recorded last week at Christ Church Spitalfields as part of Spitalfields Winter Festival. More details of these concerts, and the second part of the series coming up in January, can be found here. They will be played on BBC Radio 3's 'Performance on 3'.

19.00 Sunday 21 December, BBC 4, Christmas Oratorio Part 1

19.00 Monday 22 December, BBC Radio 3, Christmas Oratorio Part 1 (plus Brandenburg 6 and Komm, Jesu, Komm)

20.00 Monday 22 December, BBC 4, Christmas Oratorio Part 2

19.00 Tuesday 23 December, BBC Radio 3, Christmas Oratorio Part 2 (plus Brandenburg 4 and Lobet den Herrn)

20.00 Tuesday 23 December, BBC 4, Christmas Oratorio Part 3

19.00 Wednesday 24 December, BBC Radio 3, Christmas Oratorio Part 3 (plus Brandenburg 5 and Der Geist hilft)

20.00 Wednesday 24 December, BBC 4, Christmas Oratorio Part 4

19.00 Thursday 25 December, BBC4, Christmas Oratorio Part 5 and 6

The Culture Minute on Telegraph Online

2008-12-16T14:22:00.001Z

Spitalfields Preview on Culture Minute on Telegraph Online

Nobel Prize Ceremony Concert Live Online

2008-12-05T14:28:00.004Z

The annual Nobel Prize ceremony concert, given this year on 8 December 2008 by the Monteverdi Choir, Eric Ericson's Chamber Choir, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and John Eliot Gardiner is available to watch online on Medici.tv until February 8 2009.

Brandenburg Introductory Films

2008-12-01T15:11:00.002Z

The Monteverdi ensembles and John Eliot Gardiner have been working on producing three introductory mini-dcoumentaries to the Brandenburg Concertos. Come and see the first of these on our new Multimedia page

Neil Fisher - Classical Music editor for the The Times, reviews Gardiner/ ORR's Brahms concert at the Usher Hall. **** [4 Stars]

2008-11-24T15:21:00.000Z

The Monteverdi Apprentices 2008-09

2008-09-22T16:40:00.007+01:00

We're very pleased to announce the participants for the Monteverdi Choir Apprenticeship Scheme 2008/9.

They will take part in rehearsals and concerts for Monteverdi projects. They will also benefit from additional sessions with John Eliot Gardiner and other selected professional coaches. Apart from the rehearsals and concerts, the Apprentices will have the opportunity to be involved in educational activities undertaken by Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra:

Zoe Brown (21) - Soprano

was a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge and currently studies with Felicity Cook and Ashley Stafford. Zoe toured with Trinity Choir in the UK and in Germany, Peru, the USA and Switzerland, appearing as a soloist on Trinity recordings. Zoe is a member of Laudibus and the National Youth Choirs of Britain where she is the soprano 1 section leader. Zoe also sings with Polyphony and the choir of St Peter’s Eaton Square.

Susanna Fairbairn (24) - Soprano

gained an Instrumental Scholarship to study music at Magdalen College, Oxford, where she sang and recorded with all the major Oxford choirs. She has performed internationally, touring Europe, Mexico and Argentina. In 2006 Susanna took up a Lay Vicar Choral place at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. She studies with Alison Wells, and will begin postgraduate studies at Trinity College of Music this Autumn.

Robyn Parton (21) - Soprano

has recently graduated from Worcester College, Oxford, where she studied Music, was a Choral Scholar, President of the college music society, conducted the orchestra, received academic and compositional prizes and inaugurated Worcester College Garden Opera. Robyn sang with British Youth Opera in The Magic Flute in 2007 and is featured as a soloist in Stephen Fry’s film Bright Young Things.

Lucy Roberts (21) - Soprano

read music at Cambridge University where she sang with the choirs of Clare College and Gonville & Caius College, undertaking international tours with both, and recording for Naxos with Clare. Operatic roles include Hansel in Hansel and Gretel and Zerlina in Don Giovanni and she sang the soprano part in Jeremy Thurlow’s A Sudden Cartography of Song. She has sung with English Voices, The Choir of London, The Dmitri Ensemble and The Solomon Choir. Lucy studies singing with Ashley Stafford.

Emma Walshe (21) - Soprano

read Music at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. She was a member of the Cambridge University Chamber Choir, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, and the Gloucester Cathedral Youth Choir. Emma sings with the Cambridge Clerkes and Platinum Consort. Recent solo performances include Shchedrin’s The Sealed Angel at Spitalfields Festival and at Oundle International Festival. Emma currently studies with Ashley Stafford.

Chloe Morgan (22) - Mezzo-soprano

Is currently on the classical course at Trinity College of Music with Ameral Gunson and Geoffrey Prately. She is a member of The TCM Chamber Choir under Stephen Jackson and a scholar at the Old Royal Naval college Chapel. With these choirs she has toured extensively across the U.K and Europe.

Simon Ponsford (22) - Counter-tenor

Has recently graduated from King’s College, Cambridge, where he sang in the Chapel Choir. With King’s he has performed in national and international television and radio broadcasts, and toured Brazil, South Korea, Singapore and the USA. Simon recently made his operatic debut as David in the stage-premiere of Samuel Hogarth’s David and Goliath. He has studied singing with Bronwen Mills and currently studies with Ashley Stafford.

Christopher Borrett (22) - Bass

Read music at New College, Oxford and studies singing under Bronwen Mills. As well as being a member of New College’s choir, Christopher performs regularly as a bass soloist in concert, and on CD and stage. Christopher is musical director of New Chamber Opera Studio and also conducted a symphony orchestra whilst at Oxford.

The Monteverdi Apprentices' first tour in 2008, Bach's St John Passion - Lucy Page

2008-04-07T11:06:00.005+01:00

Never having sung the St John Passion before, I was incredibly excited about this latest tour. I was also grateful for the first “pre-tour” rehearsal that Jules Clarkson [long-standing member of the Choir] held for the apprentices only, giving us a good preliminary idea of John Eliot’s preferred tempi and helping us with the text. From the first full rehearsal it was clear that the inherent drama of the piece would be taking an important role in the project. The idea of “wearing different hats” throughout each performance provided a helpful source of inspiration, and adopting various dramatic personas was one of the ways in which we were able to bring variation and excitement in different ways to each concert. Much of the rehearsal time was spent getting deep into the meaning and personal expression of each chorale, and seeing how the dramatic flow of the whole piece is punctuated and led by these exclamations.

It was a privilege to be able to work at close quarters with the English Baroque Soloists. I was especially pleased when, in Amsterdam, the layout of the choir was changed to put all the sopranos in the front row, as this put me right behind the powerful viola section and the oboes. It was great to be able to draw inspiration from the articulation and expression of the players, and being so close to them really brought home how much the whole musical tapestry of the piece is fuelled by the orchestra.

I also really enjoyed listening to all the soloists, made up both of members of the choir whom I had met before, and by visiting soloists. The way in which people from the choir took it in turns to step out really enhanced the feeling of a community performance for me, adding yet another dramatic angle to the piece as a whole. It was also interesting and inspiring to hear how different singers interpreted the same arias in different performances.

Looking back on the tour, what really strikes me about it is how utterly different each concert was, depending on the venue, audience, date and moment. Our first venue was the large, recently completed Auditorio Miguel Delibes, in Valladolid. Most of our rehearsal on the day was spent trying to figure out the acoustic in the hall, and where all the soloists and instrumentalists should be positioned. It was surprising how long it took to sort out these vital technicalities, before we could even think about the music. The Teatro Auditorio in Cuenca was much smaller, yet strangely more difficult to hear one another in. This concert was broadcast on live radio, so there was an added element of excitement. I had heard such good things about the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam from everyone who had already performed there, and my high expectations were not disappointed. Despite the size of the hall, it still felt incredibly intimate, as you could hear every tiny detail of the musical texture. The performance was exhilarating, which the audience certainly appreciated, as we got a prompt standing ovation after the final chord. Braunschweig was once again completely different. We were performing the Passion on Good Friday [and incidentally Bach's birthday too!], in one of the oldest Lutheran churches in Europe, to a packed audience of native German speakers, many of whom had travelled quite a distance to be there. They were extremely attentive listeners, and the powerful atmosphere in the church was unforgettable. A particularly memorable moment was when we performed one of the chorales as an impromptu a cappella, which was wonderful in the resounding acoustics. As the last in the tour, the concert in Budapest was hugely enjoyable, and once again the audience showed their appreciation with some impressively co-ordinated rhythmic clapping!

We'll be returning to the Passion later this year - it will be very interesting to see how the time off, and different venues, will effect it.

Charles Richardson on rehearsing, singing and touring

2008-01-23T11:27:00.000Z

It was with a mixture and excitement and trepidation that I began my year-long apprenticeship with the Monteverdi choir, but I needn’t have worried – the genuine friendliness of the members combined with the professionalism and attention to detail during rehearsals makes it a great environment in which to perform and I’ve felt myself improving very quickly. Reflecting on the last few weeks, what has struck me most – except for the overall quality (and volume!) of the sound – has been the way John Eliot has made a point of using the expertise of the musicians, whether it was through having choir members take sectional rehearsals, give insights into the German texts and pronunciation or acting as ‘mentors’ to the apprentices. In addition, I have found there to be an excellent balance between the technical side and teaching us the realities of a full-time professional career in music.

Overall it’s been a fantastic time to join the Monteverdi choir – the ‘Brahms and his antecedents’ programmes have been a tremendous success so far critically - and within a few short weeks I’ve been interviewed in a Dutch Television documentary, been to more airports than I care to remember, and sung in the Palau de la Música Catalana, Concertgebouw and the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall. I look forward hugely to the next project.

A Fantastic Opportunity - Rupert Reid

2008-01-23T11:26:00.000Z

The opportunity of being an apprentice in the Monteverdi Choir has so far been a fantastic experience in every respect. Musically, it is a great privilege to work under John Eliot, and I have found in particular that his meticulous language coaching has been enormously beneficial.

It is wonderful to feel so involved with the choir - even though the apprentices only started under a month ago, we have already been involved in seven concerts in Spain, Holland and the UK, with many more over the next fortnight in Austria, Belgium, Germany and France.

I have found each concert to be exhilarating, and every performance feels fresh and exciting, due to a combination of John-Eliot’s energetic and passionate direction and the fact that we are currently singing three programmes (each consisting of entirely different repertoire).

Socially, the tour has also been great, and I have really enjoyed getting to know everybody. There has been enough time to explore some local nightlife (only on an evening before a day off, of course!) and to do a little sightseeing and shopping.

Far from just being a musical and social experience, however, the apprenticeship also provides a wonderful opportunity to talk to current professional musicians about their work and to ask for advice about the occupation. I have already found their guidance to be really valuable, and hope to learn much more from them as the year progresses.

Three weeks in Paris for Emmanuel Chabrier's 'L'Etoile' - Emilia Hughes writes:

2008-01-23T10:52:00.000Z

Before beginning this apprenticeship with the Monteverdi Choir I was no stranger to touring with a choir – moving from hotel to hotel, seeing new cities and concert halls, revisiting others – but this is a new experience. Staying in one city for three weeks, being able to unpack and make oneself at home has a very different atmosphere to the huge amounts of travelling involved in most tours. And what a city to be in for all this time! Our hotel is situated on the left bank of the Seine, five minutes walk from the Louvre in one direction and Notre Dame in the other.

We arrived on 2nd of December in the pouring rain, and immediately went into a stage rehearsal in which the directors blocked the movements of the chorus throughout the opera. The director spoke entirely in French so it takes a lot of concentration to pick up everything if you’re not fluent. The next week was taken up with rehearsing primarily the movements to the music, as well as the French pronunciation with Nicole, our French coach. These first few rehearsals flew by rather quickly and by the next Sunday we were doing complete runs in costume and makeup. The dress rehearsal was really a performance to all the staff of the opera house, as well as friends and relations of the cast, and the first night on Thursday 13th went brilliantly.

Now we’re into the performances there’s an awful lot of free time; after every two performances there’s a day off and on performance days costume and make-up begins at about 5pm. I’ve had plenty of time to explore Paris and do the all important Christmas shopping, and having time to really relax has a positive effect on the performances too. Yesterday we were all (choir and orchestra) invited to lunch in one of the best restaurants in Paris. Situated just to the north of Notre Dame, Au Vieux Paris is owned by a couple who are great friends and supporters of the Choir. The lunch itself was marvellous and very long, and we sang some Christmas carols before desert – the first I’ve sung this Christmas season.

There are four performances left before we all rush home in time for Christmas Eve.

Emilia Hughes on a busy Monteverdi debut

2007-11-02T17:18:00.000Z

Emilia is also writing an ongoing blog for Gramophone Magazine which can be seen here

The first thing I had to do with the Monteverdi Choir was a run of rehearsals for the Brahms and his Antecedents project. There were three straight days of 10 - 5.30 rehearsals intended for the choir to get their heads around the music. I was repeatedly told by the older members that this wasn¹t normal and the rehearsal schedule wasn¹t usually this intense, but it sure was a baptism of fire. Throughout those few days I was excited by the high standard of music-making (though obviously not surprised), and the amount of rehearsal time given to this music began to make sense. Attention to detail is obviously extremely important and was a refreshing change from every day chapel singing where there is a very small amount of rehearsal time, and though the standard is high, one always knows it could be even better with more rehearsal. Having arrived knowing only one of the motets we were about to rehearse, I came away after three days with my head stuffed full of music that wasn¹t there before I wonder what I¹ve forgotten in order to make space for it all? As someone who has just moved to London, relatively young (I believe I am the baby of the choir on this occasion) and is still deciding whether to make a career in music, being able to spend so much time with people who have been in the same situation, and can give advice and guidance is a great thing. It¹s also nice not to be the only new one, and to have other apprentices in the same position though from different musical backgrounds is also a great help. My German pronunciation has improved so much, both by osmosis and the various little tips handed out by John Eliot every now and then. My sightreading has also taken a boost when singing the same pieces over and over at evensong, it does tend to get overlooked.

Making a career out of something so enjoyable, in which you get to sing in wonderful concert halls, stay in great hotels (though you don¹t necessarily see much of them), is a wonderful thing to be able to do with one¹s life, and I intend to make the most of it for as long as I can!

Lucy Page, Monteverdi Apprentice talks about rehearsing

2007-10-18T14:54:00.000+01:00

The fast pace and unfaltering attention to detail in the first few days of rehearsal have left me feeling motivated, inspired and eager for more (at least after a few days off!). The focus on the German language and aspects of Lieder singing have been helpful for me to see, and hopefully develop, more of a connection between my choral and solo singing, and I can see the year will bring huge benefits both to my vocal technique and my general musical education. Moving seats within the section was a great way to be able to appreciate the range of voices in the choir, and also to gauge my own contribution. It was wonderful to feel so welcome, and to be able to talk to people about what else they are up to. It has made the prospect of entering the professional world of music much less daunting, and I feel thoroughly privileged to start out with such talented individuals in a demanding and exciting atmosphere.

Apprentice Tom Appleton describes his first rehearsal with the Monteverdi

2007-10-18T14:39:00.000+01:00

Last year I was inundated with people asking me ‘So once you’ve graduated, what are you going to do then?’ My stock reply was either ‘I’m going to be a travelling minstrel, going around and singing hoping someone will give me some money to live on’ or ‘I’m going to be Dick Whittington and go to London to seek my fame and fortune.’ It was therefore with great joy that I opened an email from the Monteverdi Choir asking for young singers to audition for their Apprenticeship Scheme.

The audition at Cadogan Hall was a very strange experience! Little old me and an accompanist centre stage in one of the country’s most prestigious concert halls. If this was not daunting/exciting enough, the three member audition panel consisted of 2 long standing members of the choir and Sir John Eliot Gardner…pressure’s on then!

Time came and went and eventually I found out that I had been accepted on to the scheme. I was so chuffed!

First rehearsal: Sunday morning in Barnes on the south bank of the Thames…a lovely day to take the dog for a walk, fetch the papers, grab a latte, whistle your way back home, enjoy a nice big fry up, and then put your feet up in front of the rugby. Oh no! Not for the professional singer. I was joining the choir that day for a one-off rehearsal as they prepared for a tour of Poland. BAPTISM OF FIRE! I was sat on the front row, Matthew Brook to my left, James Gilchrist to my right and I loved it! Wow! What a privilege. (Glad I wasn’t at home watching the rugby!).

Already I have learned so much about singing and the music business from John Eliot, from Matthew (my Mentor), from the other apprentices, but most surprisingly from my ears. I have tried as much as possible to listen to as much as I can whilst we are rehearsing. Not at the expense of my own singing but with so much talent under one roof, I’d be a fool not to grab this opportunity to listen to some great singing too!

Listen and Learn!

The Monteverdi Apprenticeship Scheme 2007-8

2007-10-18T14:33:00.000+01:00

From autumn 2007, the Monteverdi Choir is instituting an Apprenticeship Scheme to give the most promising young choral singers, on the verge of entering the profession, the opportunity to work with the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra. The aim is to identify and recruit up to six young singers annually and to introduce them to professional choral singing at the highest level, while helping to bridge that difficult gap between music college and a professional career.

Those selected will participate in Monteverdi Choir rehearsals and tours in some of the most prestigious venues across the UK and continental Europe. In addition to this the singers will receive vocal and language coaching and will be individually mentored by a member of the Monteverdi Choir. The Scheme will be the first of its kind amongst the UK’s professional choirs.

The Monteverdi Choir is looking for the vital financial support necessary both to get this innovative project off the ground and to provide as full and rewarding a programme as possible for the participants

For more information about the Apprentices please visit the Apprentices page on our website.