Jessica Cottis: “There’s still a block for women conductors” – Limelight Magazine

The conductor of this year’s Tait Memorial Trust concert on gender, education and musical styles.

It’s that time of year again in London when the beautiful concert hall at St. John’s Smith Square is taken over by the Australian, Tait Memorial Trust.

The venue will be filled with talented Australian musicians and singers, many having benefitted from a Tait music scholarship. November 30th will be an opportunity for audiences to hear a wonderful programme of music and spot the Australian stars of the future.

If you are living in London or have friends over there, you should rush to get tickets. Conducting and curating this concert will be the internationally acclaimed Australian-born conductor, Jessica Cottis. On a wet and stormy London morning we manage to Skype and I ask first about her involvement with the Tait Memorial Trust.

“I sit on their advisory board and together we make the artistic decisions for programming concerts,”

she says.

“I benefitted from a Tait scholarship myself so feel really excited to be working with students and professionals who have come up through the same route.”

—–READ MORE—–

Source: Jessica Cottis: “There’s still a block for women conductors”

Toby Thatcher, Conductor – Ensemble Eroica 24th September

Next concert with young Australian conductor, Toby Thatcher with his London group, Ensemble Eroica.

Toby was recently announced as the new assistant conductor with the Sydney Symphony.

September 24th 2015, 19:30

Ensemble Eroica Season Opener – Stone(s) from the Moon

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Commenced in the autumn of 1822, Schubert’s enigmatic B minor symphony provides us with one of art’s great questions; intentional or not? And in either case, does it matter? The work is a glorious example of non-conformity, forcing its way into the symphony canon. To borrow eminent Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s quote (intended for Bruckner’s equally enigmatic Ninth Symphony), the work conjures mystery, fascination, and perplexity equal to that of suddenly stumbling across a ‘stone from the moon’.

In another enigmatic example of compositional intrigue, Johannes Brahms wrote of his second symphony that this was a work of such‘melancholy that you (his publisher) will not be able to bear it. I have never written anything so sad, and the score must come out in mourning’. It is not blasé to state that this opinion of the work is rarely shared by interpreters, the symphony seemingly borrowing more from Haydn and the classical form than from such romantic intentions.

London-based American Flautist Alyson Frazier is a multiple prizewinner and founding member of contemporary music group ensemble x.y. Garnering reviews as a ‘theatrical and compelling performer’ who is ‘impressively accomplished with a beautiful singing tone’. We are thrilled for this collaboration.


PROGRAMME:

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major Op. 73
– interval –
CPE Bach: Flute Concerto in D minor Wq. 22
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B minor D. 759 “Unfinished”

Ensemble Eroica
Conductor – Toby Thatcher
Flute Soloist – Alyson Frazier

Tickets will be available at the door. £10 (£3 students). Complimentary refreshments will be available during the interval break.

St James’s Church, Sussex Gardens
W2 3UD London, United Kingdom

Below are links to the event on both Facebook and our website:

https://www.facebook.com/events/503162629841793/

http://www.ensembleeroicalondon.com/season-calendar.html

Ensemble Eroica Easter Concert

Young Australian Conductor, recent Solti Competition Finalist and Tait Winter Prom participant Toby Thatcher currently directs London-based group Ensemble Eroica. Their next programme takes place on Easter weekend, with music by Mozart and Strauss, and a guest solo appearance by Scottish Chamber Orchestra Principal Horn Alec Frank-Gemmill.

Toby Thatcher is carving out a name for himself as an up and coming young conductor in the London scene.We’re sure they would hugely appreciate your support.

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When: Saturday April 4th, 19:30
Where: The Warehouse 13 Theed Street London SE1 8ST (nearest tube, Waterloo)

Programme:

Mozart – Symphony No. 25 in G minor
Mozart – Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, K. 417 (Soloist: Alec Frank-Gemmill – Natural Horn)
Strauss – Suite for 13 Winds in B-flat Major, Op. 4

Tickets will cost £10, £3 student discount.