Bedfordshire Orchestral Society Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Mark Phillips is formerly Her Majesty's Inspector, Senior HMI in the London region and Ofsted's National Lead for MUsic, where he inspected maintained and independent schools, led on inspector training and induction, linked with local authorities and the music education sector, and liaised with the Department for Education.  Now he works with leaders across the country t...

Send us Fan Mail We welcome Bjorn Bantock, our guest conductor for our BSO May concert onto the podcast.   As a young musician, Bjorn followed his dream to be a cellist, studying across the world with renowned teachers, only to have a serious accident that meant he couldn't continue to play.   Determined to stay in the music profession, he tried other instruments, but it wasn't until he...

Send us Fan Mail Ian Smith, our guest conductor of Bedford Sinfonia, and Paul Harris, our clarinet soloist, join together in this special podcast where we talk about the May 3rd programme, Malcolm Arnold and music education - something that they are both passionate about. Paul is well known to clarinet teachers and students alike as he is not only a performer, but also a composer of their key book...

Send us Fan Mail Carolyn Sampson is a soprano at the top of her game, both here in the UK but also internationally.  This last year has seen her release her 100th album, called "But I like to sing!"  However, that's not all!  She's also been named Gramophone Artist of the Year, was awarded an OBE in the King's New Year's Honours List for her services to music and name...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Lucy Walker, a writer, researcher and speaker on classical music and cultural heritage, is our guest.  What a privilege to have her on the show!  Lucy is a renowned expert on Benjamin Britten and spent many years working at The Red House in Aldeburgh, his former home.  She has spent years researching, writing, presenting, curating exhibitions and speaking about Benjamin Britten...

Send us Fan Mail We welcome Ian Smith back on the podcast to introduce us to the music in the January 2025 Bedford Sinfonia concert. With a programme that takes us on a whistle-stop tour of mainland Europe, showcasing different instruments of the orchestra across various styles of music, this is a concert that will delight many! Ian gives us a quick and accessible guide to the programme.  This is...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Rose is recognised both locally and nationally as having been a pillar in music education and music making in Bedford over the last half century.  At over 90 years old, he can look back on a career that inspires many - and he has never truly retired, still teaching now and conducting up until a year ago.   He has taught, supported and encouraged many musicians over the yea...

Send us Fan Mail Tune in to meet our Guest Conductor, John Beswick who joins us for our first BSO concert of the 2024-25 season, where we play Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 and the Elgar Violin Concert with Michael Foyle on the violin. John talks about how a delivery of a piano and listening to records at home as an eight year old changed the course of his life and took him into an impressive and var...

Send us Fan Mail A wonderful conversation about a musical journey from childhood.  Louise shares how her family instilled a love of music by taking her to concerts and her father sat beside her in her Saturday morning music school...  Louise Radok is the outgoing Chair of the Bedfordshire Orchestral Society, after serving the orchestras through the aftermath of the pandemic.  She's been a mem...

Send us Fan Mail Ian Smith, our guest conductor of Bedford Sinfonia and conductor of Bedford Choral Society , gives us a sneak preview of what he has in store for us for the 6 concerts he is conducting.   He gives us an introduction to the music with a fascinating insight into how he curated the programmes.   It's not often that we get the opportunity to understand how conductors put a whole...