Pitch Me Classical

YolanDa Brown talks to Mark Vines and Pieter Schoeman about how to get on top of an inevitable (and essential) aspect of being a musician, learning how to deal with nerves. Dry mouth, the shakes, cold sweats, ‘butterflies’ in the stomach, these are all things anyone who performs in public will be able to identify with. But how do musicians learn to manage their nerves so their performances aren’t...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. YolanDa Brown talks to James Fountain, Minn Majoe and Gareth Newman about their paths into the music profession. From early experiences at school and in youth orchestras, to incredibly dedicated parents (6 hour round trips for lessons anyone?), this episode is packed full of insights for any budding musicia...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. YolanDa Brown talks to Lasma Taimina, Andy Barclay and Mark Templeton to get the inside view on playing music by living composers. From thoughts around programming new music and the technical demands on players to anecdotes about Messiaen and his surf drum, this episode covers all things squeak (an off...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. YolanDa Brown chats to viola player David Quiggle and clarinettist Ben Mellefont about the ins and outs of practice. From tips about practice routines to thoughts around physical wellbeing, this episode is full of insights for any musician, from absolute beginner to concert virtuoso. Produced by Tandem Prod...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. YolanDa Brown is joined by piccolo player Stewart McIlwham, violinist Fiona Higham and trumpet player Anne McAneney as they take a deep dive into Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony. Between them Stewart, Fiona and Anne have played this piece hundreds of times so they have plenty of thoughts about a symphony that ha...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. YolanDa Brown is joined by flautist Sue Thomas, tuba player Lee Tsamarklis and Tours Manager Grace Ko to find out about travels with the the LPO. Touring may be on hold at the moment, but that doesn’t stop all manner of revealing insights relating to logistical challenges, audience reactions, juggling...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians.  YolanDa Brown is joined by violinist Tom Eisner, horn player John Ryan and bassoonist Simon Estell to get inside one of the 20th centuries best-loved orchestral pieces, Sibelius’s majestic 5th symphony. Tom, John and Simon draw on their collective experience of playing this piece many times with many...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians.  YolanDa Brown is joined by harpist Rachel Masters, clarinettist Tom Watmough and horn player Martin Hobbs to discuss the working life realities of a professional musician in a world class orchestra. What exactly is a ‘normal’ day? How does practice work when you have a grumpy teenager in the room next...

Merry Christmas from LPO Offstage! The podcast elves are busy and new episodes will be appearing in early 2021... stay tuned... #OffstagePod Twitter: @LPOrchestra Instagram: @londonphilharmonicorchestra Facebook: @londonphilharmonicorchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians.  YolanDa Brown is joined by stage manager Laura Kitson, cellist Kristina Blaumane and bassoonist Jonathan Davies to talk about what the LPO does best - perform! Lots in store including warming up rituals, stage set ups, pre-concert superstitions and perhaps most importantly of all, top tips for how to...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians.  YolanDa Brown navigates her way through a tangle of technology (loads of stuff didn’t work) and manages to connect to cellist Laura Donoghue, horn player John Ryan and timpanist Simon Carrington to discuss the whys and the wherefores of orchestral layouts. From playing behind perspex screens to the ch...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. YolanDa Brown is joined by oboist Alice Mundy and percussionist Keith Millar to chat about that mysterious figure at the centre of the action - the conductor. Are flamboyant gestures for the musicians or the audience? What is it like playing under a conductor who doesn’t use a score? What exactly is a Jingl...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. This third episode is all about venues and YolanDa Brown talks to violinist Tania Mazzetti and trombonist Mark Templeton to discover insights about how different acoustics can radically affect performance, as well as the best (and worst) backstage facilities. Plus quite a lot of beer. And sausages. Pro...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. In this second episode, YolanDa Brown is joined by cor anglais player Sue Böhling, double bassist Hugh Kluger and percussionist Henry Baldwin. They reveal the inner secrets of caring for their instruments (it can indeed involve cling film as well as buckets of water), what happens if you lose an instrument,...

A behind the scenes all access pass to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its musicians. In this first episode, YolanDa Brown is joined by flautist Juliette Bausor and percussionist Andy Barclay to discuss just what goes on in rehearsals. From brutal conductor takedowns to sharing intimate musical moments… Produced by Tandem Productions for the London Philharmonic Orchestra.  #OffstagePod...