A Place of Rest
Hello all,
This week I have at last found myself some time to rest and recuperate after an incredibly hectic few months. I am currently on a visit to Spain and looking forward to seeing the great Flamenco guitarist Paco De Lucia perform in Valencia tonight.
On Monday I was down at Gizzard Recording Studios laying down some drum tracks for David Garside's new single and LP for Frizz Records. They are being produced by, founder of Frizz and bass player for Mr.Hudson, Raphael Mann. I was very impressed with the way that Raph operated as a producer. He knew exactly what to do to get the right sound for each track and knew when he needed to push for a better take and when something was the best it could be. We were doing a analogue recording, which was an entirely new experience for me, and it was interesting to watch Ed the engineer literally chopping up the tape to make a loop for a section.
Right now I am taking a short break from performing until August when I will be back playing with The Cuban trio. We will be performing at the Martineau Place Shopping Centre on the 20th at 11:45.
Catch you there.
Lydia
A Special Mention
Hello all,
This week a special mention must go to the 'Hear the Future' concert that I was involved in at the Barbican on Sunday. I was playing with the Barbican Young Folk Ensemble directed by Joe Broughton. The performance was a the culmination of workshops that had been taking place in schools around East London for about two months, and on Sunday all the children came together and performed on the Barbican Main Stage. They did exceptionally well and I think it will be a performance we will all remember for a long time. The concert is due to be on BBC 1 at some point so watch this space and I will keep you posted.
Coming up this week I have a couple of private functions and a Performance with Wildfire at Fuse Festival on Sunday the 11th. But most excitingly I will be meeting up with an old friend and employer, Steve Poensgen, who has just set up a new business making percussion instruments called Chequerplate Percussion. Steve used to run the best drum shop in the world called 'Drum Korner' in Shrewsbury which I frequented in my youth. He is an excellent craftsman and knows a huge amount abut the way that drums work. I am looking forward to hearing his instruments.
Thanks for reading
Lydia
Summer Time.
With the occurrence of the Summer Solstice the life of the musician begins to relax.
Since last writing this blog I have been continuing to tare across the country for gigs, workshops, recordings and job interviews but now it is beginning to calm down thankfully.
The Conservatoire Folk Ensemble went on tour which entailed six gigs in prestigious folk venues across the uk. The highlights for me were as always playing at Leek Arts Festival in Staffordshire and Huntingdon Hall in Worcester. The gig in Worcester was particularly poignant. To set the seen the venue is a converted church and the 40 piece band were playing on a modest stage set below the Lecturn. It was the last gig of tour and possibly my last gig with the band. It was probably the tightest gig on the tour and I felt quite emotional after playing with the band for four years and coming to the end of my period of study at the Birmingham Conservatoire. It was a fantastic finish though.
Amongst other gigs I have had a run of performances at the Birmingham International Food Fair in Victoria Square. We did three gigs with N.O.M.A.D and two with The Project Cubano Trio. The performances were mixed as the weather was especially bad for both Cubano gigs and one N.O.M.A.D gig, however the weather was fantastic on the last night of the festival for N.O.M.A.D and it was probably one of the most enjoyable gigs I have played in a long time. Special thanks must go to The Old Dance School's fiddle player Samantha Norman who was covering for Sarah on two occasions. She did a fantastic job and her performance was completely seamless. We were all very impressed.
In the school half term I had the pleasure of recording an EP with the Youth Folk Ensemble 'Wildfire' that I work with. We went out to a stunning mansion in Staffordshire to record the CD. I was incredibly impressed with the level of professionalism shown by the band. The young people were alert and concentrated all day and kept themselves amused during the long periods of waiting around much better than some more experienced bands I have worked with. The percussionist Rosie who I have been working with and teaching for a while really picked up her game for this recording too and I was very proud of her.
As afore mentioned I have been going along to some job interviews at music services. The good news is that someone wants to employ me! Starting in September I will be doing some drum teaching for Hertforshire Music Service. I am not exactly sure what it will entail at the moment but I sense it might be a baptism of fire.
On the 4th of July I am privileged to be performing with the Barbican Youth Folk Ensemble at the main stage at the Barbican centre. A talented team of musicians, which includes Joe Broughton, Paloma Trigas, Ivo De Greef, Tom Chapman, Frank Moon, George Kirkham and myself, have been going into schools and music services across London to teach children about Folk music in preparation for this final concert in which they will all perform together. On the evening before, 3rd of July, I will be performing in London with Joanne Gibson, an incredibly talented tuba player and composer. She has put the poems of twelve year old boy who died of leukaemia to music. Should be a fantastic gig.
I have been preparing to record a new album with David Garside on Frizz Records. On Sunday I will be playing the drum parts to Raph from the label so he can get an idea of how to record them. It is going to be an epic task as he wants to multi-track the album but David's songs are incredibly complex and involve many time signature and tempo changes so making a click track is going to be a nightmare!
Apart from everything I have mentioned I only have a few more gigs before a long awaited summer break. I will leave you with photos from the Food Fair.
Regards
Lydia
A busy schedule
Hello,
Apologies for not keeping this up to date in recent weeks. It has been a particularly hectic time.
I have been keeping myself busy with performances with N.O.M.A.D, Kate Doubleday, Wildfire, Rainbow Nation and a whole string of final recitals at the Conservatoire including my own. Everyone played to the best of their ability but it really does feel like the end of an era.
As well as performing I have been busy recording, rehearsing and running workshops. I am continuing to work on a workshops project with schools in London with Joe Broughton and Paloma Trigas. We are preparing the children for a massive concert at the main stage in the Barbican. Click here for more details. I have been in the Studio with Michael Olatunji's Rainbow Nation recording some original material for jazz quintet. Check out his myspace to hear some of the results.
Lots of work has been going into the upcoming Conservatoire Folk Ensemble Tour. We have six dates in folk clubs and theatres across the UK. For those who don't know the Folk Ensemble is a band of epic proportions that plays high energy folk music.
"They lifted the roof off, playing a mixture of British and European Folk with such spirit and energy that people here keep asking for them back. They sang and danced indoors and out with breathtaking versatility. Put simply, they were brilliant and the audience loved them." Richard Hawley, Director of The Lichfield Festival
I also have a gig at Matsu in Mile End with David Garside on Sunday. It is a gig associated with Raphael Mann's (Bass Player fro Mr.Hudson) label Frizz Records. Should be a nice relaxed vibe and David will be playing some new material.
That's all for now. I will leave you with some photos from my final recital. Lydia
A week for workshops and last week’s review.
Hello everybody,
Last week proved to be a very successful one. N.O.M.A.D played in the CiB shop in the Bullring, which went down a storm. However the real highlight for me was rehearsing and performing the debut of 'More Than Us'. It was written and choregraphed by my friends James Wilson-Rhead and Clare Trim. It is an adaptation of Shakespeare's famous Romeo and Juliet but set in the Middle East. I had the opportunity to play orchestral percussion which I haven't done in a while which was a challenge but great fun too. The show was spectacular and hopefully we shall do it again sometime.
I have many more musical adventures in store for the coming week. Tomorrow I am off to London with the fiddle virtuoso Joe Broughton to run a workshop on Folk music. Joe and his partner Paloma Trigas are in charge of running a whole seris of workshops in schools in Olympic Boroughs of London. The project culminates with a massive performance at the Barbican on the 4th of July and they have asked myself and others to help. Click here for more info.
On Wednesday 28th I will playing a short set at the Birmingham Conservatoire with Violinist and composer Sarah Boughton and her band Felis Felix. The performance will include three of Sarah's own Latin/Jazz compositions and features a guest performance from the talented vocalist Hannah Rhodes. Kick off is at 6pm in the recital hall and it is free admission.
As well as performing and lead workshops I will be very busy rehearsing with the Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, Kate Doubleday and my quartet for my recital in the coming week. The Folk Ensemble have their annual UK tour coming up at the end of may and gig dates are all listed on my myspace. Kate Doubleday has gig at the Urban Fox on May 5th supporting the legendary Chris Wood. The recital is the final performance I will give during my time at the Conservatoire and is worth 40% of overall mark for the degree. The date is yet to be confirmed but is likely to be on the 18th/19th/20th of May. Watch this space!
That's all for now Folks!
Lydia
Some gigs in the coming week.
Hello all,
I have now just about recovered from my Major Project Performance of 'Project Cubano'. It was a fantastic show and I would like to thank everyone who came down but particularly those who danced. Lets hope the examiners enjoyed it as much as I did.
In the coming week there are two performances that I would like to draw to your attention. The first is that of N.O.M.A.D in the Created in Birmingham Shop. The shop is a new addition to the flourishing commercial centre that is the Bullring. It has been established to help local artists promote and sell their work. This particular gig is part of a series of performances run by a non-profit organisation called Sounds Friendly. We perform on Wednesday the 21st of April at 6pm. Click here to see the Facebook Event page.
The second performance of note next week is the Debut of More Than Us- A play without words- on Friday the 23rd of April at 8.30pm. The music was written by James-Wilson Rhead and it was Choreographed by Clare Trim. From the rehearsals so far this is shaping up to be an amazing production so please some down. See the Facebook Event page here.
Hope you all have a good week and maybe see you at a gig sometime soon.
Lydia
Major Project Performance.
Hello Everybody.
On Wednesday- 14th of April- it will be the second performance of Project Cubano. This is the band which I have formed for my Major Project assessment. We have been exploring repertoire from the popular and traditional music of Cuba and have two new songs for this concert.
Please come down and help us show the examiners what it is all about.
See you soon
Lydia
Easter Holidays and Wildfire Folk Ensemble
Hello everyone,
I've had a busy weekend playing with my quartet on Friday at the Hyatt Hotel and Linda Angelis on Saturday at Wrekin College. This morning I have been playing with the Wildfire Folk Ensemble again at a school in Lichfield in a bid to recruit new members. For those who don't know Wildfire are a youth folk ensemble directed by Paloma Trigas and based in Lichfield. They do loads of gigs and I help them out playing percussion when I'm need. If anyone young musicians are interested in joining check out their myspace here.
Now it is time to settle down to some work for my degree and mentally prepare for my Major Project performance on the 14th of April with Project Cubano. Please come along!
