Well, it’s been quite a year with two summer courses, lovely in-person workshops, and three online courses evolving and expanding and reaching more people. Cellists travelled to Lewes from the USA, Canada and elsewhere to join the Cello Courses family at the Unsung Heroes Summer School, and at Through Coloured Glass. So much dedication had been put into their practice beforehand, that it was lovely to witness cellists blooming, finding more of their true voice, and connecting as chamber musicians and as people within a group.
In October I travelled to Leeds to spend a day working with 35 young cellists in a large cello choir, and we had a wonderful time together playing, and learning while exploring an exquisite part-song by Dvorak and a luminous anthem by Thomas Tallis. Music is the great joiner of people and it was so lovely to be a part of a warm musical community.
I was there as a guest of Harrogate Music School and their visionary cellist-teacher Samantha Laverick and director, Andy Kemp who are working like Trojans, inspiring youngsters and keeping music alive in the next generation. I then went to Harrogate to work with an adult cello ensemble on this years' hit Unsung Heroes score, the hauntingly beautiful Bushes & Briars arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Now and then, a piece of music grabs the attention and imagination of many players, and this is one of those. At the summer school, and in Yorkshire, before we performed, we set the scene of that moment, in a garden in Ingrave, Essex, in 1903, when Vaughan Williams had a lights-on moment on hearing a shepherd sing. You could have heard a pin drop, and the playing that emanated from those players was eloquence personified.
This summer my pupil Loretta performed the Monn Cello Concerto with the Brighton Youth Orchestra on their tour of Germany. She gave two performances there, then here in Lewes, at the Town Hall. In October she auditioned for and won a place in the National Youth Orchestra and followed it in November by being accepted at three conservatoires: Royal Northern College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. It’s been exciting to see her bloom and now go and prepare further for her future career.
I’m loving developing the All About My Bow Series with some exciting plans brewing at the moment alongside its technique-focused class, Your Tool Kit. I don’t like limitations and I’m now seeing more professionals join us alongside the experienced and newer players. We are all in this together and at no point, are we going to stop learning. If you had a handbrake on with regard to these classes, do let it off and jump aboard to evolve and grow with the rest of us!
My publishing wing Vaulted Sky Music has lots of the Unsung Heroes Cello Ensemble scores to download. Again, you can find what works for you and your group, which is almost certain to have a range of experience levels amongst its players. There are some large-scale Romantic works for 6 and 8 voices there, waiting for you and I now have some contemporary composers too.
You can find ensemble, duo, and two cellos and piano music by the fabulous cellist Joanna Borrett. If you want to play some big, character melodies, then look at the pieces for cello and piano by Mark Sinclair. Solo cello music you will love performing is from Christopher Fox plus an exciting duo that I used to perform. Julian Broughton wrote an Elegy for cello and piano that is a great performance piece if you are Grade 7 standard. Then if you are questing for some exciting position studies for cello and piano, look at Peter Copley who also has some thrilling music for cello and strings. I am adding new scores over the holiday period, including the Vaughan Williams score, so there will be lots of musical food for 2025.
Dates will soon be posted for online classes, and you can see the workshops here in Lewes, alongside the two summer courses. Unsung Heroes Summer School is 20 this coming year and the music we are playing is expansive and stunningly beautiful – a feast awaits you. The courses are booking now so do get in touch soon, even if to pencil your name in and are not totally sure.
I wish you all a peaceful, restful and loving time this holiday season and look forward to sharing, either in person or online, our passion – the cello.
With love, Catherine