Bittersweet Symphony Cliodhna Ryan

Welcome to the final episode in this series of Bittersweet Symphony, a podcast about the bitter, sweet and bittersweet memories and experiences of classical musicians during the pandemic. Hosted and produced by me, Cliodhna Ryan, a violinist, it’s an intimate and heart-warming exploration of the human spirit.

My final guest is Emma Roche, a Glasgow-based freelance flautist, who is a regular in the Irish Chamber Orchestra. This means I’m lucky enough to call her a dear colleague.

She shares her bitter experience of being terrified and alone in the hospital with her newborn son Charlie.

Her sweet memories are of the community spirit and support she found in her neighbourhood in Glasgow, and of bringing Charlie back to Cork to meet her Mum for the first time.

Her bittersweet is her first day back at work. She felt a rush of excitement as she heard the oboe give an A. The glorious sound of the orchestra tuning up gave her that thrill we all know so well. This was followed by the nightmare of trying to make music together while so far apart.

This interview was recorded in September 2021.

Emma was born in Cork and was a student at the Cork School of Music until she moved to Glasgow in 1995 to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She currently plays with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and also enjoys a busy freelance career as an orchestral player, performing with Scottish Ballet, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Improvisation is an important and regular part of her musical life. She is a founder member of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra with whom she loves playing with, in both large and small groups. As well as teaching, she also delivers workshops and masterclasses for musicians of all ages through her work with GIO and Children’s Classic Concerts.

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CREDITS

Thumbnail Art || Colm MacAthlaoith

Writers || Mick Jagger, Richard Ashcroft, Keith Richards

Violin || Cliodhna Ryan

Production || Cliodhna Ryan

Mastering || Patrick Stefan Groenland

Welcome to Bittersweet Symphony, a podcast about the bitter, sweet and bittersweet memories and experiences of classical musicians during the pandemic. Hosted and produced by me, Cliodhna Ryan, a violinist, it’s an intimate and heart-warming exploration of the human spirit.

My guest in episode fifteen is Irish Chamber Orchestra violinist Louis Roden.

His bitter memory was a concert, a world premiere and a tour cancelled due to a Covid case in the orchestra, while his sweet is the quiet hours he spent working in companionable silence with his wife Monica in their allotment. Here with his hands in the earth and alongside his wife, he found nourishment for his soul, his spirit and his family. His bittersweet recollection is of performing for a small audience of 50 who were clustered in pods, at Kilkenny Arts Festival in August 2020. He couldn’t help but notice the many audience members with tears streaming down their faces. When he looked around at his fellow musicians, he saw that they were also in tears. It was a profoundly moving moment, which was both beautiful and painful.

This interview was recorded in September 2021.



Born in Dublin, Louis Roden studied violin with Yossi Zivoni in London before attending the conservatoire in Marseille, where he studied chamber music and violin. Although he is based in Ireland, he has maintained a special relationship with France and has returned to perform on numerous occasions to perform with the Camerata de Provence.

He has toured across Europe, the Far East, Australia and the USA. His passion for new music has seen him perform world premieres by composers such as Gerald Barry, Sam Perkin and Linda Buckley. He has enjoyed his collaborations with the Rubato Ballet Company in festivals across the world.

Over the years Louis has had a special interest in educational work. He has taught, coached youth orchestras and took part in the Music Network projects in schools. More recently he has been giving concerts in hospitals as part of an outreach project.



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CREDITS

Thumbnail Art || Colm MacAthlaoith

Writers || Mick Jagger, Richard Ashcroft, Keith Richards

Violin || Cliodhna Ryan

Production || Cliodhna Ryan

Mastering || Patrick Stefan Groenland

Welcome to Bittersweet Symphony, a podcast about the bitter, sweet and bittersweet memories and experiences of classical musicians during the pandemic. Hosted and produced by me, Cliodhna Ryan, a violinist, it’s an intimate and heart-warming exploration of the human spirit.

My guest in episode fourteen is Elaine Clark, violinist and co-leader of the National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland.

Her bitter experience is the almost physical ache she felt due to the prolonged separation from her mother in Aberdeen. Her sweet was performing a live stream of Beethoven’s String Quartet Op.131 on the stage of the National Concert Hall. On stage, at that moment, she felt “This is where I am meant to be!”. Her bittersweet was also the live streaming experience. While she loved playing and being back with her colleagues, the distance, the difficulty in communication, and the lack of an audience inhibited true, meaningful connection.

Born in Aberdeen, Elaine studied with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where she won several awards and prizes. After graduating with a First Class Honours Degree, she continued her studies with Viktor Liberman at the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands.

Since 1996, when she was appointed Co-Leader of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Elaine has made Dublin her home. She is a regular soloist with the NSO, most recently in performances of Bach Double Concerto and Deirdre Gribbens's Venus Blazing as well as performing as soloist in John Williams ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Suite in the presence of President Michael D, Higgins. She has also led many orchestras both home and abroad, including RTE Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.’

Elaine has a deep love of chamber music and has been able to nourish this by being a member of the Ficino Ensemble, Ficino Quartet and Clarion Horn Trio, as well as performing numerous freelance chamber music concerts. She has also travelled extensively with the contemporary music ensemble Concorde and performed numerous world premieres.

She has given masterclasses at Royal Irish Academy of Music, University of Limerick and Cork School of Music and sits on the board of UCD Symphony Orchestra.

This interview was recorded in September 2021.

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CREDITS

Thumbnail Art || Colm MacAthlaoith

Writers || Mick Jagger, Richard Ashcroft, Keith Richards

Violin || Cliodhna Ryan

Production || Cliodhna Ryan

Mastering || Patrick Stefan Groenland

Welcome to Bittersweet Symphony, a podcast about the bitter, the sweet and the bittersweet of life for classical musicians when the music suddenly stopped. Hosted and produced by me, Cliodhna Ryan, a violinist, it’s an intimate and heart-warming exploration of the human spirit.

My guest in episode thirteen is oboist Dan Bates, my colleague in the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

After an initial sense of exhilaration in the first few weeks of lockdown, Dan shares his experience of a crushing depression, the treatment he was offered, and the impact this had on him. His sweet memory is of the three chickens he reared; Anastasia, Garbo and Clemmie Bunting. His bitter was witnessing the effect of lockdowns on his Mum.

This conversation was recorded in September 2021.

Daniel Bates (MA CANTAB, FRSM, FTCL, ARAM, AGSMD) is principal oboe with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia and co-principal oboe of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Previously, he also held the principal oboe position with the Royal Northern Sinfonia at the Sage, Gateshead. He has played guest principal for all the major UK orchestras as well as various international orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Colombia, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. As a session musician, he has recorded for numerous pop acts and films, including the Harry Potter franchise and for Barbra Streisand, Mary J Blige, Rihanna and Stevie Wonder.

Born in London, Daniel attended the Purcell School of Music. He was subsequently offered scholarships to every music college in the country and chose to study at the Royal Academy of Music under Celia Nicklin and Dougie Boyd. This was followed by a music scholarship to study at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he read Music and the History of Art.

He has performed solo concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Brasov Filharmonica, the Turin Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and the English Chamber Orchestra. Solo recitals include venues such as the Wigmore Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Usher Hall and the Purcell Room. Internationally, he has given solo recitals in venues such as the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and at various European festivals partnered with musicians of international renown including Jörg Widmann, Elizabeth Leonskaya, Joan Rodgers and Anthony Marwood.

As an actor, having studied classical acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, his credits include the title role in The Picture of Dorian Gray (Vienna’s English Theatre), Fedotik in The Three Sisters (alongside Kristen Scott Thomas and Eric Sykes in the West End) and Adrian Green in Casualty (BBC TV).

Daniel is the founder and Artistic Director of FitzFest (www.fitzfest.co.uk), a community chamber music festival, based in Fitzrovia, central London.

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CREDITS

Thumbnail Art || Colm MacAthlaoith

Writers || Mick Jagger, Richard Ashcroft, Keith Richards

Violin || Cliodhna Ryan

Production || Cliodhna Ryan

Mastering || Patrick Stefan Groenland

Welcome to Bittersweet Symphony, a podcast about the bitter, sweet and bittersweet memories and experiences of classical musicians during the pandemic. Hosted and produced by me, Cliodhna Ryan, a violinist, it’s an intimate and heart-warming exploration of the human spirit.

My guest in episode twelve is violinist Anita Vedres. There are three significant areas of her life she explores with us; her family, her working and musical life, and nature and the environment. In each of these areas, she reflects on her bitter, sweet and bittersweet memories and experiences.

She shares her thoughts on the impact of international touring on the environment, her engagement with nature, freelance life, the place of music in our society, how that is or isn’t represented and reflected in the decisions our government makes and finally "our glorious insignificance."

Anita left Ireland to studying in London and Utrecht. She returned to Ireland and joined the Irish Chamber Orchestra. A full member there for years, she continues to perform regularly with them. She is also a former member of the National Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with the RTE Concert Orchestra. Holding a master’s degree in baroque violin she is a founding and active member of the Irish Baroque Orchestra.

Aside from her diverse orchestral activities she enjoys playing 17th- & 18th-century and contemporary music in chamber ensembles and has appeared with Crash Ensemble, Camerata Kilkenny, Musici Ireland, Armoniosa and the Robinson Panoramic Quartet with whom she has premiered many works by Irish composers.

She enjoys working with young people as a violin teacher and coach through Dublin Youth Orchestras and in schools workshops with Music Network. She is a regular contributor to the Classical Kids concert series and is currently among the musicians in residence at the National Opera House, working to get young children inspired by and involved in music.

This interview was recorded in September 2021.



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CREDITS

Thumbnail Art || Colm MacAthlaoith

Writers || Mick Jagger, Richard Ashcroft, Keith Richards

Violin || Cliodhna Ryan

Production || Cliodhna Ryan

Mastering || Patrick Stefan Groenland

Welcome to Bittersweet Symphony, a podcast about the bitter, sweet and bittersweet memories and experiences of classical musicians during the pandemic. Hosted and produced by me, Cliodhna Ryan, a violinist, it’s an intimate and heart-warming exploration of the human spirit.

My guest in episode eleven is Steve Kelly, percussionist with the RTE Concert Orchestra since 2010. He shares his bitter memory of the Guinness Jazz Festival being cancelled, the sweet experience of being able to support his wife as she devoted herself to her art practice and the bittersweet of returning to work.

Stephen Kelly is the sub-principal percussionist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and he has lectured in percussion at the MTU Cork School of Music since 2004. He has performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, City of London Sinfonia, Crash Ensemble and many more. Equally as at home driving a big band from behind the drum kit, tinging a triangle in an orchestra or educating future professional percussionists, Stephen manages to make a living playing music, which in his words “certainly beats working.”

This interview was recorded in August 2021.

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CREDITS

Thumbnail Art || Colm MacAthlaoith

Writers || Mick Jagger, Richard Ashcroft, Keith Richards

Violin || Cliodhna Ryan

Production || Cliodhna Ryan

Mastering || Patrick Stefan Groenland