Blowing in a new direction
Trumpeter Alison Balsom tells us what it’s like to take over the reins at Cheltenham, one of Britain’s most renowned music festivals
When, in late 2017, Cheltenham Music Festival announced that it was appointing a new artistic director, those in the know were fairly sure it would be someone with the initials ‘MB’ – after all, the three previous holders of the post had been Michael Berkeley (1995-2004), Martyn Brabbins (2005-07) and Meurig Bowen (2007-17). As it turned out, Alison Balsom fulfilled half of that criterion. The renowned trumpeter, who has played at many of the world’s leading festivals herself, was in post in time for the 2018 Cheltenham Festival, though most of it had already been programmed. This year, however, the line-up is all her own handiwork, as she explains to us…
The role of artistic director is not for the faint-hearted, especially at one of the UK’S most famous music festivals. What attracted you to Cheltenham?
I actually found out about the job by accident when I was listening to a radio broadcast from the Cheltenham Literature Festival! It was only when I went onto the Literature Festival website that I also saw the Music Festival artistic director position advertised – the two festivals are part of the same organisation. The more I thought about the job, the more it seemed perfect.
Perfect in what way?
What I want to do more than anything in music is to collaborate with others and think about how to put repertoire together in various different ways. This role gives me so many opportunities to invite artists who I love – some who are already very well known, and then others who are less familiar but who I know are very innovative and really know how to communicate with an audience. Then there’s the enjoyment of pairing pieces of music with artists and Cheltenham’s wonderful range of venues, such as the Town Hall and Pittville Pump Room.
Was it strange last year being in charge of a festival whose programme had been put in place before you arrived?
In a way, yes, but there was also so much to take on board and become familiar with – learning about the internal and external politics of the festival, for instance, and about where it sits both in terms of Cheltenham itself and within the national and international music
scenes. I went to all the concerts and talked to artitsts, patrons and audience members both young and old. It felt like a wonderful education about a festival that is entirely different from any other I know.
So how do you go about programming a festival such as Cheltenham?
A festival is different from a normal concert season in that it’s a very short, intense period, and so it’s all about curating a musical journey. That means creating a world in which people might be willing to take a risk with, say, a quartet or symphony that they don’t know, because they love the way there is generally something they can dip into on each day.
Logistically, is it a tricky business?
It can be. From my first week in the job, I had to begin phoning the big-name artists, because their diaries fill up years in advance. Many of the musicians I wanted for summer 2019 were already too busy, so I asked them if they might be able to make it in 2020 instead. Programming tends, therefore, to involve a bit of compromise, but it’s more about getting the general vibe you wish to create.
Do you sometimes find, then, that concerts almost programme themselves?
One has to be quite open to going with the flow. Some concerts have been incredibly time-consuming to get all the pieces in place; others, meanwhile, have just been a happy accident in that someone has suggested a programme that fits in with a concept that I have. We then slightly tweak it and, before our eyes, it springs into life as a unique event.
This will be the 75th Cheltenham Music Festival. Over those years, it has developed a strong reputation for commissioning new works. Will you be continuing that?
New music is one of the most important parts of Cheltenham’s personality. Because it’s our 75th year, I originally wanted there to be 75 new works, but I think that was probably a bit too ambitious! However, we do have over 20 premieres from composers I adore, such as Judith Weir, Dobrinka Tabakova and Jonathan Dove. We also have a UK premiere by Rautavaara. Plus, we are running something called a ‘Composium’ which is a symposium about the relevance of new music in today’s culture.
And what’s the best way to tap into local music talent?
Among other things, we’re going to be doing a community opera which will be a brand new work. The quality of it will be top-notch and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, who herself is from the area, will be taking part in it, as will other performers from around Cheltenham. The standard of music-making round here is quite extraordinary, in fact, so wherever possible we will be showcasing local musicians in various forms, including in the popular Classical Mixtape concert at Tewkesbury Abbey.
Finally, as well being artistic director, will you also be playing at this year’s festival?
I will! I wasn’t originally planning to, but when I approached Thea Musgrave to write a piece for us – not least because she was the first ever composer to be commissioned by Cheltenham Music Festival back in 1956 – she said that she would write something for me: a trumpet concerto. I couldn’t exactly say no! We will be premiering it on the first Saturday night of the festival.
town in Ayrshire, Cumnock suffered badly when the mines closed. And though James Macmillan, who created the event he calls the Cumnock Tryst, baulks slightly if you say it’s an unlovely town, he does admit to it being ‘down on its luck’. Which is why he thought it needed a festival.
That it’s also where he was born and raised was another factor. ‘Cumnock,’ he says, ‘is in my soul, and full of fascination. Outside the town are rolling hills that people have been visiting since Boswell brought Dr Johnson up here.’ And there’s Dumfries house, the stunning Georgian pile owned by Prince Charles, who lets Macmillan use it for his classier events – which, at the Tryst, can be distinctly classy with performers like The Sixteen and tenor Ian Bostridge, lured by the incentive of Macmillan writing them the odd new piece.
At the same time there’s a strong community involvement, and you’ll find Macmillan with his sleeves rolled up – not least on Sunday morning when he turns into the temporary organist at Cumnock’s Catholic church, directing music for the Mass and fleshing out the choir with festival performers. It’s a strangely powerful experience, and not without emotion as the tonic of festivity brews.
But the ultimate example of the tonic properties of festivals is probably Two Moors: a fixture that, like Ryedale, takes
in an enormous territory, embracing Dartmoor, Exmoor and all places in between. With its largely sheep-farming economy, this was a part of Britain devastated in 2001 by foot and mouth disease; and Two Moors Festival was a response, created by local residents John and Penny Adie to raise morale in its aftermath.
Nearly two decades on, its traumatic origins are signalled by the presence of a cute sheep (stuffed, not real) that shares the stage with the performers at all Two Moors concerts. And for some of them you need not only good ears but good leakproof wellingtons. The village halls and churches where they happen can be seriously off beaten tracks. And people sometimes bring their dogs. It’s like The Archers, with Dame Sarah Connolly or Barry Douglas doing guest appearances.
When Penny Adie says Two Moors has ‘brought a lot of joy to people’s lives’, she’s not exaggerating. This has done as much as any government initiative to heal wounds in the South West.
If only dumpty Dumpty, falling off his wall, had known. Where the king’s horses and king’s men had failed in their attempts to put him back together, a half-decent festival might just have done the trick.