Our Lockdown Look Back
Whilst we’ve been unable to play in the concert hall, our players have been busy recording a range of content from their homes for you to enjoy!
We’ve been sharing full orchestra montages and smaller ensemble pieces to celebrate occasions such as Welsh Heroes Day, Bastille Day and the Summer Solstice. We’ve also been finding out how well they really know other members in their section in “The Me and You Review”, getting a sneak peek into their gig bags and learning from the many tips they’ve shared in our “Tip Tuesday” series.
Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW’s Lockdown Performances
You might have thought being unable to play together in person would’ve stopped an orchestra from performing, but that wasn’t the case for Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW! Below are some of our favourites and you can find more at the bottom of the page.
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Celebrating Bastille Day - Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW and ONB Perform Berlioz
To celebrate Bastille Day Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW teamed up with players from the Orchestre National de Bretagne in this spectacular performance of Berlioz's 'March to the Scaffold'.
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Sir Bryn Terfel Duets with Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW
Sir Bryn Terfel sings a version of Men of Harlech to words by Welsh poet Meredid Hopwood, accompanied by Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW with a delightful arrangement by Lenny Sayers - all recorded from home!
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Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW and Doctor Who - A Lockdown Performance
Back in 2006 Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW recorded the theme tune for Doctor Who, so we thought it was about time we did it again! All recorded by our talented musicians from home.
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Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW's joyful rendition of 'Simple Gifts'
Arranged by our violist Peter Taylor and introduced by Ryan Bancroft, our Principal Conductor Designate, enjoy this /programmes/p08m58csrendition of the Shaker song ‘Simple Gifts’.
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Sumer is Icumen in
To celebrate the summer solstice, four talented RWCMD students James, Nia, Curtis, and Meredith join our musicians with a reading of 'Sumer is Icumen in', followed by a verdant medieval round, arranged by our very own Peter Taylor.
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Villa-Lobos - Cello Section
Enjoy this clip of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW cello section performing Heitor Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No 1, Mvt 2
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Y Gelynnen (The Holly Tree) - Performed by Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW from home
Y Gelynnen (The Holly Tree) is a traditional Welsh song rejoicing the bright and jolly holly tree. Listen as the spritely tune is passed around the Orchestra in this special arrangement by Gareth Glyn.
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David Stark and Gwenllian Hâf MacDonald – Por Una Cabeza
Section Principal Alice Neary created a stunning and subtle arrangement of Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus" for cello octet during lockdown and we loved it!
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Mil Harddach Wyt - A Welsh Lullaby in Lockdown
Enjoy our lockdown performance of this traditional Welsh folk-song, a lullaby sung to babies telling of all the things ‘You are a thousand times more beautiful’ than.
What’s in My Gig Bag?
A musician’s gig bag is filled with all kinds of interesting trinkets and tools – this lockdown series took audiences behind the scenes to go where no one has gone before!
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What's in Gwen MacDonald's gig bag?
In this first episode, our fantastic and hilarious violinist Gwenllian Hâf MacDonald shows us what’s in her gig bag.
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What's in Neil Shewan's gig bag?
In our next episode of ‘What’s in my bag?’ we asked Neil Shewan, French Horn Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW, to reveal what he keeps in his bag...
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What's in Claire Whitson's gig bag?
A bit of bling, a sprinkle of sparkle and even pyjamas!? But what else does Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW double bassist Claire Whitson keep in her gig bag?
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What's in David Stark's gig bag?
Our Section Principal Double Bass David Stark doesn’t have a gig bag, as he has a massive double bass case. Just what does he keep in there?
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What's in Lenny Sayers's gig bag?
Our Principal Bass Clarinet Lenny cycles to work, so packs his essential concert items in his Sustrans pack. What’s in there?
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What's in Andy Everton's gig bag?
Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW Trumpeter and self-proclaimed bag lover Andy shows us what’s in his (many!) bags...
The Me and You Review
They play concerts together all the time… but how well do Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW musicians know each other?
During our time in lockdown, we wanted to help our fantastic audiences get to know our musicians a little better and what better with a bit of tongue in cheek quizzing.
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The Me and You Review – Gwen & Martin, First Violins
They play concerts together all the time… but how well do Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW musicians know each other? We decided to find out in our quiz show, The Me and You Review! First up, Gwenllian Hâf MacDonald and Martin Gwilym-Jones from our First Violins!
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The Me and You Review – Brass Section
In our next episode of The Me and You Review, Darren Smith, Dan Trodden and Donal Bannister test their knowledge!
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The Me and You Review - Jess & Sandy, Cello
In this episode of ‘The Me and You Review’ quiz, we catch up with Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW cellists, Jessica Feaver and Sandy Bartai.
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The Me and You Review – Double Bass Section
Who likes ice cubes in their coffee? Who’s the section comedian? Who’s the most organised? Find out in this episode of The Me & You Review with David Stark, Claire Whitson & Chris Wescott from our Double Bass section!
Tip Tuesday
Here are just a few of our favourite Tip Tuesdays, a series that featured our talented musicians sharing the valuable lessons they’ve learnt over the years.
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Neil Shewan’s tips for taking care of your lips
Our Principal Horn shares his top tips to help wind instrument players look after their lips.
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Nick Whiting’s Tip for Playing in an Ensemble
If you play in an ensemble, Associate Leader Nick Whiting has got an important tip for you!
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Valerie Aldrich-Smith's "Baguette Theory"...
Combining her love of music and food, our Principal Harp Valerie Aldrich-Smith shares some practice tips for all musicians.
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Lenny Sayers’ advice on performing and self-belief
Principal Bass Clarinet Lenny Sayers shares some valuable tips to help you feel more confident when performing in front of others
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Laura Sinnerton on practising difficult passages
Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW Violia player Laura Sinnerton has some really worthwhile tips to make your practice time more effective.
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Chris Stock's top tips for percussionists
Our Section Principal Percussionist has some great tips to help you with phrasing and musicality.
The Solo Slot
Welcome to The Solo Slot, our series showcasing our musicians as soloists and giving you the chance to hear the individual sounds that make up our wonderful Orchestra!
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Donal Bannister - Daniel Speer’s Sonata for Trombones
First up is principal trombonist Donal Bannister with a sonata by Daniel Speer.
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Jessica Feaver - Bourées Nos. 1 & 2 from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3
We hope you love this recording of Bourée’s Nos. 1 & 2 from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3 by Jessica Feaver.
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Robert Plane - Allegro Vivace from Crussel’s Duo in C
This week taking #TheSoloSlot is Principal Clarinettist Robert Plane with a recording of the Allegro Vivace from Crussel’s Duo in C. Enjoy!
Instrumental Insights
There’s a lot more to Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW Musicians than meets the eye! In our Instrumental Insights series, we’ve found out about our musicians’ careers, their most memorable musical moments and what they’ve been up to during lockdown.
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Jarosław Augustyniak, Bassoon
From picking up the bassoon at just 12 years of age, to his love for climbing mountains and even an ongoing bet that he has with the rest of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW woodwind section…there’s a lot to discover about our Bassoon Section Principal, JarosÅ‚aw Augustyniak!
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Beverley Wescott, Violin
From trying out the clarinet as a child to playing in the Eurovision Song Contest, Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW violinist Beverley Wescott has enjoyed an exciting career so far. Read more about her favourite moments and her array of interesting hobbies in this week’s article.
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Darren Smith, Principal Bass Trombone
From starting in music by playing the cornet in a youth brass band to contributing to some of the world’s best-known film scores, Darren Smith has had an incredible career so far.
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Rebecca Jones, Section Principal Viola
This week in Instrumental Insights, we caught up with Section Principal Viola, Rebecca Jones, who's had a glittering career so far.
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Sandy Bartai, Cello
We discovered how music runs in Sandy’s family, why he loves the social aspects of being a musician and how he enjoys creating art with homemade inks…
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Carmel Barber, Violin
Carmel has played with Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW for nearly 25 years and comes from a musical family. But what does she most love about playing her violin and what is her most memorable moment so far?
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Instrumental Insights: Ryan Bancroft, Principal Conductor
Ahead of our Â鶹ԼÅÄ Proms performance on 8 September, we caught up with our new Principal Conductor, Ryan Bancroft, to find out more about his own musical journey.
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Instrumental Insights: Valerie Aldrich-Smith, Harp
Valerie Aldrich-Smith is Principal Harp for Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW and is well-known and loved by our audiences, but what has playing it brought to her life?
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Instrumental Insights: Robert Samuel, Trumpet
We spoke to Robert to find out more about him and how he started playing. We discovered that being a musician has given Rob memorable moments, including how he once performed in medieval dress and how music has even led to love…
More Lockdown Performances
If the performances at the top of the page haven’t quenched your musical thirst, here’s some more for you to enjoy!
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Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus" - Arranged by Alice Neary for Cello
Section Principal Alice Neary created a stunning and subtle arrangement of Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus" for cello octet during lockdown and we loved it!
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‘At home’ version of Sosban Fach (klezmer style) by Lenny Sayers
Nothing can stop our musicians from performing! Brilliant ‘at home’ version of Sosban Fach (klezmer style) by Lenny Sayers, our Principal Bass Clarinet at Â鶹ԼÅÄ NOW.
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Alice Neary and Jessica Feaver - The Swan
Performed beautifully by Alice Neary and Jessica Feaver, here is a home-recorded version of Saint-Saëns' The Swan, arranged by Sebastian Comberti.
