Richard Bissill live on Sarah´s Horn Hangouts

Richard Bissill - Style, Staccato & Students On this live Horn Hangout, multifaceted French horn player, composer and arranger Richard Bissill talks about his career, his composing and arrangement tips and he and Sarah go through the cadenza for his Song of a New World. Special appearances by London Brass, 4 of Richard´s former Guildhall students: Angela Barnes, Elspeth Dutch, Jo Hensel and Chris Parkes and fellow Guildhall professor Roger Montgomery. April 9th 2021

Transcript

Auto-generated from the live stream, expect the occasional robot mishearing.

How about that for a beginning for the Horn Hangouts? Hello everybody. Welcome back to the Horn Hangouts. It’s fantastic to see you. Um yeah, I’ve seen a lot of you already here. Um oh Yeah, I can see people talk talking in the chat already. Welcome back. It’s Friday night, 9:00 p.m. Berlin time. You almost would think that it were back in 2020, somebody said, where we did every Friday night at 9:00 p.m. But here we are, back again, 2021. I hope everyone’s health healthy. I hope they’re all being clever and wearing their masks and washing their hands, same things as we said a year ago.

It’s unbelievable, isn’t it? Anyway, wasn’t that music incredible? It was arranged by my dear friend and mentor Richard Bissill, who is here somewhere. Richard, where are you? Hello. Hello Sarah, I’m here. Lovely to see you. Welcome, and I must say, you’re very well dressed this evening. Well, yeah, I like I like to like to please Well, you certainly did. Actually, you you got your Horn Hangout t-shirt as a thank you for being on the London Brass Christmas Horn Hangout. Where’s your Christmas hat? Uh Well, with this hairstyle, I don’t think I need one, really.

Oh, okay. But yes, the t-shirt arrived cuz of the Christmas post about a month later, but I am I’m proudly wearing it for the first time this evening, so Well, I’m honored. I’m honored, and welcome to you, and you’ve got so so many fans out there saying hello from all over the world. Annie Bosler and Dylan Hart are in LA watching. Sam is watching from Cardiff. Brendan Byrne is watching from Rugby with coffee. My mom’s watching. Celina in Luneburg. Jewel Dirks. Uh Joanna. Write in everybody, and let us know where you’re watching from, and also what questions you have for Richard.

I forgot my iPad in the Philharmonie today, so I’m trying to to be multitask with uh different computers. It’s not so easy. But For those of you watching on Facebook, welcome to you as well. If you have any juicy questions for Richard, pop on over to the website um sarahwillis.com /live, because I will see those questions. I I’m not multitasking uh talented enough to be able to watch three chats at the same time. So, if you’re watching on Facebook and you have some questions for us, come over to the website and ask them.

Otherwise, just write in and let us know where you are. You are more than welcome. Richard, how are you doing in these strange times? Uh I’m pretty well, actually. Thank you, Sarah. Just getting on with life as well as I can, like everybody else, until we get back to normal. And um Yeah, just just waiting, and just I mean, it’s good, to be honest. It’s it’s not I found lockdown um has has it had phases of um yeah, boredom um and productivity. Um I haven’t found it too bad at all, to be to be honest.

Um It’s it’s been like a a glimpse into retirement for me, I think. Oh, come on. Um I’m still I’m still, you know, roaring to go and got enjoyed what I’m doing in my own career and playing the horn and everything I do. Well, when I when I called you to say, “Would you be interested in doing a Horn Hangout?” you were actually composing. I was, yeah. And I’ve just finished, actually. I was writing um my horn sonata um for a former student of mine called Alex Wide, who has um coincidentally just been given the the first horn job in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Really? Congratulations, Alex, if you’re watching. That’s amazing. Fantastic. He asked me um a while ago, “Would I write him a piece?” And I said, um “Yes, I’d love to. I I can’t say when, you know, I’ll have time to do it, but I will eventually get round to doing it.” And I didn’t realize at the time that I’d have this huge amount of time during lockdown to get stuff done, so um I’ve written it for him, and sent it off, and that’s I wonder I wonder if it’ll have the same reaction that I had when you sent me the first version of Song of a New World.

Um Well, maybe. I mean, it’s it’s probably not quite as the piece I’ve written for him is perhaps not quite as extreme as as yours was. We’ll we’ll get on to that. We’ll get on to that later. We have we’re having a little Song of a New World session later, so any of you who played it, get out your music, and any of you who haven’t played it, please go to Richard’s website and order the music um because we’re also going to be having a little competition as well.

So, um a Horn Hangout, you can enter if you want, Richard. Uh well, I bow to a greater power when it comes to um low horns, so I I might I might You can play all those I might risk it. You can play all those notes, I know you can. Uh Yeah, oh yeah, I can, but not always, let’s put it that way. Um Richard, tell us a little bit about yourself, because um I mean, in in a nutshell, you started off in the Leicestershire youth orchestra and the school orchestra and the youth orchestra, but a very important part of your career, and also influencing what you do today in your arranging and composing, was being part of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Now, how did a French horn get into a jazz orchestra? Um I suspect it was um a token instrument in in in Nigel, as it’s known. Uh I mean, horns have played in big bands before, you know, um uh um Nat Gonkenton and others had horn sections in their bands. And um there’s plenty of examples like Billy May’s big band brass with great horn sections in it. And um so, I suspect that Nigel was just had a somebody who who was doing the arranging said, “Let’s put a horn in it.” And were you the only one?

There’s one horn in it, yeah. And you sit on the end of the trombones. No chance, mate. Yeah, and feel a little bit um inadequate, but um uh before that, I’d actually been in Leicestershire, where I lived, um the guy ran a big band linked to BBC Radio Leicester. And um he invited me to go along and play on Sunday mornings. So, I used to play with him. And they’d let me solo, and and even encouraged me to write pieces as well. Um so, as I my parents used to listen to bits of jazz on the on on LPs, as it was.

And so, that’s how I really got into it. I just I just loved it, and just so that’s what I’ve always done. I mean, it’s actually, before I started the French horn, I started I was on the tenor horn in in the brass band, which is quite common for the British players. So, quite a few guys I know started on the tenor horn. Um But uh yeah, so I got into into the listen to jazz, playing jazz, um and it’s obviously clearly has affected the sort of music I write.

I mean, we’re all sponges, aren’t we? We soak up we soak up what we like and reject what we don’t. And I must have clearly liked liked the jazz style. Um Did anyone actually hear you play in the in the National Jazz Youth Orchestra? Um because, you know, you were pointing backwards. You were the only French horn um that Well, it was a bit of um you know, as I say, there’s an element of tokenism in it. But what it did give me was um um it taught me how to to play in the jazz style, let’s put it that way.

Uh jazz articulation, um which is very very different from classical, isn’t it? Classical is very um straightforward and and and precise and neat and tidy and beautiful, and the jazz is a little bit more um slapdash, a bit more fun, as well. I’m also I’m playing jazz incredibly liberating um compared to what you have to do in an orchestra, which is, um being being immaculate, essentially. Well, you you decided to start being immaculate, because you joined the LSO age 22, the London Symphony Orchestra. Um that’s quite young, actually, for Were you principal horn when you joined?

Uh I wasn’t, no. Um I I was the I was I joined as as low horn, actually, um playing fourth and playing seconds, yeah. That’s it. Come on. That’s where it came from. And my teacher at the time, Jim Brown, was in the section, and the guy who’d been playing fourth horn was getting getting on a bit, and I think he was having to take work off tours, especially, because his his wife was um was ill. And so, they just got me and said, “Will you will you cover for for the fourth chair?” And then And when it came to he left, and the job was up, they just said, “Do you want the job?” There was no audition um or anything like that.

Um I mean, um we’ve talked about this before. It’s crazy how times have changed um in that respect. Um you don’t have to There’s no formal process, or at least I didn’t know there was. I I I think I’ve spent a lot of my life being sort of blissfully naive about what’s going on in the background. And but no, they they they gave me and said, “Do you want the job?” And I got the job. Um And then, pretty shortly after that, we all sort of moved up a bit, because there was a bit of a reshuffle in the section, and I ended up playing mostly third horn after that.

Um and then, the first job horn job came up, and I was considered too young, which of course I was. Um And so, then there was a bit of a change around, and uh another job in the London Philharmonic came up, which I applied for. That was principal horn, though. That was principal horn, yeah, it was. So, you went actually down. You started as a low horn player. I did, yeah. I went downhill after that. And then, you decided to go over to the first horn.

But you know, I I think I just wanted a job really to start with and any job any job would do. I suppose in deep inside I wanted to to to show off and play first horn. Um And unless you unless Pardon? No. I know don’t we all? I mean I I would love to show off and play first horn, but I’m just better at better at low horn. Um my nerves won’t take it. Well, it’s it’s it’s a wise person who knows where he was really and there’s no point putting yourself through anything unnecessary stress-wise.

If you if you’re not going to be able to handle it or enjoy it, then don’t do it. What’s the point? It’s quite stressful being a principal horn. It is. Um I didn’t realize at the time of course being young and naive and when I first started playing in in proper professional orchestras as first horn, I just thought it was a continuation of being in the youth orchestra really. I thought this is great. Play all these great tunes. Wow, isn’t this brilliant? The behavior is worse.

Behavior was a lot worse then, yeah. Or you could say better. It’s all got a bit serious now, hasn’t it? Very serious. It’s far more serious than it used to be. Although there’s some great stories of the old days. We all were so so sporty and so healthy and so I know. I mean it’s it’s crazy when you hear Well, you don’t go into that but We should. Well, the the way we used to behave and and it’s it’s you would be totally frowned upon now.

I mean and you or you get the sack or whatever. But that was just the way orchestras were in those days. You know, we’re talking about Well, I joined the LSO in the early 80s. And it still pretty well forced the head at that point in that style. I mean but what you do get of course were incredible concerts. Um but then just it was a bit it’s a bit hit and miss. Some of them were pretty bad and others were incredible. Really really incredible. Probably better than they would be now in a way but just because people were living on the edge a bit.

It was just the all or nothing gung-ho style playing. So it was as a young man for me it was incredibly exciting Yeah. to be in that situation. Well, you obviously could take the pressure of being a first horn because you were first horn of the LPO, the London Philharmonic Orchestra for 25 years. That is very impressive, Mr. Bissill, sir, if I may say so. Um I accept the compliment. Thank you very much. Um well, looking back now it it seemed seems pretty impressive to me.

I mean at the time you just get on with it. You get on with your life. Get on with the show. You’re only given the schedule. Okay, this is what I’m going to do. Um turn up and play it. And as I say in the early days it was very easy. Um a lot of the the pieces I was playing I was essentially sight reading them. Um never played them before. And just got on with it not realizing actually that they are quite difficult some of them.

Um but at at the time I sort of thought well, this is a nice tune. I’ll play this. Sort of attitude and um it it felt really pretty easy to be honest. Um it’s only in later life as you get older and you’ve had a few knocks and a few experiences and things have gone wrong and you get some baggage in your head about all the stuff that you used you start to notice it it’s actually quite it can be quite stressful. I mean not it isn’t I don’t want to put people off it because it’s a wonderful thing.

Um I think life just takes its toll eventually with everybody. But you know, I’d say that 25 years I had a I had a really great time and the orchestra was incredibly friendly which helped and all the all my colleagues all my horn section were my friends. We’re all a great team. I think that helps you all play, doesn’t it too? Yeah. It’s that collective sort of in it together. Absolutely. So important. Horn playing is hard enough as it is and and and the last thing we need is stress in a horn section.

I mean the best horn sections I think the horn sections who play the best are also the ones that get on the best. At least that’s what it I’m lucky enough to to be in a in a great horn section where everyone gets on well and it’s just so important. I think it is. I’ve heard tales as we all have of sections who don’t talk to each other. Ugh. And I can’t imagine what it would be like. I mean it’s hard enough playing the horn without knowing that there are people down the line waiting for you to mess up.

You know, and and that that feeling of being together as a bunch of friends and when the concerts go well and you you come off at the end and everyone is really really really happy. It’s been a great show and you go out and have a few drinks. It’s it’s great. It’s a family, isn’t it really? Yeah. And I I wouldn’t want it to be anywhere else. I have been lucky that my my team my sections have all been incredibly supportive to me and um and you know, hopefully I’ve said been to the same to them and and set out to be um that way because you wouldn’t want the best you you want nothing but the best for your players, don’t you?

You don’t want to try and stitch them up and make them fail. What’s the point of that? No. Not at all. You you left the LPO now for a year at Covent Garden. You’re sitting in the for the Yeah, sitting in the dark, yeah. Um getting my my pits tanned. You know, sort of getting paler and paler as I go. Tanned, yeah. And um yeah, I joined that I just got to the stage when um I thought it’s now or never really. I think the all the orchestras they toured a lot.

They did a lot of the schedules were hard. It was it was pretty relentless. And lots of live recordings and all that sort of thing and I and I thought the job came up at Covent Garden one of the principal horn jobs. And I was just um just about to turn 50 and I thought well, it’s now or never. Um so I applied for it and I did have to do a trial then mostly. That’s probably why They made you do a trial after 25 to do a trial, yeah.

I just briefly recap it. When I got the LPO job, I did three concerts on trial and the section um said, “Okay, you’re the guy we want.” No question. There’s no big panel meeting and the whole orchestra deciding and I have to play to everybody and the conductor. The horn section said, “He’s the guy.” So that that was as close as I as I got to the until I got to the opera house um to a trial. So I did my trial and I got the job and then I stayed as principal horn there for 8 years.

Uh and then you know, by that time I was sort of pushing 60-ish. And I thought you know, unfortunately one of my colleagues died and um and you know, we were going through the process of auditioning and we hadn’t actually started auditioning. That’s why you know, applications and all sorts of things and I thought well, you know, that’d be a smart move if I could if I could move across back to my rightful place there where where I started um as a low horn. Um so which I did and I’ve I’ve done that for about I think probably it’s my third season now doing that.

Great. Gosh, it it’s so great to see you. The last time I saw you was literally the week the pandemic started, wasn’t it? Do you remember I almost didn’t make it over. Um it it was a very special event which we’re going to be talking about a bit later on. But if I may just say hello to some more people that are watching some of your great fans. We’ve got we’ve got people on If you’re watching on Facebook, I love it that you’re all watching and saying where you’re where you’re watching from.

We love that. We’ve got Adam Wolf from LA and Brent Shires from Arkansas and and Azerbaijani and horn player Andre and Traina Sharelon from Sweden. That’s fantastic. Everyone’s watching on Facebook. If you’ve got any questions for Richard, hop over to a website where we have a live chat going on and you can write your questions there. Um on the on the website we have Henry from Cape Town has just has joined us. Um Mathieu Leger has got a question. He wants to know what are your what is what are your sources of inspiration?

So you can think about that, Richard, while I just say hello to some new people. Um on the chat Abriana is watching a great fan from yours from Boston. Um Annika from Cape Town. Tom Redmond is watching from Manchester. How lovely. Hello, Tom. Um so how about that, Richard? Who were you in Who were your inspirations as a player, as a as a composer, as an arranger? As a player as a horn player, I mean I suppose I’d have to say Barry Tuckwell really. Um he was at his peak when I was a a young man.

A teenager listening to getting into listening to recordings and I got his Strauss recordings and uh uh various others and uh he just played the horn like I thought a horn should be played really which is just complete freedom fearlessness and and style and pizzazz and and and control and and everything about it. It’s just a complete package I think. Um So as as a guy I think I found he was probably the most inspiring for me. Um composer-wise, um I’ve always loved um the the late romantics early 20th century highly chromatic um composers.

I mean I mean as I mean not I mean that money not of course is is a great composer. But there’s sort of people like um uh I don’t know. Zemlinsky and Franz Schreker and um Gosh. Franz Franz Schmidt and That’s like all this huge stuff. I but here is a great fan of Franz Schmidt. He’s making us all these uh huge yes. Breaker and all these people. My goodness. And and and Korngold which I would probably have to say if if somebody said who who who would you say to us I don’t know.

I’d probably have to say um Korngold to be honest. Gosh. He is the composer who make me cry but I like the best. Aw. Do you Do you try and make people cry with your arrangements? Well, whether they they might cry with with me cry with your playing. with pain and fear. But I don’t know. It’s it if it if it if they do, then that’s wonderful. Um I know there’s stuff that makes me gives me tingles when I listen to it and um whether I don’t know whether it gets is transposed into my compositions.

I have I have no idea. Um So, yeah, that’s the sort of thing and and rhythmic composers, jazz composers, um anything that’s got some pulse to it or or some heart. Yeah. Um I like that sort of We play your jealousy a lot in the Berlin Philharmonie and I like it because it’s got a horn solo, so thank you for that. Okay, yeah, yeah. Speaking of brass ensembles, you have been playing with London Brass ever since it No, you took over from No, it wasn’t at the beginning.

Sorry to interrupt you. Yeah. No, you took know. It’s in 1990, um I took over because Frank Lloyd was was in was in the Philip Jones and he transferred over to what became London Brass. And then he left um shortly afterwards, I think. I think he played he made a handful of CDs with them and then left. And um I I took over in 1990, so I’ve been there 30 years now. Gosh. And they are really like your family, aren’t they? Uh they are and um and as I said earlier about the the jazz, it was um Oh, there they are.

There they are. I have I suddenly thought they’d joined us for They wanted to say hello. Now, just hang on and have a listen to You’re right. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Yeah. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. You’re in and that’s that. You’re in and that’s that. You’re in a Zoom meeting and that’s that. Have a great time, okay? With the Hang out and um I don’t you know, we’re very disappointed in in the others that they’re not here, but you’ve got the four of us. So, have a great time.

All your all your best mates. All all the best ones. Yeah. Yeah. Oops. All right. Cheers, Ricky. Cheers again, mate. Cheers, Ricky. Oh, that’s lovely. Thanks for that. That was lovely. The sloth that came in at the end. I don’t know what on Lindsay’s phone suddenly you sort of picked up a sloth. For all of you that didn’t know these crazy wonderful people, there was Andy Crowley, um Byron Fulcher, um Gareth, um Gareth Small. Gareth Small and um and Lindsay Shilling, all from the London Brass and they were absolutely brilliant yesterday.

They um we we were trying to get everyone together, but you know what they’re like, Richard. Yeah, I mean, they’re all busy or can’t be bothered or cynical or one of those things, but Um the emergencies, my dog needs to be fed, um stuff like that. So, um yeah. So, those four actually showed up at the time that we agreed and I just thought it was lovely and they wanted to say hello to you on the hang out, so Oh, it was lovely. Thanks for that.

It was lovely. It was By the way, they are they are like family again. We spend a lot of time together and as you know, going away on tour with with your friends is such fun, you know. The music is amazing. The concerts are great, but it’s the social thing you which you really love. And we’ve known each other so long. I mean, Andy and Lindsay and I both essentially we’ve been um known each other since we were 18, really. Um we were students together and so you we know a lot we have a lot of shared history.

Gosh. Yeah, it’s shared pain, lot of shared fun and everything about it, so and when we go on to on London Brass trips, it’s just just fun. Yeah. I remember a lot I had a lot of fun with you lot when you all turned up in Berlin. I could hardly find my way home. Well, that’s that’s the reward, you see, for doing for doing a hard show. You can you can reward yourself later. That was a very nice party backstage at the Philharmonie in the days where we used to have concerts and hang out in the bar afterwards.

Anyway, they will come back. Um Richard, tell me, I have a question because we play a lot of your or a lot of the Philip Jones stuff and a lot of the London Brass stuff, a lot of your arrangements in the Berlin Philharmonie Brass Ensemble because we’re we are 12, but we’re still only one horn. So, the trumpet gets a doubler, a trombone gets a doubler or a piece off. I get no doubler. What’s the secret to being the only horn in a brass ensemble? And being heard.

Yeah, being heard is well, it’s just being able to play being able to project um in a way. It is um it’s a different way of playing. It’s just having strength and stamina and and and being sort of not being too sort of soft about it. Just being okay, I’ve got to I’ve got to make this this work here. Um And of course, you are as you say, you’re on a hiding to nothing um facing backwards. Um But um that’s just a legacy of a of a bad setup, really.

You know, the 10 piece wasn’t a great setup. That’s a bad Whose idea was that? Uh that was Philip Jones’s, I think. He combined his two ensembles he had at the time and came up with 10 players, one one tuba and one one horn and the rest were fine. Is that really how it started? Pardon? Is that really how it started? I think it was, yeah. He had a quintet and he had a two couple of trombones and two couple of trumpets he used to put out in as a different group.

And um thought, “Well, why don’t we combine them?” And uh ended up with 10 players, but But um I mean, it just gives you very strong chops, that’s all I can say. It’s a bit it’s a bit it’s a good discipline in a way. It’s a bit of a difference between playing in a brass quintet and a wind quintet. You know, with a even with a brass quintet, you’ve still got to have strong projectile. Is that a word? Projectile chops. Project word projectile from Projecting chops uh to be able to get through in a brass ensemble, whereas in a wind quintet We had someone in youth orchestra who had did a projectile vomit, that’s how I know that and when he had a very bad night and was in the second row of the horns and managed to hit the horn section in front of him.

Anyway, sorry about that. That’s enough. Haven’t we all done that at some point? No. But in a in a wind quintet, um because you have to close it all down and play with incredibly you know, incredible control and dynamics and and all that sort of thing. So, it’s just you just have to develop really strong chops. But I mean, I think I was pretty well um accustomed to that because when I was in say in the LSO and in the in the LPO, uh my the first horns are Dave Cribb and and Nick Bush, the other first horns and they’re so strong.

So strong and they are the only ones who use bumpers. And Nick I sit next to Nick I sit opposite him, but sit next to him or down the line in the bigger pieces or he’d sit down the line from me. And I’d hear him just like super super man horn player, really. And I just thought, “Well, okay, that’s what that’s how you play as a first horn. You just develop really really strong chops.” Because it but it’s about doing it now, isn’t it? If you don’t do it all the time, you lose it very quickly.

Um so, you have to be match fit. We’ve all found this last year. I mean, it’s We’ve been playing concerts, but we’ve been playing one concert instead of three. And the the difference in the condition you have is just astounding astoundingly awful. Yeah, well, it is. I mean, you you can play at home, you know, do little tootling around and think, “Oh, chops are pretty good today, you know.” And and then you go into a rehearsal or a session or something like that. You start playing within 5 minutes you’re thinking, “Where have my chops gone?

I haven’t got any.” But you had thought that you thought you had some. So, it’s the difference to that. Practicing at home is very different um playing in anger, isn’t it? In in a in a concert or a rehearsal, it’s very different. And you’ve just got to um um condition them again, recondition them to to to take I mean, they always come back. I mean, I’ve I’ve always I’m never worried about taking time off and I’ve always advised my students to, you know, don’t be scared of of taking a week’s off holiday, you know, and really enjoy it.

Really enjoy the holiday. Give enjoy the mental freedom and the physical freedom of not playing the horn because it will come back. It will if you put the work in, there’s unfortunately. You remember in the Philip Farkas book he says he recommends 3 hours of well-spaced practice and he said, “Unfortunately, you can’t practice the third hour first.” Cuz that’s what gives you then the stamina or you know, whatever. It is, yeah. It is, yeah. Yeah. But it is an interesting thing when you haven’t played for a long long time.

Then you have the first time you play you get it out and it feels dreadful, really terrible. And then bit by bit, you day by day, it comes back and and it’s a really nice feeling, a reassuring feeling that they’re there. They’re they’re they’re still there. I haven’t lost them permanently, you Yeah. Um Richard, are there some questions coming in about your writing for horn ensembles because this is what I mean, I I would love to be able to arrange like you. Um I I I really don’t know how.

I’ve never really tried that hard, but it seems terribly complicated. Is it? What Sam Holbert writes, what are your top tips for writing for horn ensembles? Do you have a a rule of thumb? Do you have a method? How do you choose the pieces that you want to you want to arrange for or compose? Um Um Sometimes and that’s not my decision. People will say, “Will you arrange this piece for me?” I mean, most of those London Horn Sound arrangements and and the Give It One arrangements were all suggested to me.

Actually, I did have a few um my own um choices there, but essentially somebody said, “Will you arrange this for me?” May I I just interrupt quickly? Just for everyone who’s watching who didn’t quite catch that, the London Horn Sound is one of the most incredible uh albums out there. If someone could put a link in the chat to it, that would be amazing. Um and also if you could put a link to Richard’s website because all of the music that we’re talking about is on your website, right, Richard?

All your arrangements Yes. and your compositions. So, it’d be great if someone could put that in the chat. Um otherwise, I’ll I’ll do it afterwards. But the London Horn Sound, they were practically all yours, weren’t they? Uh not all of them, but I mean, I think I had a a big a big proportion of them were mine and on on the the follow-up series um Give It One, that there was a lot of mine on there as well. Um When’s the next one? When’s the next one?

Yeah. Uh I’m not sure, actually. Um I have actually just well, a few months ago I did a 16 horn and and rhythm section arrangement of MacArthur Park. You know that been MacArthur Park? I don’t for this um this new record label, which we can get on to later. We will get on to that later. Yeah, um so that I don’t know whether that’ll become London Horn Sound 3. I don’t know whether it will but is if that will come short. Can can can expats living abroad come over even if if I still have a passport by then.

Yeah that’s a big yeah well with what you practice I’m not sure what it is. No I’ll have to quarantine and and and be anyway let’s not get into that. Right so your top tips please. Well the top tips are well if you if you’re talking about just the making arrangements constructing arrangements without considering horns at this point. Essentially you’re you’re you’re being a composer because you’re taking somebody else’s melody. And I’m composing with it. So you’ve got to work out some structures and journeys to architecture some somewhere to go with it what you’re going to do with it the key changes.

Blah blah blah blah blah till you make it to build a climax fade away build finish with a big finish or whatever you want to do with it. Um So you you I’ve just got I just write got books full of jottings and scribble you know what I’m going to do with arrows and symbols and all this stuff go there do this blah blah blah. And so that’s you can sort of map out what you want to do composition wise but then when you have to consider the instruments of course.

And as far as horns are concerned um uh I think you’ve just got to what is really important for me now as an as an older man really is is to make people enjoy playing my music and when I was younger I’d write these these arrangements which I’d play and I think that’s fine it’s fine and then people would say oh why have you written that it’s a bit difficult. And so I’ve I now know that I want my key thing is that I want them to be played.

So I I wouldn’t write anything ridiculously freakish that only a couple of people I beg to differ. Uh which were even more harrowing to think about. Down up. Um can play um because you want you want them to be played and and enjoyed and and not scare people away from playing them. Uh so you just got to bear in mind often often you have to bear in mind the players with the London Horn Sound and give it one I was writing for incredibly virtuosi players and I knew that pretty well anything I wrote would be played.

But if you’re trying to write stuff for your school or your college or university uh know the players you’re writing for and don’t don’t sort of punish them or be be cruel to them but again don’t back off and write something don’t compromise what you want to write. But but bear in mind you know the obvious things about the the range. Don’t write them too high all the time occasional bits up to the high register nothing’s too sustained and punishing. Um plenty of bars rest if you can.

Um don’t just just shape it so you it’s not saturation of sound all the time have some down time where there’s not a lot going on. Just just give it some ups and downs some contours to it and then you know have have a big finish or or fade away to nothing. But just bear in mind the physical aspect of somebody has to play it. And if if they’re going to be hanging on by their fingernails and and blood’s coming out because you haven’t given them enough bars rest or whatever or it’s just too too intense all the time then people aren’t going to enjoy it and they’ll they’ll probably not play it again.

So I think that’s quite a good lesson to learn make make it playable. That’s really good advice make it playable. You’ve written things for all different stages of horn playing there’s some great quartets which are quite good for for sort of maybe good students. I heard a recording of them on YouTube there’s a there’s a a nice recording of of of your quartets. Um Yeah they were sort of aimed at beginners really very easy quartets. Those ones yeah those ones too but then there’s the portraits that’s a um The portraits are quartets I mean that was an example of of me writing probably stuff I wouldn’t write now in a way.

Um That’s hard we tried to hard yeah um but you know you you get all you need is a good bunch of enthusiastic students who want to conquer it. And and and and they fail it and you say fine take it away it’s great. It’s great. So if anyone has played Richard’s Song of a New World um we’ve just re-released it and people so many more people are listening to it now Richard than they did when we originally released the released the album and you said on your on your on your website it’s become a best seller because everyone wants to play low horn I’m so proud of that.

Well I think you should be I mean you’ve been a brilliant ambassador for for spreading the word of of low horn sound and and I think that it’s become popular due to your recording in all honesty. And then as a composer it’s it’s tricky to get your your work out there you know but you write a piece and then you might get one performance and um and maybe no more but if you if you have a you know somebody like you record it it’s it’s brilliant and and it has caught on very well so I’m grateful for everybody who’s bought it and grateful for you for asking me to write it.

Well thank you for writing it for me and if if any of you have played it and had some experience with it do write in and let us know what experiences you had and we thought we’d hold a little competition because well when when Richard first sent me this piece I was actually remember I said Richard come on I can do a bit more than that. I was like do you remember I said come on you can can you sort of spice it up a little bit here and here and then you said all right and you took it back and you had then you sent it and I was like I can’t play that.

And in particular the cadenza in particular the cadenza and well Song of a New World I loved it because well I still love it because it’s got your jazzy bluesy influence in there and and to I would listen to a lot of Bessie Smith to try and I felt very stiff I felt like I couldn’t really do the jazz part justice. Um but but did did you try playing it beforehand? I mean did you know you were you were presenting me with this fiendishly difficult piece?

Um well I what I do when I do write horn pieces I do before I let them out to people I do play them myself I’ll pick up my horn and and just check that it’s playable. Um I’m this is totally out of context it’s not about playing the whole piece you know if I played it within the whole piece I probably could. But technically I want to make sure that it’s playable and articulation is pretty pretty um as it should be. Um uh so yeah yeah as a horn player I hopefully write sort of playable horny horny style writing.

But with that with that when I first sent it to you but bearing in mind what I just said about not wanting to punish people you know or scare them off I think I did I probably erred on the caution when I sent you the first sort of ideas of it and you said you know come on a bit. So maybe I then overcooked it. And you particularly said I want you wanted a few more high notes in it which I which is I was happy to put in but again That’s right.

had a discussion about the odd notes as well I seem to remember you said how why don’t you play that note instead and oh yeah that’s a better idea. I think that’s a good thing that sorry to interrupt. No no no I’m sorry. It’s nice to have a bit of collaboration with people who know what they’re talking about. Well it was more like there were a couple of bits where I felt in my break I could have got out of it a bit easier if we’d played it like that you know it was just sort of little things coming up out of the very low or or going back down.

There was just a couple of notes but you know basically I I I love it and I worked like crazy and and having just had it re-released it’s made me sort of go back cuz I thought okay let’s see if I can still play it. Um and it’s it’s been it’s been great I’m not sure what to play it in public is really quite you need to be really fit to do that. It’s it’s quite especially ending on all those high notes you know. Yeah you do need you do need to be match fit to play well anything really but um and you know the sort of playing you do as as an orchestral player is is not quite the same as when you’re at your physical peak if you like when you’re just about to leave you know the conservatoire or college you’ve done your final recital and then you’re super fit super strong super confident and you stand up and play these pieces.

I mean there’s a few quite few recordings of it on on YouTube of people playing it really well and um it sounds sounds great so I know. Well speaking of which we would actually Richard and I would like to challenge you all of you who are watching. Now Briana’s just written in and said she played it on her masters last April last April good for you go girl. But if any of you would like to play us now I’m going to we’re going to share you the we’ll share with you now the cadenza because you can’t have the whole piece you have to buy it off Richard’s website which of course you will all do.

Um and here is the cadenza and Richard I just want to let’s just talk through it and if any of you would like to play it for us record it for us on YouTube on an open link on an unlisted link send it to me and at the website address [email protected] and we will we will look at them all I promise and and the winners will win something amazing like maybe a t-shirt maybe a horn hangout mask look at those. And we we’ve even got a male version today Richard look this just arrived in the post look at those.

Oh very stylish. No I know I know they even smell nice. Anyway I’ll I’ll put the link to where to get those in fact I think my friend’s watching who’s made them she made the bunting as well. I that’s sweet she’s very clever. Sandra if you’re watching can you put the link to those. But we might we might think up some good prizes so look here we go here is the cadenza let me make sure I’m shut Ah, got it. Okay, Richard, I’m not going to play it before anybody.

Um my horn is freezing cold and it’s the middle of the night here, but um it starts here very free and out of tempo. Yeah? Yeah. And then it’s got this ridiculous it’s just basically the tune. Like that. As a really but very free and out of out of out of temp tempo out of Yeah, out of tempo. And then you’ve got these boo boo boo boo boo boo boo boo boo boo boo boo. Yeah? I’m sorry to keep these uh yeah, I think Jacob is trying to ping me.

Anyway, and then Yeah. That was your idea, right? To start yeah. Well, rather you than me. Okay. All right. And then ba da da da This is really hard. I had to practice this really Oh, no, it’s higher up, isn’t it? That’s right, yeah. I I’m not going to play it for you now unwarmed up. You can play it if you want, Richard. Well, I mean, it could be bear bouncing. Um But um anyway, so then there’s that bit, but that that’s more or less in time, right?

Yeah, yeah, sort of but as long as it’s playable. It doesn’t want to sound you know, stagnant and just not It’s got to have some sort of lilt to it. It’s got to be And And Sophie, you’re not supposed to hear that they’re really difficult slurs, right? No, exactly, yeah, yeah. I find those really hard. Yeah. They’re they’re a long way up, aren’t they? Yeah. So They’re a long they’re a long way. Richard really means those pedal notes, yeah? And then this was one of my favorite bits.

Et cetera et cetera et cetera. And it should really be like that. I get any faster Yeah, yeah, and so in a way the slower you start it, the more chance you have of of getting some momentum. Great. And the next bit I’m not going to play Oh, yeah, so ba ba ba ba ba ba ba And then Uh ba ba ba ba ba ba And then you land on that and then Yeah. Ba da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da I apologize.

I really didn’t have time to practice it properly and I’ve been teaching all afternoon, so excuses excuses, but it’s way way too hard to play live on a horn hangout. It’s You’ve got to be You’ve got to be in the groove to play this stuff, haven’t you? Of course. You have You have for sure, yeah. really warmed up and you’ve got It’s good. I mean, those those patterns that the slow start and that accelerando, it’s just a they’re sequences. I quite like sequences in in it’s you know, 5 7 1 5 7 1 5 7 1 just going down in in semitones and things.

Okay. So we get to the ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba And now the moderato but free. So this is the main theme of the whole piece and it’s big. And you play it a little different to me. When you played it, I felt like I was a little bit classical and boring. Cuz And that’s it should be a lot louder, but not at 9:00 at night. Not at night. Yeah, but let me just turn on my I’ll just turn off my turn off original sound.

No, okay. So it’s in a way it’s just what I was talking about earlier very early on about how jazz is a lot more casual, shall we say, with their articulation. So um You know, so it’s just a little bit more spit bit more spitty somehow and a little bit more Why didn’t you tell me this before? Well, I mean, it’s your interpretation, you know, and that’s the whole thing about writing stuff for people. They often more often than not they’ll make it a better piece than the writer ever imagined, you know?

And I have no I have no uh quarrel at all with the way you play it, Sarah. It’s it’s fantastic. No, but now I want to play it like you. Yeah, well, I I what I do try to do is put the articulation in. So like long long short and the shorts are really short. So Short short. That’s all you know. But that’s you know, that’s what if you if in a big band they’d sort of put a hat like a circumflex you know, hat on those notes.

Yeah. So really that Okay, that’s Okay, that’s good to know. So if any of you if you’re planning on playing this everybody for our competition, um we want to hear the cadenza or you might be able to hear all of it if you want to, but we were thinking of um having you play the cadenza, recording it um however you want YouTube unlisted listed link however you prefer and send it to us and there will be prizes. We promise. And I love Richard at the end of the cadenza ba ba da ba da ba da ba That’s really F sharp is such a rubbish note on that horn.

I have to basically so that it’s in tune, I have to like almost cover it completely so that Well, is it cuz it’s it’s sharp, you mean? Yeah, it’s so sharp and there’s no time before to do any sort of pull Yeah, well, what I’ve what I’ve realized is on the on a double horn like we have, you know, that the F third slide, what what do you use it for except for pedal Gs and and so pedal F sharp. So what I would suggest is pulling quite a way out if you’re going to play this piece.

Yeah. And it sort of it helps it um be a little meatier. Is that meatier on Zoom? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, so thank you, you lot. Um are you there? Somebody just asked if there’s a PDF. Um I don’t have a PDF of it, but I I do have a PDF of it, but I’m not going to um send it out. Maybe I’ll post it on the website after this for a little bit, but otherwise um you can quickly very quickly screenshot the cadenza as I scroll through this.

Otherwise um yeah, buy the whole thing. It’s really worth it because it’s a great low horn workout. So um Richard, thank you for that little tutorial. Ha, that’s no problem. There’s something I’d like to get on to before we run out of time and that is the Magnificent Seven. Oh, yes. Um tell us what this Well, let me let me just play you something. Um you it’ll be it’s real memories. Um let me play you this Um everybody, this is Richard’s newest project and which I’m very honored to have been part of.

And um yeah, this is basically what it sounded like. Woo! Uh that sounded amazing. Richard, tell us quickly what that was because I have a little surprise for you. Oh, wow. Uh that was the the final minute or so of piece I wrote called The Magnificent Seventh for um eight horns and piano, bass, and drums. Um it’s uh it’s going to be on a new CD of my pieces which I’ve been recording over the last year or so um at the Guildhall School in London using um players there um former players, past players um uh professors and um Well, they’re all your students, basically.

Yeah, there are quite a few of my students, yeah. I mean, I had taught quite a few of them on on that on that um session. And um combined with other pieces, I mean, I’m playing my horn trio on it and there’s a piece for eight bassoons, there’s a piece of flute and piano violin and piano, there’s a big brass ensemble at the beginning. And that’s being released by this uh record label called Three Worlds Records, which is um a new record label concerned with promoting horn-related projects, recordings.

Um and so that’s a really good label to be involved with as far as I’m concerned cuz they’re they’re just trying to spread the word the word combined with um sort of another group called the Guild of Horn Players, which is a British outfit concerned with promoting horn music, commissioning new new music, education work, and all this sort of thing. Um and the record label is really concerned about giving the artists a good deal as well, which is important to the composer and the player as well.

That they’re not going to sort of rip you off like the big labels will. And it’s essentially it’s just looking after the players, the artists involved, which is a laudable thing in my book. It’s It’s going to be an amazing amazing album, and I was very proud to be part of it. And Richard, you have so many fans, um and especially your students, um who played in that your magnificent seven, and they almost all seven of them are here. Maser. Isn’t that lovely? Ah, hello. everybody.

Thank you Thank you for sitting through all that, too. to to come back. Well, this is a this is a thrill for me. Oh, we’re all It’s all all your fans, Richard. All your sheep have come back to the fold. They are. They are I mean, apart from Roger, who I think Where is Roger? He’s a bit dark. Roger’s dark in the dark there. Ah, hang on. Richard, Richard, will you introduce everybody? I will. Um we have Chris Chris Hang on. Hang on. Angela Barnes, Joe Henshaw, and Elspeth Dutch.

Um all of whom I have the the pleasure of teaching over over my many years uh Guildhall. I In another couple of years, I’ll have been teaching there for 40 years. 40 years at the Guildhall. Yeah, and these are my my lovely fellow um former students who I’m very very fond of and very proud of as well for what they’ve achieved um in the horn world out there, you know, all incredibly successful and wonderful players and musicians. Um yeah, yeah, I had to I had to have them on my recording, you know.

That was the whole thing about it was I had to use Guildhall. I wanted to use Guildhall people, and I could handpick anybody I wanted to, really. And so, they’re the ones I I chose. It’s so great you could all join me. For For people watching who I don’t know exactly who these amazing people are, I’m sure you all do, but just in case, as Richard said, he announced it and said everybody’s name. But Chris, I’ll say in the order I can see you. Hello, Chris.

Hi. Chris Parkes, principal horn of the Swedish Radio. Um where are you? In Stockholm? Yeah, Stockholm. Yeah. Cuz you were in actually in London. I don’t know quite how you managed that. You have to tell me all about the quarantine. Oh, it’s very boring, but yeah. I was in London for a few days, um quarantining at my mom’s. She does a very good quarantine service, if anybody is Uh and then I did actually bump into Richard very happily in the the lower ground floor of the Guildhall, which was really nice.

Oh, well, thank you, Chris. It’s great you’re here. Next, Angela Barnes, second horn of the London Symphony Orchestra. Hello, gorgeous. Hi. Where are you? How are you doing? What are you doing? I I’m in Southeast London. Um just came back from rehearsal. Very lucky to be doing bits of work at the moment up at St. Luke’s. Uh Um He’s so antisocial. This is my cross-eyed ginger tomcat. He might make an appearance. I wouldn’t hold your breath, though. Angela actually she won the Horn Hangout prize of all time for her Horn Hangout with the London Symphony Orchestra horn section.

We won’t tell you why. You have to go and watch it to find out, but she won. We won’t go into any more detail than that. We’ll keep everyone in suspense, but Tom is so ashamed of me. Anyway, so I’ll try not to make a similar faux pas today. Please do. Please do. No, well, I mean, if you have any similar stories of Richard, you’re welcome to share them. Anyway, we’ll get to that in a second. Richard Montgomery in the middle there. Now we can see you, Richard, is an amazing natural horn player, or he’s an amazing horn player.

He was sitting next to me in the recording, so I got to hear I got him Thank you kept me in time, Richard. But Roger, sorry, Richard and Roger. God. Roger Roger and Richard. Roger Montgomery, I didn’t, did I? No, I didn’t. I said Roger Montgomery. It It doesn’t matter. I’m I’ve I’ve had I’ve had I’ve much worse much worse. It’s hard work to be on a Horn Hangout for hours. So, um Tom Montgomery, amazing natural horn player with the OAE Orchestra of the Urge for Embalmment.

No. It It It could be It could be. Yeah, I’m I’m sorry you had to sit next to me on that session. You probably You could probably hear my the the the mental processes going as I was struggling for fingerings. And very dodgy music. That was pretty impressive, you know, that you even knew how to still use your bowels after all that. Well, you know, I’ve got got somewhat atrophied fingers, but you know, I can just about still do it. You certainly could. And you have to go and watch Richard, Roger, Tom Roger Montgomery’s Mozart’s Naughty Notes, if you haven’t seen that on YouTube.

It’s fantastic. So, um you’ve got homework. London Symphony Orchestra Horn Hangout, Roger Montgomery’s Naughty Notes. Anyway, it’s great you could be here. Thanks a lot. And Joe Henshaw. Joe, hello. Now, Joe Joe and I were actually flatmates when we were at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. And now you’re very important there. Ah, well, I have the pleasure of being uh deputy head of wind, brass, percussion. But actually, I’m still a horn player. I’m still a horn player. I play I’m second horn in the Academy of St.

Martin’s, and that’s where my heart is. I’ve just spent three really lovely days back with the orchestra recording, and it’s been amazing, so. I’m so glad you can play back at it. Things are getting better, right? They’re getting They are. Yeah, definitely. And and down at the bottom, last but not in the slightest least, Elspeth Dutch, principal horn of the CBSO, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Elspeth, you’ve been there for ages. Yeah. Yeah, a pretty long time. Uh I don’t even remember how long. I joined in 2003.

Gosh. And you went You were like No, in 2002. Yeah, I joined 2002. at the Guildhall when you got the job, right? You were I just left. Yeah. Amazing. Amazing. Well, it’s great you could all be here. Who’s got a story about Richard? Okay, I’ve got a story about Richard, but I don’t know if I can tell it without getting in the sack. But I know. Careful. Careful. Richard, I I just thought about this. Richard was the most amazingly enabling teacher, and quite often Do you remember, Sarah, that when we were at Guildhall, then there were like not many of us there, and and people kept getting jobs and leaving.

And I think, you know, then you left, and and Johnny Barrett left, got a job, Carson left, you know, they everyone one after the other left. So, there were very few horn players left. So, we were doing loads and loads of playing, and our chops were, you know, by the time I went into my lessons with Richard, my chops were gone. And I remember one lesson turning up and going, “I’ve just got no chops left.” So, Richard said, “Let’s go down to my car in the car park.

I’ve got this brilliant tape. You’re going to love it.” And then he just proceeded to play me a tape of horn splits. And it was just It just what I needed at the end of a of a mad day. And actually, that’s that’s I mean, Richard has always been so down-to-earth, and and so, actually, you know what? Nobody’s going to die if you split a note. And I think that’s that was really helpful for me as a bit of a perfectionist. Do you still have that tape, Richard?

It’s a cassette tape. Do you remember? Those are the cassette tapes. I have to say that in in my defense, I think it was given to me by Hugh Seenan, but It was. Yeah. Were they all his splits? No, I think he’d he’d compiled it or somebody else had done it and given it given it to him. Let’s not blame him for it at all. I never heard Hugh split a note. No, I didn’t But I think it’s just important to to let your students know that you’re playing the horn, and these things are going to happen, and just to try and relax as much as you can about it, really, you know.

Richard I’m at it again. Roger. Roger sent me a picture of you relaxing. I’ve got to share it like this. This is um This is uh yeah. Sorry, I can’t get it up any closer. This is the Preparation for the ballet. Oh, yes. Yeah. Well, that ballet does that to you, doesn’t it, really? It’s the only way to get through it, I think. Best I can It’s the best I could do. Sorry, I will I will make sure I will print that out, but it was sent during the Hangout.

Thank you very much, Roger. Thank you for sending that during the Hangout, and so I could only manage to get it on this. So, yeah. So, that was that was Richard, sent by Roger. Mhm. Got it. You You can always rely on your friends, can’t you, actually? Chris, come on. What was What was What was Roger like as a teacher? I got it now. Uh Richard and I Richard was a very nice, very good teacher who helped me through some uh difficult moments sometimes. But uh we became colleagues after that, which was really What was it?

Five years, maybe? Uh probably at least that, yeah. Yeah, in the LPO, which were incredible times for me with such a nice section. And uh yeah, we we like the same music, and we felt the same about a lot of things, and it was We’re sort of family now, so I can’t share my best stories in public. Wow. Well, Save them it for the after party. That’s it. I mean everyone who’s been on a horn hangout knows that the best is actually the minute we switch off and I wish we could keep keep the cameras rolling yeah without anybody knowing so that all the horn hangout viewers can join in but sometimes you just got to got to switch off the live button but not quite yet.

I have one more picture if I don’t know if you were able to make me a co-host and able to share screen. Sure. But um It will take me a while because I’m rubbish at Zoom. You should be able to do that. I always felt danger when when Roger starts doing this sort of thing I get a little bit nervous. Here we go. There we go. We’ve got that. Yep. We have the after parties. Straight after recording the Magnificent Seventh. What was actually happening? Were you cleaning up or what were you doing?

Remember we had a little drink afterwards. I remember. This is This was clearing up all the stuff and carrying it away. We were just setting up where we were going to sleep that night under with the bricks outside the Barbican. That that that that session as you’ve sort of slightly referred to was was really gotten by the skin of our teeth, wasn’t it? Just the day before the whole world shut down. I was I was really quite jumpy about it over that weekend whether people would return up especially you and Sarah and Chris who were coming in from Berlin.

We only just got back. I got back literally the I was the only person on the plane who went back that day. Poor Joe, I canceled your your masterclass for the Guildhall because that was just that was just like too seven horns were okay but like 30 students I’ve got I’ve got a a very nice picture of that too. Look look at this. Look. Somebody’s head has been cut off there there. Can you see? I can see everybody’s head, yeah. Yeah. Isn’t that nice? Where’s Dave and Lars?

He’s there. Dave’s in there. Yeah, where is he tonight? Um cooking perhaps. I think he has got the link. Anyway, he did know about it and he said to send his best. He would he’s working I think so he said um Dave was actually Dave Pyatt was a soloist in your Symphonia Concertante which I heard on YouTube. He was, yeah. Amazing playing. Uh yeah and he he I wrote that for him and Rod Franks and Andrew Marriner. And Dave only only said to me fairly recently um he was talking about stuff and he said to me that he said he thought that was the hardest thing he’d ever had to play.

And I was a bit shocked. Um because you know I don’t as I said from what I was saying earlier I don’t particularly like sort of roasting people punishing them and making them sweat too much. Um for him who who’s an incredible player with an amazing facility and technique for him to say that he thought it was difficult I thought my god. What have I done? And so you know if ever if ever it gets played again you know who knows. Then I I think I might just sort of tweak it a bit you know so people don’t let people be put off by it you know.

I don’t know if you remember this Richard. Sorry Chris. Um that concert where um Dave Rod and Andrew Marriner did your Symphonia Concertante happened to be my first ever concert with the LSO at the Barbican. So it was right in the early days of when I was doing my trial for second horn. Um but because Dave was going out the front as a soloist we all shifted up for some reason I’ve been put to bump up for that day and I ended up on third horn my least comfortable place in the section.

Um but it was it’s just interesting cuz I’ve been you know ahead of this I’ve been thinking about how you know the contact we’ve had over the years. And it really feels like you’ve been sort of threaded through my entire sort of career progression cuz I played lone call in charge I’ll make it about me for two seconds but for young musician and that was I remember having to call you up to ask you a bit of background about that. And then I was lucky lucky enough to be in the three portraits recording.

That was Hugh it was my sort of generation of Guildhall who Hughie decided it was after on off the back of the London Horn Sound success that he decided to get students to record that, didn’t he? And then and then what with the Symphonia Concertante and then finally this Magnificent Seven I feel like I’ve been blessed. And if I if I remember rightly didn’t you play in the LPO when we did my horn concerto as well? Do you know what I was about to say that as well but yes I I feel like yes my very brief appearance as third horn there was um for again for one of your compositions.

Yeah. Yeah. So thank you. I enjoyed it, yeah. I didn’t realize and that was your very first concert the Symphonia Concertante. Gosh. I I’d done a prom concert that was my first concert but it was my first concert at at the Barbican. Oh wow. The new season. Gosh. And Elspeth you and Richard have you when you went straight up to Birmingham straight from college? Yeah. Um but it was Richard that prepared you for all that. Yeah definitely yeah. He was my main teacher or to be correct.

And I think the main thing that Richard taught me was just to chill out. And um if I was kind of stressing about something in a lesson he’d just be like what’s the big deal? Just just chill out. And sometimes I’d think like easy for you to say. I that’s definitely stuck with me and I think I generally I’m quite chilled out about stuff. Like somebody was mentioning about split notes earlier I kind of just accept that going to do them every day it’s fine just carry on.

Um and the other thing that I always remember is Richard said to me um Angela’s going to hate me saying this but he I remember him saying don’t always do the same warm up because what if you’re late? And that’s been a useful thing because I’m often I’m not usually late but I’m usually just on time. Especially I’ve got two small kids so since I’ve had them it’s like there’s a lot to juggle in the mornings. So I always find that very useful that I can just turn up and it’s like just start playing it’ll be fine.

Richard said so so it’s all right. And um I’m not suggesting you know if people some people are very into warm ups I know but um I think that’s just a really useful thing just to chill out about stuff. So yeah. Self self-confessed warm up queen here so there are always two two sides to the We have different views on that one. Well I would say that it’s it is that right thing that if if you do get slightly hung up by it and you what you want to be as a horn player is as is relaxed and as calm as you can be all the time.

And if you’ve got it in your head that you’ve got to do your rigid you know half hour warm up every day. If you get there and you have time to do it that’s brilliant. Um but what happens if you if you don’t? Uh you you’re going to be troubled by it you’re going to feel anxious and whatever you’ll you’ll get through it it’ll be fine you know so um I’m not I’m not going to say I’m I’m not saying don’t do a warm up but but be be flexible with it.

Yeah I probably take it a bit too far. Well I mean you know there always seem to be players who just get it out of the case Elspeth and and and play with effort. So there’ll be no problem so you know uh you’re one of those I think. Oh I don’t know. I’m just I’m just doing it late. I remember Elspeth doing her final It wasn’t a final recital I didn’t know I could do that but I heard her play a final recital to me. Um and I was completely knocked out by it because up until that point and you know one of the pleasures of being a teacher of course is that you um you go you have the you go on the process that the the um how you get how the students progress.

You know from the beginning to the end and some of them seem to have it naturally some of them don’t some of them are slow some of them are quick and it takes all sorts and the skill of a is a teacher is to try and bring it out and tease it out and find the key to unlock what’s what’s troubling them. And I can’t remember that Elspeth you know she played me her final recital and I was just I was honestly I was quite emotional about it because I thought this is incredible and then you knowing how she um started out and she’s always been a good player but you know with students you always have to work on stuff, don’t you?

And I thought she is amazing. Like absolutely amazing that sort of completely switched the the switch on and it was there and it was working it’s brilliant absolutely brilliant. Aw thank you. Richard I’m afraid we have to stop the the the live horn hangout now. We’re going to have a little bit of a of a reunion hangout afterwards. Yeah. Yeah. But but for the live horn hangout tonight it’s been amazing to have you on and I mean I could talk to you for like well we need a whole day to get all your fantastic tips and your arranging and your composing and your uh being the only horn in a brass ensemble tips and uh and and teaching but you can see there are you know all these people on this screen just adore you very very much and uh and admire and respect and um and everyone’s shown up from their corners of the world to and all our online audience all the horn hangout I’m sorry I didn’t get to all your questions but Richard maybe you could have a look at the live chat after or tomorrow sometime and answer some of the questions because Yes I will do, yeah.

we didn’t have time to get them. So if you have any questions for Richard then do write them into the live chat on the website and and we’ll try and get the answers to you as as best we can but thank you so much for joining in. That’s okay but perhaps I just talked too much and I should have kept quiet. No. I mean I would say in in to sum up that it is playing the horn is is a great thing to do and and the being a horn player with the horn playing fraternity is is is is um a lovely inclusive career and we’re we’re all in it together through thick or thin and I think the fact that we all sort of stay tight and stay tight together don’t we as a sort of a armor against whatever what’s thrown at us and it’s a lovely lovely brotherhood or sisterhood or whatever hood to be to belong to so yeah.

Yeah. Hear hear. Should we have a drink to that everybody? Mhm, I think we should. Yeah, I’m always looking looking hopeful. Yeah. Angela has started. All right, I’ve got to Oh, I see. Right, Richard, thank you so much. Thank you everybody. Um Roger, Chris, Angela, Joe, um Elspeth, thank you so much for joining us today. Just stay here. To all of you watching online, thanks so much for joining us. Um we’ll be back on the 24th of April with the Seattle Symphony Horns who will be live at their symposium, and it’s called the Morning After Horn Hangout, and you will find out on the 24th of April why we are calling it the Morning After Horn Hangout.

The mind boggles. Richard, you’re a hero. Thank you very, very much. It’s been my pleasure. I really enjoyed it. Thank you for asking me. And lovely to see all my friends as well. Thank you. See you soon. Bye-bye.

Horn Hangouts are created by Sarah Willis of the Berlin Philharmonic. Brassbanned is a proud long-time collaborator and streaming partner.