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We welcome Bjorn Bantock, our guest conductor for our BSO May concert onto the podcast.  

As a young musician, Bjorn followed his dream to be a cellist, studying across the world with renowned teachers, only to have a serious accident that meant he couldn't continue to play.  

Determined to stay in the music profession, he tried other instruments, but it wasn't until he found conducting that he really started a new chapter.  

In this episode, he talks about his journey from South Africa to the UK and talks about the upcoming concert programme on the May 24th, which includes a piece of music written by his great-grandfather, Granville Bantock, The Sea Reivers (or pirates), which is an atmospheric piece with a Celtic feel.

Tune in and don't forget to book your tickets for the upcoming BSO concert!

Events and booking tickets: www.bedfordsymphony.com

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Ian Smith, our guest conductor of Bedford Sinfonia, and Paul Harris, our clarinet soloist, join together in this special podcast where we talk about the May 3rd programme, Malcolm Arnold and music education - something that they are both passionate about.

Paul is well known to clarinet teachers and students alike as he is not only a performer, but also a composer of their key books for learning the clarinet, which he started composing whilst still studying music.  Many young clarinettists are keen to come to meet him at the concert!  

Tune in to hear more about him and the lovely concert focusing on music that is perfect for an English springtime!

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Carolyn Sampson is a soprano at the top of her game, both here in the UK but also internationally.  This last year has seen her release her 100th album, called "But I like to sing!"  However, that's not all!  She's also been named Gramophone Artist of the Year, was awarded an OBE in the King's New Year's Honours List for her services to music and named Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music.  

She is also from Bedford and came through the Bedfordshire Youth Music Service - and speaks often about the positive impact that it had on her as a young musician.

In this episode she speaks candidly about how those experiences mattered and how young musicians today continue to need local support.  

Carolyn is singing at St Andrew's Church in Bedford in November 2025 in a special anniversary year concert for their Concert Series.  

For more info about Carolyn: www.carolynsampson.com

Follow her on Instagram, LinkedIn and Bluesky. 

Events and booking tickets: www.bedfordsymphony.com

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Dr Lucy Walker, a writer, researcher and speaker on classical music and cultural heritage, is our guest.  What a privilege to have her on the show!  Lucy is a renowned expert on Benjamin Britten and spent many years working at The Red House in Aldeburgh, his former home.  She has spent years researching, writing, presenting, curating exhibitions and speaking about Benjamin Britten and his work. 

She is a much sought after podcast guest, so we are delighted that she accepted our invitation to talk about our upcoming BSO programme featuring Britten's Violin concerto played by Charlie Lovell-Jones.

She also comes from Bedford and started her musical journey as a pupil of Ian Smith, our Bedford Sinfonia conductor and played the horn in the County Youth Orchestra and credits much of her musical journey to her music education here in Bedfordshire.

In this episode she talks very engagingly about Britten, his journey to America in 1939 and what we can listen out for in his violin concerto.  She brings the music alive as she fills in the background to Britten and explains what we can listen out for as we play or listen to this quite amazing piece that he started writing at the age of 26. 

Tune in find out more...

To book tickets for all of our concerts: www.bedfordsymphony.com

To connect with Lucy or follow her online:
www.lucy-walker.co.uk
Instagram: @lucybeewalker

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We welcome Ian Smith back on the podcast to introduce us to the music in the January 2025 Bedford Sinfonia concert.

With a programme that takes us on a whistle-stop tour of mainland Europe, showcasing different instruments of the orchestra across various styles of music, this is a concert that will delight many!

Ian gives us a quick and accessible guide to the programme.  This is a concert that is a piece of theatre, with the percussionists taking centre stage.  With our percussionist soloists, David Hext and Rachel Gledhill, who are at the top of their game, playing in the West End and in top London orchestras, this is going to be an incredible concert with drama, virtuosity and emotion!

Tune in to hear more about it and we hope to see you at the concert!

Details below...

Events and booking tickets: www.bedfordsymphony.com

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Michael Rose is recognised both locally and nationally as having been a pillar in music education and music making in Bedford over the last half century.  At over 90 years old, he can look back on a career that inspires many - and he has never truly retired, still teaching now and conducting up until a year ago.  

He has taught, supported and encouraged many musicians over the years and in particular young musicians, especially through the Youth Orchestras and Ensembles, which continues to produce many fine musicians.  

Many of those who were taught by Michael have gone onto professional careers or to take a role in amateur music as performers, teachers, composers, conductors, keen amateurs and parents of the next generation of musicians.  It is credit to him that so many of them frequently recognise his role and the role of Bedfordshire's Youth Music Service in their musical journey. 

In this episode we explore two aspects of his work in particular: his conducting and his views on youth music.  Michael conducted the Bedfordshire Symphony Orchestra and Bedford Sinfonia for many years, amongst other orchestras and choirs, and it was only in 2023 that he retired.  His experience of conducting is immense both in terms of the repetoire and the type of players he worked with. 

In this episode he shares with us his view on makes a great conductor and how he approaches the task.  He talks also about how we should, given the deep cuts in music education over the last decade or so, take youth music forward now.

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Tune in to meet our Guest Conductor, John Beswick who joins us for our first BSO concert of the 2024-25 season, where we play Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 and the Elgar Violin Concert with Michael Foyle on the violin.

John talks about how a delivery of a piano and listening to records at home as an eight year old changed the course of his life and took him into an impressive and varied career in music.  He goes on to introduce us to the programme that he's conducting on the 9th November.

Interestingly, he often comes back to the people in music that are important to him: those that inspired, those that play and those he works with. 

A fascinating and honest insight into the world of professional music!

To connect with John Beswick: https://john-beswick.com/

Events and booking tickets: www.bedfordsymphony.com

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A wonderful conversation about a musical journey from childhood.  Louise shares how her family instilled a love of music by taking her to concerts and her father sat beside her in her Saturday morning music school... 

Louise Radok is the outgoing Chair of the Bedfordshire Orchestral Society, after serving the orchestras through the aftermath of the pandemic.  She's been a member of the BOS for nearly 30 years, playing the horn alongside her husband, Uwe, and in this episode she shares how she took up music, her treasured memories of her time as Chair, her love of all things opera and what music has brought to her throughout her life.

She also mentions that BSO need first violinists!  If you're a Grade 8 standard violinist and would like to join us, please contact us via our website: www.bedfordsymphony.com

Events and booking tickets: www.bedfordsymphony.com

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Ian Smith, our guest conductor of Bedford Sinfonia and conductor of Bedford Choral Society, gives us a sneak preview of what he has in store for us for the 6 concerts he is conducting.   He gives us an introduction to the music with a fascinating insight into how he curated the programmes.   It's not often that we get the opportunity to understand how conductors put a whole series of concerts together. 

Ian is well known in Bedfordshire and beyond for his impactful work in music education over many decades.  In this episode he shares his top tips for bringing children to orchestral concerts - and even suggests a concert that they will definitely like!  Book your tickets soon...

www.bedfordsymphony.com - for tickets and programme details and more info about Bedford Sinfonia

www.bedfordchoralsociety.org.uk 

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