Hot on the heels of part 1, our second episode with Jessie Grimes largely addresses social media and its relationship with mental well-being.

Find out what Verity says that leads to Jessie unleashing a passionate use of the f-bomb at the start of the pod......then discover how karma takes its course at the very end!

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It’s a Three In A Bar double whammy this week with clarinettist, presenter, workshop leader and teacher Jessie Grimes. Seb and Verity visit Jessie in her South London flat - also home to her hugely popular Homemade Garden Jam series.

In the first episode, Jessie chats about her lockdown project which involved chamber music, audience participation and tomato juggling. They also discuss her early years in Ireland, folk music (including some fantastic live whistle playing and less impressive attempts to decipher folk notation by the others) and grunge fashion choices.

Jessie talks about the joys of performing with her multi award winning ensemble - the Jacquin Trio, learning to value yourself personally and professionally and tactics for beating the winter lockdown blues.

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Show Notes

Jessie’s Website

Jessie’s Homemade Garden Jam

Jacquin Trio Website

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Joining us in the bar - or rather Seb’s living room this week - is trombone Adonis, Christopher Augustine.

Chris is currently based in Cardiff where he is sub principal trombonist with WNO. Seb and Verity catch up with him as a small window appears in his busy schedule whilst he is briefly in London for a Chineke! project.

They chat about early inspirations, Chris’ unlikely transition from soprano recorder to trombone and his dream of an idyllic retirement in Cornwall.

Chris talks Seb and Verity through his daily routine, which includes an intense fitness regime and serious levels of discipline (4 boiled eggs for a breakfast side dish anyone?!). They also discuss his personal experiences as a black classical musician and whether it has affected his career/musical education.

This episode is brought to you under the influence of high levels of sugar as all involved had consumed Seb’s notorious Curly Whirly cake.....words per minute are through the roof.

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Show notes

Chineke! at the Royal Festival Hall, Radio 3 Broadcast

Welsh National Opera

Chineke!

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This week’s guest is half viola player/half anaesthetist, Dr Arun Menon - the most niche superhero the world has ever seen......

Having suffered kidney failure in 2005, Arun made the difficult decision to put his hugely successful freelance career on hold and go back into education to begin the epic journey into medicine - his training began in 2006 and he is still three and a half years away from being a fully qualified anaesthetist. During this time, Arun was frequently studying/on the wards by day and performing at the Royal Opera House and with Birmingham Royal Ballet by night.

Seb and Verity chat with Arun about his duel career - the opportunity to draw similarities between viola playing and putting people to sleep is too hard to resist, particularly for Verity who is in full ‘end of the pier entertainer’ mode.

Arun talks about the intricacies of brain surgery, what it’s like trialling for principal viola jobs and stereotypes for different medical specialists...he’s irritatingly diplomatic!

Seb refers to his specialist medical knowledge (Breaking Bad) to quiz Arun on Nitrous Oxide.....unfortunately it seems Arun didn’t use that syllabus in his training.

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Show Notes

Instagram: vlamenon

Twitter: @amenondr

Dar’s Grill

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This week we go off piste (that’s right, p-i-s-t-e) with a visit from wine aficionado and co-owner of Yardarm Leyton, Eliza Parkes.

Eliza selects four fantastic wines to compliment Seb and Verity’s four music choices and they spend a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon tasting the wine and discussing the music. Sometimes work is so trying eh?

Be reassured in the knowledge that the spittoon is used liberally so the conversation remains coherent. In between each track, Seb and Verity chat to Eliza about her path into wine specialism, the relationship between the senses and memory and most importantly, her appearances on Sunday Brunch.

Stay tuned to the very end to hear Eliza’s choice and the extraordinary wine she brings as a gift from her own personal collection.....chin, chin!

Why not make this a full interactive experience? There is a link to the Spotify playlist for this episode below along with a list of the wines tasted. (All available at Yardarm Leyton)

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Show Notes

This episode’s playlist

List of featured wines:

Donati Camillo, Malvasia 2018

Ciù Ciù, Piceno Bacchus, 2019

Luigi Baudana, Dragon, 2019

Fontodi, Chianti Classico, 2017

Yardarm Leyton

Instagram

Twitter

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In the second of our bonus Let Music Live episodes, Seb and Verity report from the protest at Parliament Square on Tuesday 6 October 2020.

They chat to a number of the 400 players who turned up to perform the opening of Mars by Holst, followed by a two minute silence - the aim being to shine a light on the current plight of freelance musicians who have been largely overlooked throughout the Covid crisis.

As well as a selection of short conversations with the players and high profile supporters, including violinist Nicola Benedetti and conductor David Hill, Seb and Verity capture some of the atmosphere on the day, before and after the event.

Listen out for guest reporter Robert Simmons who does some stirling work catching up with various performers. Also stay tuned to the very end to hear the inspired thinking of trumpeter Bill Cooper......

A big thank you to everyone who chatted to us:

Amy Heggart, Dave Brown, Rebekah Allen, Millie Ashton, Alan Berlyn, Jonathan Hennessy-Brown, Rebecca Jordan, Sophie Gledhill, Hannah Lawrance, David Hornberger, Bill Cooper, Nicola Benedetti, Alice Kent, Ruth Rogers, David Hill, Jack Jones, Errika Horsley, Rachael Lander, Gabriella Swallow, Toby Street, Dickie Evans......

And of course the incredible Jessie Murphy who put together this huge undertaking. Massive congratulations and thank you so much for making this happen.

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Show Notes

Instagram: @letmusicliveuk

Twitter: @letmusicliveuk

This event was supported by We Make Events and The Musicians’ Union

Follow #letmusiclive on Twitter and Instagram.

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This week’s guest is the marvellous, exhilarating and captivating cellist, Gabriella Swallow. Seb and Verity took a trip to her fabulous North London apartment on a rainy September day for a chat ranging from bowling with Hugh Jackman in Lederhosen to taking John Adams for lunch in Manchester.

Gabi initially made a name for herself specialising in contemporary music - At the age of 22 she made her Southbank debut with London Sinfonietta playing Mark-Anthony Turnage’s About Water. However, she took an extended break in her mid to late 20’s to have her family and support her husband’s flourishing career.

Gabi discusses rebuilding her career and expanding her horizons post hiatus....she has many great stories including meeting the Chuckle Brothers and Jackson 5 at a festival, wild times with Nigel Kennedy’s band and leading a double life at music college.

For any ‘90’s students out there Gabi references listings paper Loot. Enjoy!

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Show Notes

Gabi’s Website

Instagram: @gabriellaswallow

Twitter: @gabiswallow

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This is the first of two special episodes charting the Let Music Live events in London and Birmingham on 6 October 2020, highlighting the current threat to thousands of jobs in the freelance music industry.

Seb and Verity have an exclusive chat to event founder, violinist and superwoman, Jessie Murphy. Jessie discusses her inspiration for creating this protest, how it’s grown into such a huge movement and what the plans for tuesday’s events are.

Having actively avoided talking about the Covid crisis in detail, now seemed to be an important time to highlight the plight of musicians and support this cause. With so many jobs at stake and the whole industry on a knife edge we hope the government will take another look at how freelancers in the arts can be helped more.

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Show notes

Instagram: @letmusicliveuk

Twitter: @letmusicliveuk

We Make Events Website

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Drum roll please.....this week’s episode features West End giant, musical director, arranger and orchestrator, Alan Williams.

Lets rewind a moment to Manchester in the early ‘90s....A young, enthusiastic pianist heads to the theatre with his parents, little does he know it’ll be the moment that starts his fabulous journey into musical theatre - that’s right, Copacabana the stage show was where the magic began for mini Alan.

Seb and Verity chat to Alan about some of the many shows he has worked on over the years including Shrek, Aladdin, Funny Girl and The Boy In the Dress. They talk New Year’s Eve pool partying with Darius Danesh, the latest hot shows on Broadway - Alan does his best Mystic Meg In predicting which of these might hit the West End in the future - and meeting the wonderful Will Smith.

Alan has excellent advice for any aspiring Musical Directors out there, as well as giving a real insight into what the life of a musical director/arranger/orchestrator looks like.....in a nutshell, there’s not a whole lot of downtime!

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Show Notes

Instagram: @alanwilliamsmd

Twitter: @AlanWilliamsMD

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It’s episode 23 and we are back in South London chatting to the go to guy for soloists, conductors and errant orchestral players who can’t find the toilets in any given venue....it’s senior artist manager at Askonas Holt, Ed Pascall.

This is the second outing Seb and Verity have made to meet Ed after a failed attempt in a Wetherspoons in December 2019. Delighted that he’d humour them again, conversation includes an insight into the kind of super fans classical musicians attract - think handcrafted insects and insanely polite heckling.

There is a long and involved discussion on Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, as well as the potential for Panini sticker albums for orchestras and conductors - niche or what?!

Ed talks about the current outlook for his clients during covid times and what the 2021-22 season could bring....it’s not all doom and gloom.

Find out in what context Ed would take anthrax for the team - that’s true dedication to your work!

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Show Notes

Twitter: @AskonasHolt

Instagram: @askonasholt

Askonas Holt Website

Southbank Sinfonia Website

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