Tag Archives: shed

Sean Shibe shed show

Posted on by
Sean Shibe

Sean Shibe

Sean came to the shed to play a preview of his Aldeburgh concert and CD recording last year. His programme was interesting as usual, starting with Forlorn Hope by Dowland and ending with Nocturnal by Britten, with Malcolm Arnold and Walton in between.

I had the chance to talk to him about his work as a New Generation artist with BBC radio 3, his attitude to competitions, and his idea of a good programme .
This was a welcome opportunity to catch up with Sean, whom I have known since he was a 13 year old in NYGE.
I was also present at his outstanding performance in London when he won the Royal Overseas League competition, ahead of an oboist, a singer and a pianist.

Here is a link to his Youtube channel where he shares his often individual view on the world and some fine performances, and here is our interview in the shed.


 

ARD finalist Andrey Lebedev

Posted on by

Andrey_Oxford

Andrey Lebedev is an Australian classical guitarist, collaborator, and creator based in London.

His insatiable curiosity and versatility have resulted in the creation of an array of new music and collaborative projects. He has premiered solo guitar works by Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Leo Brouwer, and chamber music by Brett Dean and Peter Sculthorpe, amongst others. During his studies at the Royal Academy of Music he collaborated with guitarist Julian Bream, and with guitarist John Williams, on recital projects exploring contemporary solo guitar music, and Australian chamber music. Performances at the Hong Kong Altamira International Guitar Symposium (China), Cultura Artistica Serie de Violao (Brazil), Dark Mofo Festival (Australia), and Buxton International Festival (UK), are a testament to his versatility as an artist of exceptional calibre.

I had the good fortune to meet Andrey in Oxford and talk just before his shed gig, a few days before the ARD competition.

Here is the interview


and here is his playing of Bozza’s Concertino da Camera in the semi finals of the ARD competition

 

Shed of the Year 2014

Posted on by

The Shed of the year will be announced on the Channel 4 show with George Clarke

From http://www.readersheds.co.uk

Shed of the Year: Finalists revealed

A pub which holds 60 people, a stunning summerhouse and a giant teapot are among the front runners to win Shed of the Year.

More than 20,000 members of the public then voted for their favourites in eight separate categories, with each winner going through to the grand final on August 7.
The categories were eco shed, pub shed, garden office, Cabin/Summerhouse, unique, workshop/studio, Tardis and normal sheds.

Shame I was too late to enter.

 

Interview with Will McNicol

Posted on by
Will in the shed
Will McNicol is a seriously gifted guitarist who playas and writes his own material. His concerts often include music by other musicians such as Thomas Leeb.
I gave him a couple of lessons when he was preparing for his Fellowship of Trinity College in London, where he was playing Bach’s Chaconne and Sor’s Sonata Op.25.
I was amazed with the facility with which he turned to playing steel string guitar, and the acoustic guitar is now his main instrument.
Will’s playing has won him numerous awards, most recently being Guitarist Magazine’s coveted UK Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2011, held at London’s Southbank Centre.
Recently, I was lucky enough that he came and played in the shed – we had an evening of beautiful music and a great party afterwards! It was particularly gratifying that his first teacher, Maurice Albin was present,beaming in the front row.
Here is an interview with Will after that occasion, followed by a couple of candid videos.

Alternative performing venues part 2

Posted on by

The alternative performing space I like best is Goldberg’s room next door to his boss Count Kaiserling. The Count was an insomniac and used to get Goldberg to play the clavichord to while away the night – no iPod or TV!
I often wonder how Goldberg must have spent his day and when he had time to practise! Of course, this would all have been a footnote in history if Forkel, Bach’s biographer had not written that Count Kaiserling had commissioned old Bach to write his eponymous set of variations for Goldberg. The Count was reported to have said, frequently  ‘Dear Goldberg, do play me one of my variations.’

A few years back, where would you have been able to listen to the following guitarists in a more or less regular series for free? Xue Fei Yang, Johannes Moller, David Leisner, Alison Smith, the Eden Stell Duo, Gerald Garcia and Alison Bendy?

Continue reading →