The 2011 MMA Conference is drawing near, as is the release of the Conference issue of Ensemble magazine. Here are a few tasters of what is to come…

Karl Jenkins

“I tend to use percussion in a rhythmic sense rather than for colour, in the way classical music does. I try to make all of these influences sound as though they come from one place, and not one thing bolted on to another. Boundaries mean nothing to me. It is all the same musical language.”

Mark Stringer (Trinity Guildhall)

“I can’t believe that the UK will ever become a land without music. Too many people are so passionate about it, and there are so many young people coming through who want to express themselves through their art.

There has never been a better time than now to find a vehicle to express yourself. You can share what you have to offer globally and that is really exciting. With that inspiration I can’t believe that music will not thrive in the future.”

John Holmes (ABRSM)

“Ultimately a truly remarkable performance is about human communication – electricity and chemistry and those things that happen between people. That’s why, in my opinion, you can’t record an exam as a document. The immediacy and spontaneity of the moment are very important. For me, a performance that works, feels like pure connection.”

The new Winter issue of Ensemble should have arrived on your snowy doorsteps within the last few days, subject to your local postman! We hope you enjoy the new issue featuring Arvo Part, Duke Special, Steinway Schools and much more to provide you with fireside reading and inspiration for the new term.

Best wishes this Christmas from the MMA.

The new issue of Ensemble should be with members very soon, featuring Joanna MacGregor, Alexander L’Estrange, the newly opened department at Clifton College and many more features.

As recently featured in the last issue of Ensemble, here are a few tracks from the latest release by Helsinki’s Five Corners Quintet. Scroll down for the music.

“In musical terms the goal of the FCQ is to set an example of how dance floor-friendly contemporary production can fruitfully meet the musical craftmanship of the past, creating music that sounds as hip as the classic jazz records but is at the same time structurally polished and easily accessible.”

Skinny Dipping

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Midnight in Trieste

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Waltz Up

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www.thefivecornersquintet.com

(Here is an extract from an exclusive MMA interview with Edward Gregson, taken from the latest edition of Ensemble magazine. Feel free to make comments on some of the issues raised.)

Classical composition may have been Edward’s first passion, but his ‘being in the right place at the right time’ when the government was proactive regarding creative education ignited something inside that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

“When I left the Academy, I got married and began a family quite soon. The 1967 Plowden report concluded that there should be more creative teaching in primary schools. Children from 7 – 11 should be involved in more music, painting, dancing and acting. The Government of the time started to put music specialists into primary education and I was one. This supplemented my composing income but also led me eventually into college and university lecturing, and subsequently Goldsmiths where I became a professor. ”
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