Blogs

Dispensing with one-on-one lessons in a music course is not unlike getting rid of the practical component in the training of a surgeon.

Leading up to the London Festival and Cultural Olympiad, an exciting new world orchestra takes shape at Britten’s iconic Aldeburgh Festival… And I’m thrilled to be able to share an insider’s perspective.

How did I find myself in a water taxi chasing after a barge bedecked and bedazzled with bling?

All right, I confess. Michael Lewis isn’t the only member of the Opera Australia Figaro cast I was allowed to interrogate. Bass-baritone Joshua Bloom, back in town to sing the title role, was also kind enough to answer a few questions.

The Australian baritone on playing the Count in Opera Australia’s thoroughly modern Marriage of Figaro.

From Brisbane to my native New Zealand on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Christchurch was a moving experience for The King’s Singers on our Antipodean tour.

Today’s troubadours are tech-savvy, and this one gets the message across with a piano and an iPhone.

It’s been an eventful week on tour with an amorous Valentine’s Day program, a thrilling night at the Sydney Opera House and the King’s Singers premiere of a new work written for us by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin.

The King’s Singers have been enjoying the world’s best coffee, a spot of sun and the sounds of local choirs on our Australian tour.

I’ve been busy deciphering the mysteries of Bach’s Sixth Cello Suite, deep in the snow-capped Canadian mountains.