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IN THIS UPDATE:
IMPACT - FEEDBACK AND FIGURES
In August, three of our grantee ensembles presented concerts across the country. These took place in St Helens and Ventnor, on the Isle of White, at St Cecilia's Hall as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and in Northamptonshire at Fotheringhay.
The feedback we receive from audiences around the UK, especially those who don't often have the opportunity to see live music of the highest quality in local venues, has been incredible. Following this trend, we were delighted to hear from an attendee of Phantasia's Albion's Delight concert:
"The performance at St Helens church was one of the best events I have been to in a very long time. A real privilege to hear such a high standard of musicianship, all in my locality!"
We were also thrilled to hear from Clare Norburn, artistic director of The Telling, about how being a Continuo Foundation Grantee has benefitted the group's work:
"The Telling has just heard that we have been selected as a Making Music Recommended Artist. Their email letting us know made it clear that this was very much down to having been a Continuo Foundation grantee... I am sure it will help enormously in trying to broker relationships with music society promoters, some of whom are a bit nervous to book early music groups."
Continuo Foundation's impact since inception:
£750,000 awarded to 94 ensembles
1,088 freelance musician beneficiaries
198,000 audience beneficiaries
21 CD recordings released so far
2024 GRANTS - ROUND 8
In August, our Advisory Panel members and Trustees were busy evaluating the Grant Round 8 applications. We received project proposals from fifty ensembles for a fascinating range of concerts, tours and recordings of the highest standard.
Reflecting the challenging arts funding environment, total grant requests amounted to £240,000, more than double the £100,000 available. Demand from emerging ensembles continues to grow, with a record number of proposals (eighteen) received from groups formed since 2020.
Grant awards decisions will be announced by 26 September, when we will turn our attention to fundraising for 2025 grants, as this needs to begin well ahead of the first launch in January 2025.
If you would like to continue supporting our work, or to join our donor community, please get in touch with our CEO, Tina Vadaneaux. Advance commitments are extremely helpful!
CONTINUO CONNECT
The positive ripple effects of our investment in Continuo Connect are growing. As we raise the visibility of the artists and festivals using the platform to publicise their concerts, audiences and concert promoters are taking note! Just one example among many is conveyed in this lovely note from violinist Edmund Taylor, founder of Bellot Ensemble:
"Both myself and Matthew have secured concerts at Southside in Lincoln for Bellot Ensemble and The Queenes Chappell through being found on Continuo Connect. The concerts are well paid, and they are meaning to really expand early music at that venue!"
We have also been delighted by the efforts of early music enthusiasts and musicians who have been spreading the word about this free resource and encouraging people to sign up for our newsletter. There is nothing as effective as a personal recommendation!
Support the artists on Continuo Connect by encouraging friends to visit the site!
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
with George Ross
George Ross is a British cellist and founder member of the Consone Quartet, the first period-instrument string quartet to be selected as BBC New Generation Artists. The Quartet enjoys performing in major venues across the UK as well as further afield in Europe and in North and South America, as well as collaborating with musicians including Mary Bevan, Steven Devine and Anneke Scott. The Quartet are currently recording a complete cycle of Mendelssohn quartets for Linn Records, including his sister Fanny’s only quartet. Recently, at the English Haydn Festival, George performed as the soloist in Schumann’s and CPE Bach’s Cello Concertos. With his father, harpsichordist Alastair Ross, he has just released a new album, ‘Father & Son’ featuring the Six Sonatas, op.5 by Francesco Geminiani for the Deux-Elles label.
How has Continuo impacted your day-to-day life? The first round of Continuo grants came at a time when we all needed it most, the spring of 2021, when live concerts were stopped completely. It enabled my string quartet, Consone, to fund the filming of three expanded chamber projects, a series we called ‘Barnstorming!’ The Foundation has since supported further projects of ours, including the performances of string sextets last year with a newly commissioned work written for us by Gavin Bryars. With the quartet being a big part of my performing life, Continuo Foundation’s support has been invaluable. What do you love about being a musician? The best part for me is performing to receptive, live audiences with inspiring colleagues you can bounce ideas off on stage, topped off by a lively acoustic. I like old, wooden floors a lot.
Where did you encounter the most receptive audience? You can find receptive audiences in the most unexpected places. It's often individuals who seem less experienced with classical music who end up sharing the most intriguing observations about a concert. It’s great to share these moments with connoisseurs as well as with total newbies.
No.1 listening recommendation? The first ever recording of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto by Haydn Draper from 1929. You can find it on YouTube! There’s no end to his wonky interpretation of written-down rhythms while still clearly knowing where the structures lie. These old recordings inspire and teach me a lot.
More about George Ross is available on his Continuo Connect Interview.
AUGUST PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
The Vauxhall Band - The Eighteenth-Century London Flautist
In August, The Vauxhall Band gave the last of three concerts presenting music inspired by the stories of 18th-century flautists and flute makers. In London, concerts took place at the Crossrail Place Roof Garden in Canary Wharf, and at Vauxhall's historic Mc & Sons, in the room above the pub where 18th-century musicians playing at the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens used to eat. The group also took their programme to St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh, where many of the finely crafted English flutes from the 18th-century are now housed. The programme included works by Vauxhall Gardens composers Thomas Arne, G.F. Handel and William Boyce, as well as lesser known composers such as Lewis Granom, Carl Weiss and James Oswald, who were either flautists themselves, or composed for patrons who played the flute, including King George III and Willoughby Bertie, the 4th Earl of Abingdon.
Phantasia - Albion's Delight
Joined by soprano Angela Hicks, Phantasia wrapped up their five-location Albion's Delight tour with two concerts on the Isle of Wight, in St Helens and Ventnor. Previous concerts took the group to Shaftesbury and Dorchester in Dorset, and Broad Chalke in Wiltshire. Their unique and innovative programme combined late 18th-century arrangements of folk tunes by Haydn and songs from the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, with early 21st-century compositions inspired by the landscape of England's south coast. With all repertoire performed on the same historical instruments, this fascinating project integrated art and folk music, both early and contemporary.
Fiori Musicali - Elemental Music
In August, Fiori Musicali presented the third concert in their 2024 Summer Series, Elemental Music, based upon the ancient elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Inspired by the 250th anniversary of Priestley’s discovery of oxygen, their most recent performance was entitled The Inspiration of Air. From violent winds, to the human voice and even the wooden pipes of a chamber organ, this programme explored the ''potency and potential" of air through works by Bach, Handel and a rarely heard gem by Isabella Leonarda. Telemann’s humorous suite, depicting the buffoonery of Don Quixote tilting at windmills, also featured. The final concert in the series,
13 September in Fawsley, celebrates 'earth' and features music by Telemann, JS Bach and Jacquet de la Guerre.
Musica d'Outrora - Still Life
Música d'Outrora completed the recording of their debut album, Still Life. For this project, the ensemble were joined by lutenist Asako Ueda, Baroque guitarist Louis Moisan, lirone player Claas Harders, and violine player Dávid Budai. The album explores 17th-century compositions tied to the theme of Stylus Fantasticus. The inclusion of never-recorded pieces and anonymous Viola Bastarda works, coupled with keyboard compositions by Gregorio Strozzi, further enriches this mosaic of the 17th-century baroque.
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