29. Clare Hammond: the terror of post-natal depression

10/18/21 • 52 min

Welcome back! Today Hattie and Rebecca speak with concert pianist Clare Hammond about her experience with generalised anxiety disorder, post-natal depression and how these experiences have lead Clare to performances in schools and prisons. They speak about managing a mental illness as a musician, how it might feel to inhabit a prolonged period of darkness, how and whether to communicate struggle with audiences and Clare's work within prisons.
Find Clare's article for Classical Music UK about music in prisons here
Find Changing Tunes for music in prisons here
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More about Clare
Acclaimed as a “pianist of extraordinary gifts” (Gramophone) and “immense power” (The Times), Clare Hammond is recognised for the virtuosity and authority of her performances. In 2016, she won the Royal Philharmonic Society's 'Young Artist Award' in recognition of outstanding achievement and in 2020 she was engaged to perform at the International Piano Series (Southbank Centre).

Performances during the pandemic included recitals for the Wigmore Hall and Aldeburgh Music, a live recital broadcast for BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts from St David’s Cardiff, and broadcast recordings of Moussa and Carwithen with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Geoffrey Paterson) and BBC Concert Orchestra (Gavin Sutherland). During 2020-21, Clare was engaged to perform with the Britten Sinfonia (Ryan Wigglesworth), Sinfonia Varsovia (Jacek Kaspszyk), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Christoph Altstaedt) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Dalia Stasevska). In recent seasons, she has performed with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Vasily Petrenko), Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra (Jacek Kaspszyk), and Philharmonia (Jamie Phillips).

Clare gave the world premiere of Uncoiling The River by Kenneth Hesketh with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (Martyn Brabbins) and released the Complete Keyboard Works of Myslivecek with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (Nicholas McGegan) for BIS Records in 2019. Clare’s discs for BIS have been widely praised with her latest, Variations, receiving extensive critical approval. The disc was commended for its “shimmering pianism and lightly-worn virtuosity” (BBC Music Magazine) and “artistry of the highest order” (Musical Opinion), while Crescendo (Belgium) hailed her as “one of the most exploratory pianistic personalities of our time”. Clare’s discography includes world premiere recordings of over twenty works.

Clare completed a BA at Cambridge University, where she obtained a double first in music, and undertook postgraduate study with Ronan O’Hora at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

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Clare completed a BA at Cambridge University, where she obtained a double first in music, and undertook postgraduate study with Ronan O’Hora at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

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28. Ellie Consta: conforming no more

This time on Things Musicians Don't Talk About, we meet Ellie Consta, the founder of Her Ensemble. We talk about the struggles of lockdown, life as a musician, and her growing discomfort with the classical music world as it stands today. These issues together lead her to set up Her Ensemble, the UK's first women and non-binary orchestra, which is taking the classical music scene by storm.

Thank you to Ellie for all of the incredibly important work that she is doing, and for speaking to us so honestly and openly.

London based violinist, arranger and director Ellie Consta leads an exciting and varied musical career performing in a range of musical genres. Ellie’s versatility and diverse range of interests and influences means she appears regularly with world renowned orchestras, ensembles and chamber groups, as well as world class artists and bands. Recent highlights include performing for Louis Tomlinson, Pixie Lott, Tom Walker, Laura Marling, and Jack Savoretti, as well as arranging music for Wilma Archer, Flyte, Litany and Caitlyn Scarlett. Since graduating from the Royal College of Music with a first class Honours MPerf degree, Ellie has been offered contracts with the CBSO and ESO, as well as working regularly with the LPO, Spira Mirabilis, Britten Sinfonia, the 12 Ensemble, United Strings of Europe and leading Guy Barker’s Big Band. She was also a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra for four years and is currently on trial for a sub-principal position with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, Ellie founded Her Ensemble, the UK’s first women and non-binary orchestra who made their debut this month at Battersea Arts Centre. Since forming in November 2020, the group have already recorded a feature film score for BBC Scotland, performed alongside Pixie Lott and LITANY and been featured by The Strad, Scala Radio and Help Musician’s UK.

Things Musicians Don't Talk About website: https://www.thingsmusiciansdonttalkabout.com

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Next Episode

MIAW 2021 - Francesca Leo

Flutist Francesca Leo takes us through her journey of long-term injury, somatic education practices and the process of setting up Playing Without Pain

As both flutist and entrepreneur, Francesca has used her own injury experience to connect injured musicians to resources and advice they may need.

Share your injury stories using the hashtag #MIAW2021 and tag us! The more discussion, the merrier.

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Follow Francesca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playingwithoutpain/

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