47. Hannah French: living & working with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
09/07/22 • 66 min
This episode we are sharing the space with BBC Radio 3 presenter and flautist, Hannah French. Recorded in a North London office space, we listened as Hannah explained to us her journey to a diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a collagen deficiency which affects the soft tissue and has impacted her ability to walk, play the flute and live life as she once knew it. She took us through the reality of living with EDS, and the process of moving away from flute performance and into her current job as a presenter at BBC Radio 3. We talked about the power that radio now has in her life, creating a space to tell stories and shape a listeners' experience and the process of creating the amazing documentary for Radio 3, The Silence of My Pain in 2020.
Thank you to Hannah for her honesty about her pain experience and for your wonderful presence and infectious humour!
Hannah's documentary, The Silence of My Pain, will be played again this Friday, 9th September on BBC Radio 3 at 10pm
Wanna jump around? Timestamps:
0:00: Intro
2:25: Welcome to Hannah
4:00 What is EDS?
8:00: Discovering Hannah's EDS and playing the flute
14:25: Moving into academia and research
15:35: Accommodating people with disabilities in music
19:00: Acceptance of disability and illness
20:15: Pastoral welfare of students; working at the Royal Academy of Music as a lecturer and tutor
23:30: Loss of identity as a flautist
26:00: Moving into radio and working for the BBC
28:18: The liberation of radio
29:15: Does Hannah feel envious when presenting/watching performances?
31:45: The psychological impact of pain
36:30: Managing difficult emotions, anxiety and coping mechanisms
39:00: Working with and not against pain
41:50: Making the documentary, The Silence of My Pain
45:30: The importance of silence in Hannah's life
46:45: Fascination and flow
53:22: Unapologetic visibility
55:15: Starting conversations about pain and disability
56:35: Removing shame and presenting an honest depiction of pain
1:01:30: Wins of the week!
Things Musicians Don't Talk About website: https://www.thingsmusiciansdonttalkabout.com
If you would like to support our work, why not buy us a Kofi?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This episode we are sharing the space with BBC Radio 3 presenter and flautist, Hannah French. Recorded in a North London office space, we listened as Hannah explained to us her journey to a diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a collagen deficiency which affects the soft tissue and has impacted her ability to walk, play the flute and live life as she once knew it. She took us through the reality of living with EDS, and the process of moving away from flute performance and into her current job as a presenter at BBC Radio 3. We talked about the power that radio now has in her life, creating a space to tell stories and shape a listeners' experience and the process of creating the amazing documentary for Radio 3, The Silence of My Pain in 2020.
Thank you to Hannah for her honesty about her pain experience and for your wonderful presence and infectious humour!
Hannah's documentary, The Silence of My Pain, will be played again this Friday, 9th September on BBC Radio 3 at 10pm
Wanna jump around? Timestamps:
0:00: Intro
2:25: Welcome to Hannah
4:00 What is EDS?
8:00: Discovering Hannah's EDS and playing the flute
14:25: Moving into academia and research
15:35: Accommodating people with disabilities in music
19:00: Acceptance of disability and illness
20:15: Pastoral welfare of students; working at the Royal Academy of Music as a lecturer and tutor
23:30: Loss of identity as a flautist
26:00: Moving into radio and working for the BBC
28:18: The liberation of radio
29:15: Does Hannah feel envious when presenting/watching performances?
31:45: The psychological impact of pain
36:30: Managing difficult emotions, anxiety and coping mechanisms
39:00: Working with and not against pain
41:50: Making the documentary, The Silence of My Pain
45:30: The importance of silence in Hannah's life
46:45: Fascination and flow
53:22: Unapologetic visibility
55:15: Starting conversations about pain and disability
56:35: Removing shame and presenting an honest depiction of pain
1:01:30: Wins of the week!
Things Musicians Don't Talk About website: https://www.thingsmusiciansdonttalkabout.com
If you would like to support our work, why not buy us a Kofi?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
46. Guy Withers: behind the scenes of Waterperry Opera Festival
This week on TMDTA, Becca and Hattie chat with Guy Withers, Artistic Director, founder and CEO of Waterperry Opera Festival, about this year's upcoming festival which will celebrate it's fifth anniversary with an innovative eight-day open-air collection of eight productions in Waterperry, Oxfordshire. As usual, Becca and Hattie want to know more about what's going on behind the shiny facade of such a successful festival and they chat with Guy about not only the festival's journey to fruition but also his personal experiences and how they have informed his current role. Guy shares with us the some of the trials and errors he's experienced whilst working at the festival and talks about them with such humility and such obvious passion for his work. Thank you Guy for your honesty and openness with us!
“To celebrate our fifth anniversary as a festival, we have created an ambitious season of eight productions. With
returning favourites, and exciting new ventures, our broad programme has something for everyone, with each
offering as unique and thrilling as the next. We are taking artistic risks to create the exciting operatic experiences
that will captivate the next generation of audiences as well as our loyal followers.
Our focus this year as a company is creating new audiences for opera with inventive and accessible work, inspiring
local young people with free tickets for those under 16, and developing emerging talent with our Young Artist
Programme. We want to make sure there are no barriers to any young person enjoying or engaging with classical
music and opera.” - Guy Withers, Artistic Director & CEO
Waterperry Opera Festival: https://www.waterperryoperafestival.co.uk
Things Musicians Don't Talk About website: https://www.thingsmusiciansdonttalkabout.com
If you would like to support our work, why not buy us a Kofi?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
48. Betty Makharinsky: on life as a singer and organising the Vache Baroque Festival
‘It’s easy to slip into a mode of being
where you think your life is happening to you and
you’re stuck...you think you have to carry on xyz
trajectory because that’s how it’s been for so long...’
This week’s guest is the soprano Betty Makharinsky who spoke to me (Hattie) during a day of rehearsals for the charity and organisation she co-founded, Vache Baroque Festival ✨
Betty and I spoke about her difficulties with the music college system after leaving Oxford and how going too soon affected her development and confidence as a singer. She also speaks with so much wisdom about her love of teaching and the importance of the workshops run in schools by the Vache Baroque Festival.
It was amazing to hear about Betty’s excitement for her future as a singer and having the confidence to commit to exploring everything she can with her voice and opportunities it may bring.
Her love for singing is so infectious and wise and I think Betty put her mindset best when she said ‘- More and more I think it’s important to do everything in your life full-heartedly’
Thank you Betty for bringing such honesty and
inspiration 🙏
Follow Vache Baroque on Instagram @vachebaroquefest
Things Musicians Don't Talk About website: https://www.thingsmusiciansdonttalkabout.com
If you would like to support our work, why not buy us a Kofi?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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