A Symphony in Amsterdam

For the past few months, I’ve been going to Amsterdam, filming shows for the new classical music streaming platform, Symphony.Live. I’m really enjoying being a part of this new team and it’s particularly exciting to be working alongside my old friend Dominic Seldis (pictured above, with me), principal double bass of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. We first met when we were both first year students at the Royal Academy of Music - he was studying bass, I was on the composition course - and we clicked immediately, especially when we discovered a mutual love of Maynard Ferguson, the American trumpeter famous for his stratospheric range and funky arrangements. Nowadays, alongside his playing career, Dom is a huge TV star in Holland, mostly thanks to his appearances on the show Maestro - where celebs/members of the public learn to conduct. There was a series of it in the UK - Dominic was on that too - but it really took off as a format in Europe and especially Holland. Wherever Dom goes now, he is recognised.  As someone who knew him when he was a mere beer-drinking teenager, I find this endlessly amusing. 

Dom is the main ‘face’ of Symphony and I’m the main guest, but filling in as host when Dom isn’t available. I was host last month for 4 programmes that are, essentially, chat shows (always a popular format in mainland Europe) but with a difference: here, we talk a lot about Bruckner, Brahms, Andriessen, Beethoven, Honeggar, Sibelius - and that was just this week! But it’s also a chance to chat about the world around classical music; stories, memories, anecdotes from our life spent in music. So far we’ve had some splendid special guests, including young Dutch musicians like violinist Hannah Solveij and composer Karmit Fafael, as well as Stefan Forsberg (CEO of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra - one of the orchestras we feature on Symphony.Live) and the pianist Nino Gvetadze. They’ve all been brilliant, bringing unique insights and perspectives to the subjects with great articulacy and interest. And in a language that isn’t their own, too! It’s been a joy to share the shows with them. 

For me, it’s been great to get in front of the camera again. It’s been a while. I presented a lot of classical music concerts on BBC TV 20 years ago, including the Proms live from the Royal Albert Hall, alongside all my radio work. But as a ‘fill-in’ presenter to the main host, I never really felt I was given the opportunity to develop a style or settle into the role as my appearances were so sporadic. They also came at a particularly tricky moment in my life and although TV presenting is as much about acting as anything else, even when trying to appear natural (as if appearing on TV is remotely ‘natural’) you can’t hide it all when on camera. Now, I feel so much more comfortable, I can relax into the role, and we have 4 shows a month for nearly a year so plenty of chances to get it right!

It helps to have a lovely team around you, of course. And the whole crew is marvellous. It’s a happy workplace and you can’t ask for much more than that!

You can see the shows by subscribing to Symphony.Live - the first month is free!