Chamber music ‘‘supergroup’’ the London Conchord Ensemble kicks off its New Zealand tour in Dunedin. Its founder tells Rebecca Fox how it all began.
The beginnings of the London Conchord Ensemble were complete ''serendipity'', its founder, Julian Milford, says.
It all began when oboist Emily Pailthorpe came to England from the United States and wanted someone to record a demo record with.
An acquaintance gave her Milford's name. They met up and have been friends ever since.
Her husband, Dan Pailthorpe, plays the flute so they decided to do a concert together at Victoria House in London. By chance, a man who was building a concert hall asked them to perform at his new venue.
''He asked if we'd thought of forming a group and it's gradually grown from there.''
The ensemble, described as the ''London supergroup'' by Gramophone, adds new members as the musicians come across players they would like to work with.
The idea was to ultimately have a group that was able to play a complete range of chamber music for piano, wind and string.
''We want the greatest possible chance to play unusual, interesting repertoire.''
The group has 10 musicians, although only eight are coming to New Zealand and will perform in Dunedin as part of Arts Festival Dunedin and a national tour for Chamber Music New Zealand (CMNZ).
Among the group is 2015 CMNZ audience favourite violinist Daniel Rowland, from the Brodsky Quartet, along with the Pailthorpes, cellist Bartholomew LaFollette, Maximiliano Martin on clarinet, Andrea de Flammineis on bassoon and horn player Nicholas Korth.
''It's unusual for us to have the chance to travel with this many of us. Usually there are only four or five of us. It's great.''
The trip to New Zealand will be the first for the group, although Rowland visited last year.
Getting a group that size organised for the trip had been a logistical nightmare, as many of them were principal members of orchestras, such as the clarinettist, who worked for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the flautist and horn players, who played for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the bassoonist, who played for the Royal Opera House.
''All the guys are having to rearrange their dairies, but it's great, as we so rarely get a chance to spend a couple of weeks together.''
For Milford, the trip is extra special as it will give him a chance to visit his sister for the first time since she moved to Tauranga six years ago.
''A few of us are coming out early to travel before we start and I'm going to stay on after to visit my sister.''
The ensemble will play three programmes while in New Zealand - one for all eight musicians, which will be played in Dunedin, and another two involving four musicians each.
The ensemble will play a ''blockbuster'' programme including Mozart's Quintet in E flat for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon, which the composer considered to be ''the best thing I have written in my life''.
''We've got four great pieces. We're packing so much in.''
The work was a crazy chamber symphony that went at a ''hundred miles an hour''.
''It's very, very exciting to play. We've just recorded it.
''It's a real challenge to play and, hopefully, very exciting for the audience.
''It's like being at the top of a ski jump: you just have to go.''
The second half will feature Poulenc's lively Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet and Sally Beamish's arrangement of Debussy's La Mer, which is said to have inspired the theme music for the film Jaws and Nine Inch Nails' song of the same name.
''It's a big orchestral master work from a Scottish composer. It's very much a new programme for us which we've not done before.''
Milford, an Oxford University graduate who studied piano and piano accompaniment at the Curtis Institute and the Guildhall, is a freelance musician who accompanies many different performers, including baritones Sir Thomas Allen and Christopher Maltman, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and cellist Han-Na Chang in venues including the Frick Collection in New York, the Philharmonie in Cologne and the Herkulessaal in Munich, as well as the City of London and Cheltenham festivals.
He had always preferred playing music with others, rather than as a solo performer.
''I never enjoyed a concert when I've been on the platform alone. It's exciting to play with other people.''
The group was busy preparing for the tour, although as it has played most of the pieces before in concert, it was more individual work that was needed.
''The Debussy La Mer arrangement is new to me so I started learning that about six months ago.''
He practised every day, often putting work aside to come back to it, possibly discovering new ways to play it in the process, until the work felt comfortable.
As a pianist he did not get to bring his favourite instrument with him, so there was an added level of the unknown when touring.
''You take what you get given. Sometimes you get something lovely to play.''
The short lead-in time when on tour meant he often had only hours to get used to a new piano and tailor his playing to the instrument.
When not touring or performing, the group also records and is about to release a double disk of chamber music.
''We're keeping our fingers crossed that it'll be ready for the tour.''
The nature of the tour meant it was going to be ''quite intense'' with the group giving a concert most days and, in some cases, two.
CMNZ chief executive Peter Walls said the family concert was new for Chamber Music New Zealand and was being trialled in Dunedin and Auckland on this tour.
''These daytime performances offer families a chance to learn about, and experience, live classical music together.''
The family concert programme, Musical Voyage of Discovery, will introduce the colours and combinations of the eight different musical instruments and include music by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Poulenc and Stravinsky.
As part of encouraging families to come along to concerts, CMNZ is trialling another new endeavour, its ''Babysitting Club''. The initiative offers a cheaper ticket price to parents who need to pay for a babysitter to be able to attend the concert.
''We know that for parents with young children it can be a challenge to come along to our concerts with the added expense of babysitters. We wanted to find a way to make it easier.''
It is accessible through Facebook and offers two tickets for the price of one to all CMNZ Kaleidoscopes Series concerts.
To see
London Conchord Ensemble, Glenroy Auditorium on Saturday, with a family concert at 11am and an evening concert at 7.30pm.
