The Music Director
Stephen Begley took up the music director’s post of the WCGS in 2005 and from the outset he was keen to implement three areas of development:
First and foremost he came to the society as an experienced player. Stephen brought a range of experiences and skills with him when he entered the role both as a solo performer and as a player in symphony and chamber orchestras. In 2006 he restored the full orchestral score of Mauro Giuliani’s guitar concerto in A major, opus 30 and in 2007, performed it with the Stourbridge Choral and Orchestral Society. While there, he met the oboist Helen Wynne-Jones and the flautist Andrea Perret with whom he formed the Kreutzer Trio. Together, the WCGS and the trio mark two of Stephen’s great passions.
Conducting
Conducting technique requires a firm grasp of interpretive skills and Stephen calls upon a broad knowledge of musical styles and conventions from the ancient to the ultra-modern. As fond of the old masters as he is of the “new kids on the block”, he explains:
‘Ultimately, at its most fundamental level, music is an ordered system of sounds and it is the musician’s job to understand that order and interpret it as faithfully as possible... This remains true for the performer for every composer's work from Bach, to Berio. Interpretation, is everything.’
The conductor’s number one task he reasons is one of communication: of directing all the musicians' efforts towards a coherent and authentic musical structure that has both form, and feeling.
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Artistic Direction
Part of Stephen’s long term goals was to provide the conditions whereby a collective of musicians, could start to handle much more sophisticated music with confidence and the key to this, was the decision to place expert players at every level in the orchestral ranks. There is no distinction between good or bad players: everyone has something to contribute and, when you have expert assistance at your side, progress is swift.
Under Stephen's direction, the society extended its annual concerts from one to two, allowing for a greater range of programming with improved concert opportunities for the talent within its ranks. Longer slots and reduced competition for space for the individuals who took up this opportunity, have seen an increase in the personal development of the participants and a richer programme experience for audiences. The greater frequency of concerts has also afforded an improved flow of repertoire for the WCGO by providing the orchestra with a tiered structure of study with rehearsals occupied by new pieces alongside old favourites.
Outward facing, another benefit of the increased frequency of concerts has been to attract a broader audience base and increase public awareness of the work we do and the repertoire, most of which is unknown to the average concert-goer. The idea is simple: to inform through entertainment. In this way the WCGS are playing a small but vital role in keeping the art alive and creating the conditions for its future prosperity.
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Community Development
The society has always been fortunate to have seen the value of mounting professional concerts alongside its own amateur performances, but with the development of the New Artist’s Scheme the society has created an amalgamation of its community aims with its personal ideals. The scheme itself was formed when Hayley and Stephen put their heads together and asked a simple question: ‘Why is it so difficult for a new player on the scene to get an engagement?’ The answer involved drawing up an entirely new framework for promotions. You can read more about the New Artist’s Scheme in its own page.
After-session workshops were started as a study aid for anyone who was interested, but they remain a place where members can simply share their latest work without the pressure of a live public performance. Professional master classes have proved elusive because of the costs involved but negotiations are now underway for an orchestral workshop day led by Roland Chadwick and Vincent Lindsey-Clark.
The event is intended to include WCGO, WYGO and the Midland Fretted Orchestra (another group with whom we have close ties) and "weather permitting", we are hoping we can entice our Belgian counterparts ‘Color’ led by Norbert Leclercq to join in as well. The theme is of composers leading workshops of their own compositions, and we are hoping we can include a short free public concert in conclusion of the day’s activities. Watch this space!
As well as fostering links with other guitar groups and artists, Stephen has been busy building relations with other classical music societies and arts organisations in the region building on his recent experience as an executive member of the now defunct, Worcestershire Arts Forum and as classical music producer for the Droitwich Spa Festival (2007 and 2008).
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