Hesse Student News

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News and memories from our Hesse Student Scheme alumni

Since the Hesse Student Scheme was started by Princess Margaret of Hesse in 1959, it has allowed hundreds of students from all walks of life between the ages of 18 and 25 the wonderful opportunity to be interns at the Aldeburgh Festival. We would love to hear about your Hesse student experiences and anecdotes as we are approaching the 50th Anniversary of the Scheme. Our list so far includes composers, theatre directors, company directors, professors, civil servants, Grammy award winners, publishers, record producers, conductors, lawyers, critics, journalists and even a yoga teacher. Please submit any material to Megan Peel, Alumni Co-ordinator, at alumni@aldeburgh.co.uk.

John Adamson (Hesse, 1982) is a Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge University and an award-winning writer and broadcaster. He has just published a highly acclaimed book called The Noble Revolt: The Overthrow of Charles I that has won many prizes.

Frederick Wake-Walker (Hesse, 2003) is directing Humperdink's 'Hansel and Gretel' for Opera North in 2008.

Derek Warby (Hesse, 1977) emailed us with his news:

'I attended the first Aldeburgh Festival after Britten's death and it was, for me, quite an emotional stay. I camped in the nearby campsite (where others of my class rented a caravan. I was privileged enough to have the opportunity to say hello to André Previn, Peter Pears, Joyce Grenfell and Jörg Faerber among others. And I helped set up the Jubilee Hall for a recital including Peter Pears and Osian Ellis.

'On completing my studies at the University of East Anglia (of whose music department Britten had been honorary President) in 1979, I embarked on a career in arts management which took me to the Bournemouth Orchestras (when there were still two!), the National Centre for Orchestral Studies (where the ethos was not so far removed from the Britten–Pears Orchestra), Docklands Sinfonietta (later Sinfonia 21), Lontano, The Hanover Band, Primavera Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St John's and, most recently, General Manager of the European Union Youth Orchestra. I am currently undertaking my own arts administration consultancy from my office in Brighton.'

Richard Fairman (Hesse, 1975), now a music critic at the Financial Times.

Paul Daniel (Hesse, 1977) recollects that when he first came to Aldeburgh while an undergraduate at Cambridge, he went off on his own one day to turn pages for a concert at Blythburgh church. He wrote: 'It was a crystal clear perfect day and I snuck up to the tower room, via the spiral staircase with views all around the countryside as they were playing the Ravel String Quartet. The music wafted around the church and there was a moment when it seemed that all the coordinates fit. Everything was possible, dreams, aspirations, everything locked together in one moment.'

David Hope (Hesse, 1972 and 1973) writes from New Delhi, India, where he is Director of Music at the Pathways World School: 'My most interesting experience was the 1972 production of Schumann's "scenes from Goethe's Faust". I was asked by Philip Ledger to learn Michael Rippon's solo part, as he was feeling ill. It was agreed that Michael would do Part 1 and - if necessary - I would do Part II. This was a duet with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, followed by a duet with Peter Pears on a live Radio 3 relay with HM The Queen Mother in the audience. In the end, I didn't have to do it but I received a charming note from Benjamin Britten afterwards.'

Peter Khoroche (Hesse, 1965 and 1966) wrote: 'As a Hesse Student, I worked mainly for Rosamund Strode (setting out music for the performers). Neither then nor subsequently was I a music student, but I have been to almost every Festival since 1964 and Britten, Pears and Aldeburgh are not just a memory but a continuing inspiration.'

Lucy Pollard, née Robertson (Hesse, 1964), wrote the following: 'I was a Hesse student in 1964 (I think), but my connections with the Festival go back much further. My grandmother, Margie Spring Rice, lived at Iken Hall (part of 'The Little Sweep' was set in her dining room), and she was on the Festival Committee in the early days. She was also a grand-daughter of Newson Garrett, who built the Maltings. In 1948, when I was four, my parents rented Dial House in Aldeburgh for the festival, and I remember helping them to pin up posters around the town. While I was still at primary school they used to take me out of school for a week during the festival, so I went to the first performances of "Let's make an opera" and Britten's version of "The beggars' opera". In the early days of the Hesse studentships, they were given to people who had no intention of becoming musicians themselves (I was studying classics at university) - this may be different now.'

Stephen Shipley (Hesse, 1976) is now working for BBC Radios 3 and 4 as a Senior Producer in the Religion and Ethics Department, having previously worked (before ordination) in BBC Radio 3 Music Department.

Clive Tulloch (Hesse, 1968 and 1969) got in touch with us twice (!), and below are extracts from his letter:

'The mention in your recent issue of Soundings of an absence of records of Hesse Students before 1988 caused me to dig back to 1968 and 1969 when, for two weeks in each year, I was a Hesse student. In 1968 I came at the suggestion of Grayston Burgess, of the Purcell Consort of Voices, an alto lay clerk at Westminster Abbey, stayed for a fortnight (as one could in those days) and, as a budding accountant, was lucky enough to be allowed back the second year, again for a fortnight.

'The first year I helped sell books, libretti and the like for Mr. Whitmarsh (I think), the then owner of the Aldeburgh bookshop, from a table at the concert hall. The second year I sold programmes, organised the programme sellers, counted the cash and reconciled the cash received…the budding accountant.

'My memories are of stunning music, of a standard I have rarely encountered before. Plenty of Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya, of the English Chamber Orchestra, occasionally Britten and Pears and, to this day, the wonderful Church Operas in Orford and the final concert in 1967 with Britten, Imogen Holst and Steuart Bedford all conducting the ECO, the honey-voiced John Shirley-Quirk and as many other performers as they could find in an arrangement of Grainger's 'Shallow Brown'.

'The fun was not all musical. Improvising after the great fire in 1969, driving a Ford Anglia full of programmes to Blythburgh, Orford and even Ely Cathedral added to the enjoyment. After Ely, a group of Hesses had supper in Cambridge with one of our number, Tim Penton, and his parents in Thorpe Morieux in West Suffolk, finishing off by singing Rachmaninoff round a square piano…

'… The people were complementary - the Netheringhams organising madrigals for Hesse students in their house in the High St, Joyce Grenfell being herself at the annual Red House party for Hesse students, just as funny offstage as on…'

Below are extracts from our 2006 Super-Hesse, Omar Shahryar's 'Diary of a Super-Hesse Student':

Saturday 10 of June: Our first day of action started nicely to plan - we met for a briefing at 9am by the Peter Pears Gallery but conducted the meeting on the beach. I began my first task of helping to assemble 'Bladder-Wrack', a large sound sculpture/installation on Aldeburgh Beach. It involved some nice manual labour in the beautiful sunshine; Richard and I even got an opportunity to swim in the sea, though as I didn't have swimming shorts with me…

The Ferneyhough concert in Orford was very special - the choir, Exaudi, were amazing and very talented. The Ferneyhough pieces were incredibly well performed by Irvine Arditti (solo violin), but I believe the Missa Brevis was the highlight. I am so tired, but I'll also note that the Hallé orchestra was incredible! Sleep time.

P.S. All organizational things turned out all right - thanks mainly to other people's ingenuity… All's well that ends well, however and I think I am all right for learning from my mistakes. I still smell of sea salt - peeeuw!

Sunday 11 of June: Today was a day of minor mishaps… I misinterpreted Meurig's instructions about moving some chairs from Aldeburgh Church - we stole some from the Jubilee Hall instead, Richard bashing his head in the process. Getting to the Arditti Concert was tight but we all made it; I think my motto from now on is definitely 'All's well that ends well'…

The afternoon concert was inspiring and inspired (Pierre-Laurent Aimard). I will try to play all those same pieces myself. The Arditti Quartet was also a revelation; their premiere of Ferneyhough's Quartet No.5 was incredible - they played so virtuosically. Today was the opening of the Bladder-Wrack, the Open Air beach event: went really well though it received many confused looks! I seriously think all that lifting and carrying has beefed me up in the last day and a bit.

Blythburgh is a beautiful little place; Richard knows the area very intimately and showed us the marshes where apparently a US plane lies submerged under the mud. A nice evening with some of the others eating pizza on the beach and then a swift pint in the Cross Keys Inn.