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ET26.7 Ever-increasing Circles · The Downing Arts Podcast

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  Welcome to the downing arts podcast.
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  We're nearly there now. With exams gradually finishing and attention turning towards
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  May week and associated frivology,
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  I'm delighted to have here with me in the studio George Jackson. Welcome,
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  George. Hi. Louisa. Hello, everyone. Welcome back. It's good to see you. Oh,
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  it's good to be back. Yeah, it's. Yeah. It's been a busy time, hasn't it?
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  It has been. It has been, yeah. So, graduated last July
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  and then I've started my masters in London.
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  I'm doing an MA in musical direction and coaching at
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  the Royal Academy of Music and I started that in September and I'm doing that
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  until July, so that's what I've been up to. Great. Wow. And it's
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  specifically musical theatre, is that right? Yes. So it's musical direction and coaching
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  for musical theatre. Yeah. So it's like a specific course that
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  is related to, like, the general musical theatre masters that they
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  offer. So we're supporting the company of singers in their
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  progression, but also in our own studying.
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  So that's how it works. Yeah. And what sort of thing does that involve me?
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  I guess it's quite practical. It's a very practical thing. So we not only
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  learn, but we sort of work on projects alongside staff
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  and students. So a general week will look like we
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  have classes in the mornings where we're doing practical things like conducting,
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  learning to do accompaniment, things like that.
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  We have lessons in music technology because we need to use programs like
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  Logic Pro, Sibelius, Dorico to navigate
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  all the musical aspects of the musical theatre world. So those.
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  Those are just sort of some classes we have. And in the afternoons we
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  accompany the musical theatre classes, so we do lots of acting through song
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  stuff, integration, masterclasses, and then we worked towards projects
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  as well. And actually the first project we did in my first term was sort
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  of. It was a musical theatre homage to Trevor Nunn.
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  Oh, wowing alumni, who was a Downing alumni.
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  So that was sort of a full circle moment for me.
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  Wow. But did he turn up? He did turn up and we got him on
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  stage. We got him on stage and we all sang to him at the end.
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  But that was amazing because not only did I learn so
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  much through doing that production, but it was also amazing to see how much of
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  an impact he has had on specifically British
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  musical theatre. Having directed, you know, cast the
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  original Les Mis, Anything Goes. These are all,
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  like, really pivotal productions in the uk, and he was,
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  you know, at the forefront of that. So that was amazing. Brilliant.
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  And I know you've got A big project coming up. I've got my ticket,
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  prize, license. So can I make the joke? Is this the moment
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  you can do it? Can make the joke. So you are playing chess. We are
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  playing chess. That's absolutely right. So I'm music
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  directing the Academy's upcoming production of Chess,
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  which, again, Trevor Nunn was the original director of Full
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  Circle Moment. But, yeah, that's my sort of final project that we're
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  working towards. And it's great to sort of see all of our work and all
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  our studying throughout the year culminate in this massive production.
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  And we've just finished our first week of proper rehearsals, so we've been doing a
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  few musicals over the past couple of weeks. So we've done one week of
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  proper rehearsals, we've got three more weeks of putting it on its feet and
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  then we're into tech and then we're doing the show. So it's been a
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  very nice process so far. The director and choreographer are amazing. We've got an
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  amazing team behind it. I'm going to be stick conducting
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  26 musicians in the pits and 31 singers.
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  So it's quite a substantial production for any of
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  those listening that don't know Chess. It's written by the ABBA boys,
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  Benny and Bjorn. They wrote it in the early 80s,
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  sort of after. After ABBA finished,
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  essentially. So it's an amazing piece that sort of blends 80s
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  synth pop sounds alongside these
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  huge orchestral moments. And it
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  sort of had a reputation for never quite landing.
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  I mean, the music's amazing, but the book is somewhat challenged.
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  So it's always been sort of a challenge to try and get it work to
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  work. So we're giving it a go. We're giving it a go and it's amazing.
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  But it's also a very full circle moment for me because it was the first
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  production I did at Cambridge. I was in my first term
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  as a fresher as an 18 year old. Yeah, I was in the choir
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  for Chester Musical at the ADC Theater. So that's what got
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  me into theater here. And now I'm sort of finishing my education
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  journey on the other side of it, which is amazing.
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  So, obviously this sounds like a huge production and,
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  you know, it's obviously a lot of time and work and ongoing into it.
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  How does that compare to putting a show on in Cambridge,
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  you know, when obviously you're juggling your tripods work and everything else as well?
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  It's a different level of time and work
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  that goes into sort of this kind of production. Because at Cambridge it was,
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  it was a different kind of balancing act because everyone's navigating
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  their quite relentless degrees and things. So you're trying to fit
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  it into everyone's schedules and you potentially spend a little bit longer on it,
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  maybe two months of rehearsal or something like that. But then
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  as we move sort of into the professional world, it's like most productions will
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  have a four week rehearsal period that you'll stick to before you have two weeks
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  of tech. And um. So I guess it's more
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  intense hours and more intense work in a shorter period of time.
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  I guess that's how it differs to sort of university work.
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  And I know we've been keeping in touch a little bit throughout the year.
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  Um, and I remember you, you saying sort of back in, in our Micklewood
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  term that the, the, the workload and the sort of time management skills that
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  you learned at Cambridge has set you up really well for this course. Is that
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  still the case? Absolutely. I mean, I would say my first term at the
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  Academy was the most intense term I've, I've ever had.
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  It was really full on. It was just, you know, I was,
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  I was learning upwards of 40 pieces a week, doing all my accompanying
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  and then doing loads of, I mean, we orchestrated, the three of us orchestrated the
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  whole Christmas show and that was almost a three hour show.
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  So that was, it was a lot of sleepless nights essentially.
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  And I really don't, I don't think I could have navigated that
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  having not sort of learned how to manage myself at
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  Cambridge. There's not only managing myself at Cambridge, it's sort of balancing the
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  degree aspects. And then my musical theatre and my extracurricular music
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  elsewhere as well. It was all sort of part and parcel of learning how to
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  keep on top of things and handle pressure. So it definitely
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  helped me through that first term at the Academy and then the second term
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  was probably just as intense, but the three of us had learned
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  how to navigate ourselves in a much, much clearer way and
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  we sort of settled into it a little bit more. And then this time's been
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  great because we've just been focusing on one project. And you say there
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  are three of you. Is that three of you doing your specific course? Yeah.
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  So there are three MDs and then there are 31 musical theatre
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  performers. So we sort of function as a musical theatre company
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  throughout the year. It's just a one year masters for everyone. And our role is
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  quite interesting because there are only three of us and we act
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  as sort of a leader towards the company. We operate sort of
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  Halfway between staff and students, which is quite an interesting sort
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  of role to inhabit. And that's been interesting to develop. Yeah.
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  Oh, and I mean, you're working towards this big project at the moment. Do you
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  have any other exams or any kind of academic stuff that you.
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  So the remarks on we're marked on two projects and
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  we're marked on a portfolio. So we're marked on chess. How am
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  I. Yeah,
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  I know we're marked on sort of our rehearsal process
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  and the way we. We inhabit our role as an MD for the production.
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  Then we were also marked on the agent showcase.
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  The agent showcase was basically we amalgamated
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  loads of songs and each of the 31 performers sang one song.
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  And then our industry liaison officer invites loads
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  of industry agents in, in the hope of getting them all an agent, because that's
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  how musical theatre performers sort of get their auditions and things.
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  So we were marked on that process where we arranged and orchestrated everything
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  and then played keys and pit and stuff. And then we had to write a
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  portfolio as well, which was like a 10,000 word summary
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  of our year and our time and our goals and our.
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  The rewards that we've got out of the program and things. So those are the
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  three sort of aspects that we're formally assessed on. But ultimately the
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  year is not really about that. It's about making connections, it's about improving
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  yourself as a musician, it's about learning more about the industry and
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  making connections. So, yeah, and have you.
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  I mean, obviously you said it's very intense, but have you had any time to
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  do any spontaneous music making or like set up your own things or has it
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  literally just been so intense you've not been able to do that? I mean,
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  not really. I've. I've. I've been applying to a few things,
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  so I've. I've got a music preparation job at this company called London Music
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  Preparation. Music preparation is, is. I always see it
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  as like. It's editing a novel, essentially. So what you get is you
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  get loads of scores and you just have to make it work for an
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  orchestra to read, basically. So I'm really glad to have got that.
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  And that's what I'm more sort of like a skill that I've been developing on
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  the side because I know it's so part and parcel of the industry that I'm
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  going into. So aside in developing that, I've not really had much time
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  out of the course to do anything else.
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  I mean, we're working, you know, 9, 9 to 9, Monday to
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  Friday and then also on Sundays. So it's been.
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  It's like Cambridge. Yeah. Um, but just
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  in person. Contact hours have been. Been so busy. Gosh.
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  So, yeah, quite. Quite different from. From the music degree. I mean, would you say
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  the music degree set you up apart from the time management side of things?
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  Yeah, absolutely. There are so many skills. I mean, I would say
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  probably about 50% of what I have done this year has been orchestration and
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  I. I learned that in my second year here, you know, and, you know,
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  doing the tonal skills, papers and everything, that has just set me up with such
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  a foundational, like, understanding of music that benefits me in
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  almost everything that I do. And then also, like, doing contemporary
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  competition and doing film scoring and things like, just sets me up with an awareness
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  of, you know, how musical instruments work, but it also sets me up
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  with, like, how notation works and notation software works.
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  Definitely set me up. Are you in the surveillance or the Dorico camp
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  now? I'm actually in both. You have to do both. I am in both,
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  so I didn't. I done surveillance all my life.
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  And then I arrived in September. The other two were on Dorico and our
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  main course supervisor, Mark Warman, was like, george, you need to get on Dorico.
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  I was like, oh, my God. For anyone on the program
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  that doesn't know how music notation software works is very
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  tough. And each program is so distinct, so trying to learn another one is quite
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  a challenge. So I always had to do that. In September, I learned
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  how to do Doroko, so now I'm sort of quite proficient in both,
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  which is quite rare because, you know, everyone. Everyone usually sticks to one.
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  Um, so that's been quite fun, actually. And they.
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  They each have their own benefits and cons, but I would say musical theatre
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  for sure is definitely moving towards Dorico, which is interesting. It just sets up a
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  workflow that's easier to manage. Yeah, great. Um, so, I mean,
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  what. What's been your most kind of inspiring experience this year, would you say,
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  if you had time to think? My most
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  inspiring moment. We've had masterclasses
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  with quite a few famous people. Claude Michel Schomberg,
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  who wrote Les Mis Mylene, Class, who's one of our
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  main tutors. I would say, actually, probably my most inspiring moment is we had
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  Imelda Staunton in oh, wow. Who not only is an
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  amazing film actress, but is such a pivotal musical theatre
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  actress. I mean, she played Rose in Gypsy. You know,
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  she's. She was in hello, Dolly and stuff. She's absolutely incredible.
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  And she came and Gave a masterclass. And just the way she sort
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  of talks about her work was so impactful for me. I mean, she talks
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  about the moment she knows she lands a job, she's preparing for that job
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  and she's so dedicated to her craft. I mean,
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  it's just incredible. I mean, our head of musical theater at Ram,
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  Dan Bolling, said he just randomly saw her on the tube one day, didn't even
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  say hi to her, but she was just running up the escalator and he saw
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  her just mouthing lyrics. She was just learning lines, even walking up an escalator in
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  the tube. She's so dedicated to her craft. So that was just so
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  inspiring to me because I was like, that is just the level that you need
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  to be working at. So, you know, the moment I think I found out I
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  was doing Chess in March, I thought about what Mel Dun
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  said and, you know, I. I immediately started listening to every single recording
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  I could find just to get it in my body and just to start thinking
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  critically about it and how I was going to navigate it. So I think that's
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  been the most, like, strangely, I think that's been the most inspiring piece of advice
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  I've taken away. Just like, I have to be dedicated. My craft, it's such an
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  intense industry and you've. You've just got to stick to it. So. Yeah,
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  absolutely. So. So what's next? Yeah, so I've just talked about my music preparation
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  job. I've got a couple of orchestration things lined up. I've just signed
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  a contract to work at a musical theatre school. I'm called mpa,
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  A Academy, which has been really exciting. So these are all kind of
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  things that the course sets you up quite well to do in
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  your free time. You know, I can do audition piano, I can do music prep,
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  I can do orchestration, I can do accompanying. So I've
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  got those things lined up and that just sets you up with a baseline
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  to work with before you land your first big gig, you know, so I've
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  not got a big gig yet, but, you know, it's just about making the connections
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  and keeping it going. What's the dream? What's in my dream show?
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  Yeah, what would be your dream job? Oh, my goodness, what a question.
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  I think it's got to be. I've done two Jason Robert Brown
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  musicals. I've done the last five years on Songs for New World. My favorite of
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  his is Parade, which is a musical sort
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  of exploring the life of Leo Frank. And it's just a stunning
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  story. It was done on Broadway a couple of years ago with Ben Platt.
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  And I just think the music is so moving and just,
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  you know, serves the storytelling. I'd love to do that musical.
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  They've just done a revival of Ragtime on Broadway
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  as well by Steve Flatty. And that's just a
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  stunning, stunning piece of musical theater. I mean, it's currently got
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  26 pit musicians playing, which is unheard
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  of nowadays. So that's dream. I want to also
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  I work in. In January, I actually worked on an in house production of a
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  new musical, sort of a workshop. It was a musical called Pin by
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  Mark Tyler and it was really fun to sort of, instead of
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  working on a set piece, it was really interesting to sort of try
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  and develop new writing. And I think that's something I potentially want to move
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  into as well because it's like instead of doing a job and serving
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  a piece that already exists, it's actually creating new history and creating
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  new music, which is just so rewarding. So I'd
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  like to do something like that as well. Yeah. Wow. Will, best of luck with
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  it all. Thanks. Is Chess sold out? Chess sold out in three days.
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  Three days. Wow. It sold out in three days. I'd say I could advertise it
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  on the podcast, but that's a nice problem to have.
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  Yeah. Well, great. Well, thanks so much for dropping by. It's good to see you
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  back in Cambridge. Yeah, lovely. Sounds out looking. Yeah, the sun is very much
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  out. Yeah. So, yeah, looking forward to the show. Oh, thanks for being there.
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  The chapel choir sing the final evensong of the academic year on Sunday
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  at 6 with music chosen by departing choral scholars. Do come along for
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  some fantastic music. And to celebrate the end of the year starting Wednesday next
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  week at Corpus Playroom. Giving out is a dark Irish comedy written by
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  third year English student Jude Hughes. See the show notes for details and tune in
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  next week to hear Jude speaking about the creative process and taking the play to
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  the Camden fringe this August.
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  Next week is the May week preview episode, so tune in to hear
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  about the various creative projects happening. And if you'd like to take part in the
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  Music Society's Easter term recital, do get in touch on artspodcastao.cam.ac.uk
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  and I will put you in touch with the Music Society president. If you're still
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  going with exams, best of luck for the coming days and see you on the
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  other side. Thanks for listening.