Going Solo 2019/20

Going
Solo

Patrons in 2018/19
The Thompson Educational Trust
Robert and Louise Gullifer
and donors who wish to remain anonymous
Trustees
Miles Young (Chairman)
Judith Finch (Treasurer)
Louise Gullifer
Paull Hammond-Davies
Pegram Harrison
Robert Quinney
Aileen Thomson
Giovanna Vitelli
Artistic Director
Tom Hammond-Davies
Photography
Nick Rutter
2, 3, 8, 15
Jamie Wright Photography
8, 11
Broadway Studios
8, 21
Motion Photo Studio
Chris King
Joshua Hayler
8

12
12 years
12 concerts a year
12 Choral Scholars each year

“
Our choral scholarships provide a totally unique
opportunity for young aspiring singers to develop
their solo singing at the heart of the musical
programme of the Oxford Bach Soloists.
Patrons who have supported a choral scholarship
develop a fruitful relationship with the Scholars in
person at social events, and hear about their
progress and experiences in regular updates.
The scholarships are a vital part of our mission and
we need your help to maintain them. We are asking
now for your support to help us replicate this
hugely successful programme for the coming year
and beyond.
Please read on to find out more from our current
cohort of Scholars and how you can help!
Tom Hammond-Davies

From our
Artistic
Director

The Oxford Bach Soloists (OBS) is a Baroque
ensemble whose ambition is to perform, in
sequence, the complete canon of J. S. Bach’s vocal
works over 12 years. Uniquely, we offer a musical
experience that converges composer, performer,
and audience.
Our mission is distinctive and pioneering: OBS has
set out to perform Bach’s works as he himself would
have realised them with performers, instruments,
and venues that echo the university and churches of
Bach’s hometown of Leipzig.
We provide the next generation of young aspiring
soloists with the opportunity to build their
confidence to ‘go solo’ within the supportive
environment of our top quality musical programme.
The Choral Scholars transfer their learning
experience to the rest of the chorus by making up its
core, contributing to its musical integrity, and sharing
their new expertise with its members.
Funded by the generosity of our individual donors
and foundations, 12 competitively appointed Choral
Scholars have been developing their skills with stepout
solos during our concerts, and professional oneto-one
German language coaching with top
international coach, Gerhard Gall.
In 2018/19, we raised £12,000 from our incredibly
generous donors to support 12 outstanding Choral
Scholars. We want to make sure we can do this
every year with the help of our Friends and Patrons.

Bringing
together
performers and
audiences in an
immersive
experience of
the complete
vocal works of
Johann
Sebastian Bach.

12
Choral Scholars
supported on our
programme across 2018-19
30
Cantatas
and choral works
performed in their
inaugural year 2018-19
90
Language
Coaching hours
with top international
coach across 2018-19
22
Concerts
including 10 external gigs
across 2018-19

Miranda Ostler
soprano
I applied for the scholarship
because the Oxford Bach
Soloist’s reputation for sensitive
and astute performances of
Bach had reached London. I
have loved singing Bach for
many years and the idea of
joining OBS on the journey
through his complete vocal
works was very attractive. I also
applied because I thought it
would be a good personal
development opportunity.
I think the scholarship will give
(and has already given) me
valuable performance
experience within an exacting
but supportive atmosphere; and
a confidence to know how to
approach the music of Bach and
others. It will put lots of new
repertoire under my belt, and
introduce me to like-minded
musicians.
As a freelance singer trying to
forward my experience, regular
public performances are the key
to increasing my confidence and
learning what works for me.
OBS has already hugely helped
with this. With such a regular
performance schedule we are
constantly learning new cantatas
quickly and thoroughly, which
has been helping me to expand
my repertoire and fast learning
skills.
In the future, I am planning to
audition for masters courses at
London conservatoires next
autumn. I would love to explore
opera (favourites include
anything Handel and Britten’s
chamber operas). I would love
to perform with other
established early music
ensembles such as Solomon’s
Knot, I Fagiolini and La Nuova
Musica, as well as choirs like
Monteverdi Choir and The
Sixteen.
“regular public
performances
are the key to
increasing my
confidence
and learning
what works
for me”

“since beginning
as an OBS
choral scholar I
have been
offered more
regular work as
both a soloist
and ensemble
singer”

Steph Franklin
mezzo soprano
I was really excited when I saw
that OBS was beginning a choral
scholarship programme because I
had already had the experience
of performing the St John
Passion with the group last
Easter. It was a thrilling musical
experience for me and ever since
that performance I had been
dying to work with the group
again.
Since the choral scholarship
offered the chance to perform in
each of the OBS concerts in a
season, it was an opportunity I
didn’t want to miss. There is no
other ensemble that I have been
a part of as a student that has
enabled me to perform with such
exceptional musicians.
The experience of being a choral
scholar has already benefitted
me a great deal. The performing
experience that the scholarship
offers is unique and I know of no
other programme which enables
a young singer to work on both
ensemble and solo performance
in the same way. Simply, the
frequency and standard of the
performances are above and
beyond what most other young
performers have access to, and
consequently I consider myself
to have a stronger footing upon
which to pursue a career as a
professional singer.
The language coaching sessions
have given me an enhanced
understanding of the relationship
between text and music, which
has meant that by the time I have
gone to rehearsals with the
Artistic Director and the band, I
have come with more
interpretative ideas than I
otherwise would. As a result I
feel that the coaching sessions
have enabled a more
collaborative performance
relationship than I have
experienced before – we make
music together!
Since beginning as an OBS choral
scholar I have been offered more
regular work as both a soloist and
ensemble singer. To say that I am
an OBS choral scholar has
without doubt been useful when
putting myself forward for
singing work. At the moment I am
in the second year of my
undergraduate music degree.
When I complete my studies at
Oxford I hope to study voice at a
conservatoire, possibly in
Germany or Austria.
Afterwards, I hope to pursue a
career as a soloist, but we’ll see
what happens to my voice as it
matures!

Joe Hancock
tenor
Having been a chorus member
with OBS since 2016, I decided
that applying for a choral
scholarship would be an
excellent next step, both in
terms of my development within
the group, and as a musician
personally. I wanted to continue
working with some of the most
talented musicians around,
whilst having the opportunity to
develop my solo singing skills,
and benefit from German
language coaching to obtain a
more authentic sound.
Having had the opportunity to
perform some solos as part of
the scholarship, I think my
confidence as a soloist,
particularly in the performance
of Baroque music, has grown
immensely. The opportunity to
prepare complex and often
challenging music in great detail
and to an incredibly high
standard, and then to perform
as a soloist to our ever-growing
supporter base, has been
invaluable for me, particularly as
the youngest member of the
cohort.
The German language coaching
with Gerhard Gall has been
particularly helpful, both for me
personally, and I think for the
ensemble as a whole. The
opportunity to work so closely,
often on a one-to-one basis,
with one of the leaders in their
field has been very rewarding,
and even the smallest tweaks in
our pronunciation are already
having a noticeable impact on
the sound, creating a more
authentic performance.
After my final year at school this
year I plan to study music at
university. In the future I’d love
to have a career as a
professional musician, and I
hope the next three years at
university will help to shape the
direction that my career will
take.

“my confidence
as a soloist,
particularly in the
performance of
Baroque music,
has grown
immensely”

James Jenkins
baritone
I had sung with OBS previously
in a couple of concerts so knew
that the standard of music
making and learning
represented a unique
opportunity for young singers
like me. The choral scholarship
both ensured I would continue
to benefit from this opportunity
and made it more viable for me
to do so through covering my
travel costs.
The scholarship will make me
into a much more mature
soloist; developing my skills as
an interpreter and performer of
music. I’ve already felt the
benefit of the solo
opportunities, with the last duet
cantata (BWV 173a) giving me
the chance to feature
throughout. The stage time is
invaluable, and to a certain
extent, I believe that you can
only really progress in this area
through acquiring regular
experience; for me this is a key
benefit of the OBS model.
The regularity of the
commitment, once a month, has
worked really well for me - it’s
neither too much nor too little.
It gives me a project to work
towards each month and the
time to give real thought to any
solo work I might be doing. On
top of this, the language
coaching has added something I
couldn’t have replicated in my
personal study - having sessions
on each solo piece has allowed
me to feel I can bring a real
finesse to my performances.
I am looking to developing as a
soloist and gaining more
performance experience. When
the time is right I will be
interested in pursuing further
study at one of the London
conservatoires.
“I believe that
you can only
really progress in
this area through
acquiring regular
experience; for
me this is a key
benefit of the
OBS model.”

How you can help
OBS is here thanks to the generosity
of our funders, donors, supporters and
volunteers. Your contributions have
allowed us to help 12 young singers
this year but we’re far from finished.
We wish to replicate the huge success
we’ve had with our Choral Scholarship
programme, and to make it sustainable
over the remaining 10 years of our
project to perform the complete vocal
works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Whether you’re a private individual
who wants to sponsor one choral
scholar in any given year, or a Trust or
Foundation who is interested in
forging a longer-term relationship over
the course of our project, we would
very much like to hear from you.
Friends in the Dresden Court
The Dresden Court is an exclusive
membership for donors who give
£1000 a year or more to support our
Choral Scholarships.
Members of the Dresden Court
receive priority ticket booking and
seating, a free programme, and an
invitation to our annual Friends’
reception. They also receive updates
on the progress of our scholars, and a
private invitation to the annual
Patrons’ concert and Patrons’ dinner.
To find out more, please contact
friends@oxfordbachsoloists or visit
www.oxfordbachsoloists.com/friends
Please help us to achieve our ambition
of awarding scholarships to 12 young
singers each year as they embark on
their careers.
Your contributions have
allowed us to help 12
young singers this year but
we’re far from finished…

Help us to achieve our
ambition of awarding
scholarships to
12 young singers
each year.
To talk to us directly about
supporting our work in any way
please contact
friends@oxfordbachsoloists
to arrange a meeting with
Tom Hammond-Davies,
our Artistic Director.
To find out more about our 2018/19
Choral Scholars, please visit:
www.oxfordbachsoloists.com/about
/choral-scholars-2018-19

Oxford Bach Soloists
6 Springfield Road
Oxford
OX2 9HJ
friends@oxfordbachsoloists.com
www.oxfordbachsoloists.com
TW: @OxfordBach
FB: @oxfordbachsoloists
IG: @OxfordBach
Registered Charity number: 1172192