Norwich Chamber Music – an interview with Chairman Peter Lawson
We all know that Norwich doesn’t give up its secrets easily, and that there is much in our fine city that can claim to be a “hidden gem”, but the Norwich Chamber Music concerts at the John Innes Centre are really deserving of this mantle. Despite enjoying a wealth of music and theatre venues, Norwich has never had a proper home for classical music, with events generally divided between the cavernous St Andrew’s Hall and the acoustically problematic Theatre Royal. You could live here for quite a while without realising there is a third way, albeit within the environs of the Norwich Research Park on the outskirts of the city.
Ahead of the organisation’s summer season of concerts, I spoke to Peter Lawson, chair of Norwich Chamber Music, about their forthcoming events, not least the challenges of presenting chamber music in the current environment. Peter only moved to Norwich five years ago, but his enthusiasm and commitment is apparent from the outset of our discussion, as is his emphasis on the importance of the society’s history and the team around him.
“The driving force behind Norwich Chamber Music was its first chairman, W J Dearnaley, and it’s with enormous pride I follow in his footstep, but I’m surrounded by talented people – without their professionalism and energy we simply couldn’t function.”
How long has the society been active?
“We’ve been active since 1951, though initially we were simply called “The Club”. Concerts were held in the music room of the Assembly House. At that time, Benjamin Britten was our President and remained so until his death. From the outset we’ve managed to attract some outstanding performers. Just to give you an idea, the first season included recitals by Dennis Matthews, the Amadeus Quartet, Gerald Moore, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.”
Bringing huge names to Norwich seems to be something you have continued to do, not least having Steven Isserlis opening for you this year.
“That’s entirely down to the individuals involved. Mr Dearnaley played a huge role in growing the reputation of the organisation, after which Miriam Cannell became a dominant figure of the Society for the next forty years. Roger Rowe followed her as secretary in the mid-nineties, and remains our President, but current artistic guidance is now in the inestimable hands of former Radio 3 producer Misha Donat. Their reputation and prestige in the musical world has been the key to our success.
But I want to emphasise that no amount of reputation and prestige would do the job without our army of excellent volunteers. People come to us for all sorts of reasons, and bring along many talents, but what unites us all is a love of music, and a desire to share that love.
The John Innes Centre
Holding your events in the John Innes Conference Centre on the periphery of Norwich, seems unorthodox, to say the least. What brought about such a bold move?
As I previously mentioned, we used to hold our concerts at the Assembly House, but when a fire destroyed a large part of the building, we had to think again. Afterwards, we decamped to the United Reformed Church for a while, but it was a peripatetic time when we had concerts all over. There were, in any case, concerns over capacity and parking which led to a major rethink of where our priorities lay. If you are unfamiliar with the John Innes Centre, it might seem an odd choice, but it’s an excellent venue. Quite apart from the parking and comfort of a modern venue, the sight lines and the acoustics are perfect.
I know there is a lot of frustration in Norwich at the absence of a purpose-built Concert Hall, and of course we would welcome one, but I prefer to focus on the positive. We have a remarkably rich musical life for a city our size. Having spent much of my time in Birmingham, London and New York, I naturally notice the difference, but we have a number of very good venues, that I am sure other cities envy.
Outline Magazine has its roots in contemporary rock and pop and attracts a young readership. How important is it, do you think, to introduce and attract a younger audience to Chamber Music?
It’s hugely important. We offer very low entry costs to concerts – free to those under 18 – and assist in the provision of prizes and bursaries to local musical students. NCM has an education programme aimed at inspiring primary and secondary pupils (who, after all, arethe musicians and audiences of tomorrow) and each year endeavour to provide professionally led workshops and school concerts.
The elephant in the room is, of course, the pandemic. How has the organisation been challenged by these most trying of circumstances?
The pandemic seems to have brought out the best in people. Initially we agonised over whether to hold concerts at all, but when the Nash Ensemble came to Norwich last October,with a stunning performance of the Trout Quintet, we proved to ourselves that we could offer up a worthwhile event. Severe lockdown followed shortly after, but it nonetheless gave us the confidence that “we can do it”.
Over the last few months, we have held a number of online events, including online talks, and with the easing of lockdown, Misha Donat has managed to persuade several artists whose concerts were cancelled, to come to Norwich. In a nutshell, that is why we have such an exciting series of events ahead of us. I think it’s worth reflecting how extraordinary it is that we will be presenting Steven Isserlis, Paul Lewis, Laurence Power, and Pavel Kolesnikov all in one season.
Social distancing undoubtedly affects the atmosphere of a performance, so you must have been tempted to delay these concerts until all restrictions were lifted. What made you take the bold step of scheduling in the way you have?
That’s a surprisingly easy question to answer. We are a concert Society. It is the right thing to do. What we have done is adopt current regulations throughout the next two months, regardless of what happens with the regulations. There will be social distancing in place throughout the series, with each musician performing twice, to make sure as many people as possible can enjoy what we have to offer.
And finally, what do you think the future holds for you?
This coming season we are planning to present twelve concerts, and we hope to include international artists. How socially distanced they will be, and how many artists will be affected by quarantine or visa restrictions we don’t know. What I can say, however, is that this current session will prove to our audience, and to ourselves, that we can achieve our fundamental aim – to present the best possible artists in the best possible environment.
Find out more at https://www.norwichchambermusic.org.uk.
