Behind the scenes (1)… from the Director’s chair

2 months
2 weeks ago

Music Festival Director Meurig Bowen reveals a little about what he and his colleagues are up to, now that the festival is less than a fortnight away…

A lot of people I meet, once they’ve found out that I direct a Music Festival (and once they’ve concealed their disappointment that it’s one of those music festivals, not a Glastonbury or Latitude — this admission, I realise, is akin to outing oneself as a lingerie model…but for a thermal underwear catalogue) are surprised to learn that it’s a full-time job, year-round. It seems they imagine I work on the Music Festival only on Sunday afternoons, and that I’m a day-job potter, plumber or low-mood therapy counsellor the rest of the time.

“…and at this time of year, it’s particularly full-time. And of course that applies to my Music Festival colleagues at Cheltenham Festivals too. We’re all pretty flat-out.”

Well, this is a full-time job; and at this time of year, it’s particularly full-time. And of course that applies to my Music Festival colleagues at Cheltenham Festivals too. We’re all pretty flat-out.

Holly Traynor (Festival Manager), Robin Purser (Festival Co-ordinator) and Hannah Ross (Intern) form a tri-partite administrative engine room. They are putting the finishing touches to the ‘day sheets’ — intricately detailed, hour-by-hour event management schedules that track what’s going on in all our different venues each day, alongside accommodation and transport requirements. For weeks, they have been intelligence-gathering from performers and their agents — minutiae regarding rehearsal times, page-turners, music stands, sponsor lunches, harpsichord tuners…all hugely important to ascertain in advance, to ensure each event’s smooth running.

First the words, then the music…

And what about me? I’m reminded of the old Italian saying ‘Prima le parole, poi la musica’ (first the words, then the music). Because before the feast of music that starts in 10 days or so, it’s all about words for me at the moment. Working closely with Chris Pearson in marketing, there’s copy to be written for our ‘strand print’ flyers, and all the toing and froing that’s involved in this design-and-print process (I love being involved in all of this). And there’s a lot of liaison with colleagues about maximising press coverage. I end up doing a few interviews myself (I’ll be on Radio 3’s In Tune on Wednesday 30 June, with Brett Dean and Huw Watkins), and I’m often involved in the process of facilitating other press activity (for example, listen out for Patricia Routledge on Classic FM on Sunday 27 June).

The biggest thing on this ‘prima la parole’ front is that we’re within 48 hours of sending the Music Festival’s 60,000 word, 110 page programme book to the printers. As ‘commissioning and managing editor’ (I can’t think of another way of describing this bit of my job), I’ve been working closely with our freelance production editor, Tim Symons, to get all the programme note pages and biographies ready. I’ve been writing a few things for the book myself, and copy-editing all the other articles (we’re running features on Sound Mind, Schumann, Gesualdo, Brett Dean, the Tibetan monks, Ole Bul, Michael Zev Gordon’s Allele and the Holst Museum). And then there’s all the other generic pages and adverts to corral. It’s very satisfying putting this programme book together (and there isn’t a summer since 2002 that I haven’t done this same task, first in Lichfield, then in Aldeburgh), but it’s an enormous mountain to climb just before the festival starts. I’m confident it’ll be a great read, though, with substantial, erudite and thoroughly readable contributions by a range of writers that include Ray Tallis, Stephen Johnson, Christopher Cook, Hilary Finch, Harriet Smith and Andrew Stewart.

We’ve tagged this post with BBC, BBC Radio 3, behind the scenes, Brett Dean, Classic FM, Hannah Ross, Holly Traynor, Holst Museum, jobs, listen, Meurig Bowen, music, Robert Schumann, Robin Purser, Steven Isserlis, Tibetan on Tuesday 22 June 2010.