There's a lot more to this artistic director's job than just thinking about music, writes Emma Davies.
David Curtis has been swapping his penguin suit for a track suit to train up for this year’s Shakespeare Marathon in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The artistic director of Orchestra of the Swan regards the commitment as part of the business of leading one of the UK’s most innovative and creative orchestras.
“The exercise will keep me fit, the orchestra will get noticed, and the money I raise will go towards our education programme at special schools in Stratford and Birmingham,” he says.
“All the months of training that I’ve been putting in for the event on May 8 have been similar to running the orchestra, which in itself has been a marathon, albeit a very enjoyable one,” he adds.
It has taken all 16 years since its foundation at Stratford in 1995 for Orchestra of the Swan to achieve the international standing it enjoys today.
Curtis has lived in Stratford-upon-Avon for 20 years. He moved to the Midlands from London, after training with the likes of Sir William Walton and Sir Michael Tippett, to take up a position with the Coull String Quartet as a viola player.
No longer an instrumentalist, he went on to study conducting under the legendary Finnish maestro Jorma Panula and has conducted orchestras worldwide ever since.
It was little surprise then that the charismatic and inspirational conductor should be approached to create a new regional orchestra for the Stratford Music Festival.
“I phoned my professional colleagues and we had an orchestra. The performances were so well received that I realised there was demand for a very high quality chamber orchestra for the region, with Stratford as its base to complement its residential artistic culture,” he explains.
“We decided that the orchestra would be innovative, excellent and accessible. The latter would involve performing in schools, care homes and public spaces other than just concert halls; hosting informal pre- and post-concert discussions; and taking our audiences on a journey of musical discovery with carefully planned programmes.”
As its artistic director and principal conductors, Curtis has helped to nurture new composers, produce award-winning recordings and form partnerships with overseas arts organisations.
Over the past five years, Curtis has commissioned more than 50 new works, established residences at Town Hall Birmingham and Cadogan Hall London, and seen Orchestra of the Swan develop a national and now international profile and become cultural ambassadors for the region.
Creative highlights have included the world premiere recording of the piano concertino by Arnold Bax 70 years after the composer abandoned the work, and a recording of the Finzi and Copland clarinet concertos selected as Classic FM CD of the Week.
