Aims of Early Music Live!

“Giving us the opportunity to really solidify in this way as a group is very much appreciated.” Greg Skidmore, baritone, The 1607 Ensemble [2007 Early Music Live! participant]

Early Music Live! aims to support and encourage outstanding young musicians in fully formed ensembles to make the leap between music student and music professional. The scheme comprises a package of training, mentoring and performance opportunities and has grown out of a pilot project which Brighton Early Music Festival ran in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity College of Music in 2007. Participants will generally be in their final year of undergraduate or post-graduate study or have recently left full time musical training. The aims of Early Music Live!are:

• to nurture, train and equip the most musically talented young musicians (8-10 ensembles, approx 32 musicians) with a complete programme of practical and musical skills;
• to champion the young musicians’ successes to the press, promoters and the public:

“[I gained] confidence in the power of our work to break conventional boundaries - and motivation to take the ideas we encountered further” Christopher Bucknall, harpsichordist with Acis [2007 Early Music Live! participant]

Early Music Live! is a truly unusual and innovative scheme.  While several Orchestras run fantastic schemes to support young musicians in an orchestral setting, there is simply no equivalent run by a promoter or focussed on young ensembles.  Many promoters have a “performance platform slot” for young musicians, but in some cases this seems as much motivated by a desire to put on a relatively cheap ensemble, as to support the development of young musicians.  There is certainly no other scheme run by a promoter which is a cohesive, joined up and integrated package of training, mentoring and performance opportunities for young musicians, which also incorporates education and outreach performances. 

“It has really inspired us to work harder….. We got a lot of inspiration from you to promote and believe in ourselves” Karin Bjork, violinist with Triologue [2007 Early Music Live! participant]

Brighton Early Music Festival is the second largest early music festival in the UK, with several broadcasts each year on BBC Radio 3. The festival has a national reputation for ground-breaking initiatives. Brighton Early Music Festival is grateful to The Foyle Foundation, The Fenton Arts Trust and The Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation, who are funding the 2008 Early Music Live scheme.