This March, we welcomed four brilliant woodwind professionals to lead masterclasses with our students: Katherine Spencer (Principal Clarinet from the Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment), Sue Thomas (former Sub-principal flute with London Philharmonic Orchestra), Luke Tucker (Principal Bassoon of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia), and Emily Pecoraro (musical theatre doubler on Broadway).
These masterclasses covered diverse aspects of music-making and performance, from an exploration of historical clarinets to industry-specific advice. Our students provide us with an insight into these sessions:
Amadea Topalli (fourth-year BMus, saxophonist) – “A thoroughly enjoyable class and it was so inspiring to have Emily in! I really felt that she was able to relate any aspect to all three of her instruments, so everyone in the class had something to relate to. We were able to open conversation about all aspects of music making & she provided a fresh perspective. She gave us some invaluable advice, something I will hold onto closely as I enter the industry.”
Georgina Taylor (fourth-year BMus, bassoonist) – “We worked on many things in Luke’s class: best ways to run though tricky passages, breaking them down and working out the theory behind them, simplifying what was written on the page. We learnt how to adjust reeds to make them respond the way you need them to. Alongside this, we ran through a couple of passages of Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, focusing on the style in which it should be played. We also looked at a lot of useful resources, such as study and scales books that are good to work through and a website where you can find and listen to important bassoon orchestral solos.”
Vicktoria Churcher (fourth-year BMus, clarinettist) – “It was very interesting to learn about historical clarinets and to have the opportunity to play them too! Katherine gave us lots of tips on how to give a historically informed performance of the Mozart concerto after looking at the original manuscript”
Hannah Tate (BMus, flautist) says, “The feedback I received from Sue Thomas was really insightful as I do not usually play to her, and listening to her comments on others’ performances was so informative too.”
About the musicians
Katherine Spencer
Clarinettist Katherine Spencer made her concerto debut at the age of fourteen at the Royal Festival Hall and has since performed there as concerto soloist many times. She has also appeared as soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Irish Chamber Orchestra, Hannover Band, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Orchestra in venues such as the Barbican Centre, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, made many live Radio 3 solo broadcasts, and performs regularly on Classic FM and European radio stations.
Katherine is principal clarinet of the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra, The City of London Sinfonia, The Academy of Ancient Music as well as regular guest principal with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Gabrieli Consort and Hannover Band. Her freelance work sees her regularly playing with many of Europe’s leading orchestras of both period performance and modern symphony orchestras. As a chamber musician Katherine was chosen by the BBC to be on their Young Generation Artists Scheme which has facilitated her continuing to perform internationally with her ensembles regularly in Festivals such as the BBC Proms and the Barbican’s “Mostly Mozart Festival”. She has recorded the Brahms Sonata and Beethoven Trio for the Oxford Classic label with Sam Haywood and Martin Storey and many of her discs with the Galliard Ensemble, of which she is a long standing member are highly acclaimed in the world press, Gramophone and BBC Music Magazines. Katherine has recently taken up a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music alongside her orchestral participation work.
Sue Thomas
Sue Thomas joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Sub-Principal Flute in 2001. Her role in the orchestra involved extensive work as Principal Flute, including recordings of a complete Brahms cycle with Marin Alsop, as well as operatic recordings of Rosenkavalier, The Rake’s Progress, and Ariadne at Glyndebourne. Sue has appeared on various occasions at Wigmore Hall in the series Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and together with Nick Carpenter premiered Shadows, a concerto for flute and clarinet by Peter Eötvös at the Royal Festival Hall in 2011. Sue has been a Professor at the Royal College of Music for 15 years and was awarded an ARAM for services to music in 2010. She regularly gives classes and examines in many of the British conservatoires as well as tutoring on the National Youth Orchestra, Wales.
Luke Tucker
Luke was born in Somerset and attended the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music (RCM), where he received the Sally Wainwright Woodwind Prize and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Luke continued his studies at the RCM and graduated with a first class bachelor’s degree, supported by an entrance scholarship, a scholarship for achievement and contribution and a Douglas and Hilda Simmonds Award. Whilst at RCM, Luke won the Douglas Whittaker Memorial Prize and twice received the Howarth of London Bassoon Prize in the RCM’s Senior Woodwind Competition. Luke was subsequently awarded a full scholarship to continue his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he graduated with a master’s in Orchestral Artistry, the Concert Recital Diploma and won the Needlemakers’ Wind Prize. Luke was kindly supported by The Leverhulme Trust, the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and EMI Music Sound Foundation.
Luke has played Principal Bassoon with the Orchestra of English National Opera, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and the London Chamber Orchestra. As well as touring with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, Luke is an active chamber musician and committed instrumental teacher.
Emily Pecoraro
Brooklyn / Queens-based saxophonist and woodwind doubler Emily Pecoraro is known for her divergent ventures across the musical spectrum. In addition to her myriad creative pursuits, Emily is a staple of the Broadway pit orchestra community, having worked or subbed on over a dozen Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, and spent 5 consecutive seasons as a chair holder in the orchestra for The Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes. Emily has played for a number of Broadway and television luminaries over the years, and can currently be heard playing at the revival of GYPSY startting Audra McDonald at the Majestic Theatre. With a creative output embracing both groove-based and classical music, Emily has performed or recorded with such acts as: The New York Pops, Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Joshua Groban, Barbie the Movie in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl, Guster, Hal Willner’s Amarcord Nino Rota, Lady Lamb, Red Baraat, The 8-Bit Big Band, The Ed Palermo Big Band, as well as many others. Her playing can also be heard on the South Park 25th Anniversary Special from Comedy Central, as well as in a handful of commercials, indie films, and other such similar projects. And for many years, Emily played lead alto saxophone for both The Temptations and The Four Tops “New York” horn section, backing up the living Motown legends Otis Williams and Duke Fakir, and was also a regular tenor and alto saxophone soloist with The Temptations Revue featuring the late Motown legend Dennis Edwards.