Sussex Symphony Orchestra and the secrets of longevity!

SussexWorld

Times might be tough financially for orchestras everywhere, but the Sussex Symphony Orchestra finds itself in a great place artistically as it launches into a busy autumn under its founder Mark Andrew James.

Transcript

00:00Well Phil. Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt,

00:03Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Lovely to speak to Mark Andrew James who

00:08started up and still conducts, still is in charge of the Sussex Symphony Orchestra.

00:14And you were saying just now that artistically the orchestra is in a great place. How do you

00:19explain that? Why are you doing so well do you think? In tough times. I think the people

00:25really want to come together on the Sunday rehearsal that we only have one rehearsal

00:33and make the best that they can possibly make out of the music. They take the music home,

00:42they work at it like Trojans and then on the first rehearsal day we don't so much as what

00:50we call note bash. We make music because the note bashing will have been done at home

00:57and then we come together. Oh yes, of course we take it apart and we have sectional rehearsals

01:03just to dot every I and cross every T as it were. But no, we absolutely work hard at it and put some

01:11real music, some soul into the music. And does that explain your longevity? More than 30 years?

01:18Incredible, isn't it? To keep anything going for that amount of time is a fabulous achievement, isn't it?

01:23Well, it's 33 years now. And yeah, I think it is extraordinary. I always call the Sussex Symphony

01:32an extraordinary beast because sometimes, to be honest with you, Phil, even the players themselves

01:38are astonished at the standard that they are part of. Oh, look, I stand in front of them and

01:46I rant and I rave and I, you know, shout and then I have to apologize for saying something that's

01:52very un-PC. But as a whole, it all comes together fabulously. And, you know, I couldn't be there

02:01without them and they couldn't be there without me. So, as such, you know, we're a fantastic team.

02:07And we've survived so much, survived the pandemic, survived the cost of living crisis.

02:12Yeah, by the skin of our teeth, we're still here, I must say. You know, and it's the vision of people

02:20who do decide to give us a few resources here and there. And if it's not resources financially,

02:26it's resources in kind, as it were, you know, people loaning things or giving us, you know,

02:33a better price on the hire of a hall or whatever. But yeah, I think because people know of the

02:40Sussex Symphony's reputation, they're happy to get involved with us because it also says,

02:47well, they're getting involved in the community. They're promoting something which is absolutely

02:52brilliant. Fantastic. Well, congratulations on all that the orchestra has achieved.

02:57Thank you, Steve. Mark, lovely to speak to you. Thank you.

03:00And to you, Phil. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

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