Nathan Williamson

We’re thrilled to have pianist Nathan Williamson join us for the 2021 Liberation International Music Festival. We spoke with him recently to get to know him better and learn why music matters to him. Nathan is a pianist, composer and artistic director. Alongside regular solo, chamber and concerto performances, Nathan is in demand for new work from a wide variety of artists both at home and abroad. He also stages and facilitates projects at local and national level, ranging from collaborations on new repertoire, performances for the concert hall and theatre, and music-making for musicians of all ages and abilities.

Nathan’s career has led to performances at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, De Doelen, Barbican Centre, Purcell Room, LSO St Luke’s, and the Aldeburgh, Lucerne, Bolzano and Spoleto festivals, and collaborations with artists including Claire Bloom, James Gilchrist, Guy Johnston, Arisa Fujita, Linda Merrick, The Gryphon Trio, Njabulo Madlala, Boris Kucharsky, Alexander Baillie, Ensemble Endymion, the Allegri and Sacconi Quartets, as well as working alongside numerous living composers in performances of their work. Since 2016 Nathan has been a member of the renowned new music ensemble Piano Circus who, alongside their position as artists-in-residence at Brunel University London, have commissioned over 100 new works from leading composers and undertake regular international tours.

At what age did you decide to become a musician?

I was 12. I was trying to compose at school one day and had a weird, almost ‘out of the body experience’ where about three hours vanished in a flash, and suddenly there were 6 bars of music in front of me which I had no recollection of writing. It was only because there was no one else in the room that I could definitively conclude I had written them. Suddenly every waking moment was about music.

What do you love most about being a pianist?

Studying old repertoire I have known for a long time and playing it in new ways, and learning new repertoire which no one has ever played before. I also love going to places I have no connection with to play to people I have never met and will never see again. But those could apply to any instrumentalist. The best part of being a pianist per se is playing entirely on your own.

Where are you from originally?

I was born in Cambridge but my family as a whole hail from the Suffolk coast, where I (and most of them) now live as well.

What is your favourite place on Earth?

Assynt, in the Scottish Highlands. And Paris.

Who is your favourite composer?

I don’t have one particular favourite, but the ones who speak to me the most are Schubert, Brahms, Beethoven, Varese, Berlioz, Rameau, and various others.

What or who inspires you most?

The day to day, year to year ups and downs of being alive is quite enough inspiration for me!

If you hadn’t become a musician, what job would you have wanted to do?

An anaesthetist or a psychoanalyst. I am fascinated by the affect of things on the human body and the mind.

What is on your bucket list?

To have finished some music I am really proud of in a way which no one else could have written. Aside from that its honestly just to live every day to the most. I am happy to just do my best wherever life takes me and am not particularly interested in personal achievements.

Which historical figure would you choose to have dinner with?

The composer Rebecca Clarke. I would want to talk to her about being a performer as well as a composer, why she did not compose more, and the various events of experiences which led her to make the decisions she made.

What can we look forward to from you next?

I am writing a new piece for the Rossetti Ensemble to be premiered at the Alwyn Music Festival on Saturday October 9th, am doing a lot of work with the singer James Gilchrist, including two CDs of British song post 1945 coming out on SOMM, and am learning the 24 Preludes and Fugues by Christopher Brown, a magnum opus of about 2.5 hours duration.

You can see Nathan’s stunning performances in this year’s festival on Saturday, 29 May in the Carnival of the Animals (available to watch until 1 July) and on Sunday, 6 June in a stunning solo recital (available to watch until 6 July).

Ian Rolls

In the 2021 Liberation International Music Festival, you’ll probably notice the stunning art accompanying each event and on the posters that are up on the island. Those beautiful images are by Jersey artist, Ian Rolls. Ian is a full time artist who is well known in Jersey in the Channel Islands, where he has lived for most of his life.

Ian has travelled widely and his travels have been an important source of inspiration for him as an artist. He has spent prolonged periods living and working in India & Sri Lanka, cultures which have deeply affected his life. Ian has shown his work in solo or group exhibitions in India, Sri Lanka, Germany, France, England and regularly in Jersey. Wherever he is, the images he produces are characteristically quirky, playful and up-lifting. His work can be found in collections worldwide.

We recently had a quick interview with Ian to get to know him better.

At what age did you decide to become an artist?

There was no decision as such... as far as I can remember there was never a time when I wasn’t an artist, in that I always produced art and liked doing it. So I just carried on.

What do you love most about being an artist?

Art is my way of coping with life. It is a therapy and a way of processing the world in all it’s confusion and challenges. I have always loved turning negatives into positives using the magic power of creativity, be that using found objects, perceived “rubbish” or just negative emotions to produce art.

Are you from Jersey originally?

My mother is Jersey born, but I was born in Banbury in Oxfordshire, the area where my father was brought up. The family moved to Jersey when I was 3 and I had all my education in the island.

What is your favourite Jersey landscape or view?

St Ouen’s Bay is the reason I have lived in Jersey for most of my life. The open wildness is a breathing space in what could be a very claustrophobic small island. But I love the incredible variety of the landscape here, which makes the island seem much bigger than it is.

What’s your favourite colour and why?

Turquoise... the colour of the sea on a bright windy day with white sand drifting over the beach.

What or who inspires you most?

Meditation has had a life changing effect on my life and is a very important part of my creative practice. I have been meditating regularly twice a day for nearly 30 years and for me it is what keeps me in balance most of the time.

If you hadn’t become an artist, what job would you have wanted to do?

After doing a degree in fine art, I did a post graduate qualification in painting restoration, which was my main source of income for many years. It was a fascinating profession which enabled me to travel to India with an international project, where I met my wife, also a restorer.

What is on your bucket list?

I want to build an eco house by the sea in Sri Lanka. I spent a year in Sri Lanka with my wife and son in 2005 and fell in love with the place, the people and the culture. I’d love to return for what would essentially be a big creative project, working in and with nature.

Which historical figure would you choose to have dinner with?

I’ve never been a big fan of dinner parties, so I’ll pass on the conventional dinner party scenario. But it would be fascinating to have a cup of chai with Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha.

Where can people buy your work?

I have my own gallery called The Pitt Stream Gallery in Pitt Street in St Helier (just off Charring Cross). It shows a wide selection of my work including original paintings and prints as well as the ceramics of my wife Ruth. www.pittstream.gallery www.ianrolls.co.uk

Thank you Ian for your wonderful art of the island and for allowing us to feature it in this year’s festival!

Jersey Care Homes

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Music in Action has hosted virtual music sessions in care home residents on the island. Local Jersey musicians meet with residents, who are often in isolation, to spread live music and joy virtually over Zoom. The outcome has been remarkable for both the musicians as well as the residents.

Sam Walwyn playing at Maison La Corderie

One of our coordinating partners, Daisy from Lakeside Manor Care Home, commented:

They loved it! Thank you so much. It made their afternoon. They (the residents) absolutely loved it and we look forward to hearing and see you and your fellow musicians again. They like to clap, and if they know the words, they sing along. We have musical instruments, so they use bells, drums and the triangle to play along too.

In 2020 we worked with many different care homes on the island including Maison La Corderie, Pinewood Residential Home, Lakeside Care Home, and Silver Springs Care Home providing a connection through music to over 250 residents.

With a musician like that, you need to clap! Thank you very much. You’ve made my afternoon! - Ken

Ed and Dido Webb perform from their home to residents in isolation

My father was a noted tenor, and I used to play piano for him… it's been a great pleasure, thank you. - Audrey

Thanks to the generosity of Music in Action’s donors, we are continuing this needed work as we battle with the struggles brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Music has the ability to connect people, and most of us have, at times, felt moved or comforted by music. It is inspiring to see the impact music has had on Jersey’s care home community. ​These experiences are transformative and truly life-changing. The power of live music, the life-enhancing properties are proved to us again and again.

When I start singing, I can remember. I love it when the music comes on, something triggers me - Marion.

To support our continued work, please consider making a donation. Your generosity makes an impact and helps us create transformative experiences through music. www.musicjersey.com/support-us