Cambridge Welcomes New ISM President
To see this Media Release as a PDF click here.
14 April 2005
The distinguished bass singer Robert Lloyd CBE is the President of the
Incorporated Society of Musicians for 2005-06. He took over from Professor
George Caird, principal of Birmingham Conservatoire, at the conclusion of the
Society’s annual conference in Cambridge on 1-4 April 2005.
At the same time, the eminent clarinettist Colin Bradbury became President Elect
for the year. He will take over as President from Robert Lloyd at the ISM’s next
annual conference, in Brecon on 18-21 April 2006.
Robert Lloyd commented: ‘The ISM is an essential support system for
performers who can be very isolated and exposed. I welcome the opportunity to
put something back into an organisation that has done so much for the profession.’
At the Society’s annual Specialist Section meetings, also held in Cambridge
during the annual conference, Ian Mitchell became Warden of the Performers &
Composers Section for 2005-06, Anne Smillie Warden of the Private Teachers
Section, and Carl Jackson Warden of the Music in Education Section.
The three-day annual conference, entitled ‘The Greatest Good’, was chaired by
George Caird. It explored the theme of inspiration in music, and focused
particularly on the importance of education. The keynote talk was given by Lord
Moser, discussing Nietzsche’s remark that ‘life without music would be a
mistake’. There were also sessions by Roy Howat, who gave a talk and
demonstration in Kettle’s Yard on musical research and performance, and Aaron
Williamon of the Royal College of Music, who presented some of the results from
his research into memorisation and mental rehearsal for performance. At the
annual gala dinner, which took place in Corpus Christi College, the guest
speaker was Baroness Warnock. Other excursions included a tour of the
Fitzwilliam Museum, with introductions to some of the artistic riches held
there. A highlight of the conference was a private tour of Ely Cathedral, led by
Canon Peter Sills and Dr Helen Sills: the participants sang and played musical
illustrations under the direction of Paul Trepte, the cathedral’s director of
music, with Arthur Wills at the organ.
Ends 04 / 2005
Note to Editors: The Incorporated Society of
Musicians, founded in 1882, is the UK’s professional body for musicians. It aims
to promote the art of music and uphold the honour and interests of the musical
profession by protecting the interests of musicians, raising professional
standards, and providing legal advice and other benefits to its members. Its
5,000 members include performers, teachers, composers, conductors, organists,
writers and others involved in professional musical work.
Presidents of the ISM (and Wardens of the Society’s three Specialist Sections)
serve for one year. They precede their 12 months of office with a year as
President Elect (or Warden Elect), and follow it with a year as Past President
(or Past Warden).
Biographical notes of the ISM’s new President and President Elect are overleaf.
Contact: Neil Hoyle, Chief Executive, T. 020 7629 4413
ROBERT LLOYD CBE - ISM PRESIDENT 2005-06
Robert Lloyd was born in Essex and educated at Oxford University. He began
working life as an historian, turning to singing at 28. In 1972 he was appointed
principal bass at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where he now holds the
position of Senior Artist. At the same time, his freelance operatic and concert
career has brought him work with the world’s major opera houses and orchestras.
Robert was the first British bass to sing the title role in Boris Godunov
at Covent Garden, in the late Andre Tarkovsky’s production in 1983. History was
made in 1990 when the same production went to the Kirov Opera in Leningrad with
Robert as Boris (this was televised internationally), and in 1991 he sang in
this production again under Abbado at the Vienna State Opera. He has also sung
Boris in Amsterdam and Florence.
Robert has also appeared at La Scala (Fliegende Holländer and Parsifal
under Muti); the San Francisco Opera (Don Carlos and L’Incoronazione
di Poppea); the Chicago Lyric Opera (notably Simon Boccanegra under
Gatti); the Deutsche Oper, Berlin (Fidelio, Forza del Destino,
Lucia di Lammermoor and Tristan); the Netherlands Opera (Pelléas &
Melisande, Tristan and Parsifal under Rattle, also
Boccanegra, Poppea and Don Carlos); and the Salzburg Festival
(Pelléas and Les Troyens under Cambreling, Figaro
under Mackerras, Zauberflöte under von Dohnanyi and Don Giovanni
under Gerghiev). His recent appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, New York,
include Rigoletto, Parsifal, Zauberflöte, Aida,
Faust, Romeo & Juliette, Boccanegra, Les Troyens,
Turandot, Otello, Fidelio, Pelléas and Benvenuto
Cellini. Recent appearances at Covent Garden have included Don Giovanni,
Parsifal, Aïda, Zauberflöte, Cherubin, Romeo &
Juliette, Samson & Dalila, Hamlet and Boccanegra.
Robert has appeared in concert with the Cleveland Orchestra under von Dohnanyi,
the Philadelphia Orchestra under Jansons, and the LPO under Haitink. With the
LSO under Davis he performed and recorded Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream,
and featured regularly in the Berlioz Odyssey at the Barbican. He has
recently appeared in a Promenade concert of Rheingold under Rattle. He is
also a regular guest with the New York Philharmonic.
Robert has featured in several television productions, and was the subject of,
and presented, a BBC programme on the bass voice entitled Six Foot Cinderella.
He appeared in a television performance of Duke Bluebeard’s Castle on
BBC2, which received the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for TV and won the
Prix d’Italia. He has also written and presented a number of radio programmes on
opera and the voice for the BBC, notably a series of 20 programmes entitled
Opera in Action. He has a discography of over 70 audio and video recordings.
Robert is a visiting professor at the RCM, an honorary member of the RAM, an
honorary fellow of Keble College, Oxford and a fellow of the Royal Welsh College
of Music and Drama. He is also a visiting teacher in the Merola programme in San
Francisco. He holds the Charles Santley Prize, the Chaliapin medal and was
appointed CBE in the 1991 New Year Honours List.
COLIN BRADBURY FRCM - ISM PRESIDENT ELECT 2005-06
Colin Bradbury was born in 1933. He made his debut at the age of 18 as soloist
in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto at the Edinburgh Festival with the National
Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He studied at the RCM with Frederick Thurston,
completed National Service in the Irish Guards Band, played for Sadler’s Wells
Opera, and then for over 30 years was principal clarinet of the BBC Symphony
Orchestra, working with conductors from Boult to Boulez. His many solo
performances with the orchestra included the concertos of Debussy, Mozart, Weber
and Nielsen at Promenade Concerts. Since 1980 he has also worked with the
pianist Oliver Davies, whose wide knowledge of 19th century music led to their
performing and recording many little known works, and ultimately to the
expansion of the standard clarinet repertoire. They have made five CDs, the
latest of which, The Obbligato Clarinet, was released to coincide with
Colin’s 70th birthday concert at the Wigmore Hall.
Professor of clarinet at the RCM from 1963 to 2000, Colin was appointed the
first head of woodwind there, and founded the RCM Wind Ensemble, a Harmoniemusik
group which performed at many venues in the UK as well as in Vienna and Japan.
He was also for many years the principal woodwind coach for the National Youth
Orchestra, with which he is still closely associated.
A member of the ISM since 1966, Colin was Warden of the Solo Performers Section
(now the Performers & Composers Section) in 1984-85.
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