Page 256 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

know anything! But my agent emotionally blackmailed me. So I went. And that caused a bit of

havoc in the best possible way.

‘Pappano didn't have to introduce himself. He just turned up. And Julia said “I teach here and I
teach at Curtis” etc, and I'm like... “I sing”. I think I followed it up with. “But if you want to know how
to move an audience, I can show you how to do that”.’

Rand and Lepper also bring their skill for driving connection in young singers to a masterclass at

Aldeburgh on English and French song on Wednesday 12 June. ‘I'm a bit of a Sherlockina
Holmes. I love solving problems. You just have to find the right vocabulary to fit that particular

person. Sometimes coaching isn't bespoke, but it has to be.

‘I’m still not a teacher, but I like helping people,’ Rand’s voice goes quieter. ‘It's such a huge

responsibility, I wouldn't want to muck it up. But I can coach the bejesus out of someone. And if
there's something technical that needs to be changed, I can change it.’

'I'm not a teacher, but I like helping people' | Photo: Christa Holka

It’s rare to find someone with such a focus on human connection and experience, but it is central
to Rand’s third Messiaen concert, for which she has commissioned the composer Laura Bowler to
write a piece about mothers, following the death of Bowler’s own mother back in 2022.

‘We have to be able to reach people, we have to feel as though we're not alone. It's so mentally

damaging if everyone just works in their little box by themselves.’