Page 19 - Guildhall School Coverage Book 2020/21

“The result was worth the hard work. Within minutes of our orchestra sitting down, socially
distanced within each section in four separate rooms across two buildings, a rehearsal of
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 was in full swing. The effect was quite profound and has
stayed with me. While the community experience of having everyone in the same room will
never be replicated, when I put my headphones on, it didn’t seem so far off.”

A workable model
After several successful rehearsals, the concert took place across these four rooms. Three
spectacular finalists each performed a concerto with the orchestra, which was broadcast
afterwards via our website. The low-latency technology worked like a dream and we received
messages of congratulations from all over the world. As far as we know, no one has attempted
anything quite like this before with an orchestra. There were adjustments to be made: for
example, our Conductor, Richard Farnes, observed that the sound of the timpani and double
basses was actually reaching him sooner than it would have in a live room, owing to the
distance from the back of the platform.

Was it better than ‘real life’? Of course not. But the winner, pianist Soohong Park, did say it
was better than any of the many orchestral experiences he’d had before.

If the choice was this or do nothing, it was worth it. Our students had an experience they will
never forget and showed real fortitude and resilience in adapting to a brave new sound world.
Not only did we prove that it is a workable model, but we also reached a far greater audience
than we would have with our normal live event at the Barbican.

I’ve always believed in the transformational power of music to change people’s lives, but I’ve
never been so aware of the human need to hear and make music. The Gold Medal performance
felt like water in a desert. It fed something deep within all our souls and answered a basic
human need – the need to express those elements of the human spirit which are beyond words.

Jonathan Vaughan is Vice Principal & Director of Music and Julian Hepple is Head of
Recording & Audio Visual at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.