What do you enjoy about playing Haydn’s music? Are there any specific highlights or challenging parts for cello in either of the pieces in this programme?
Haydn’s music feels nostalgic for me as my first orchestral experience was in a classical-specific youth orchestra in Australia, where we mainly focused on Haydn symphonies. His music is full of wit, charm and unexpected turns, always keeping both the performers and listener on their toes.
This concert marks my first opportunity to perform Haydn’s orchestral works at the Academy. For the cello, the challenge is in navigating the variety of characters within pieces and movements, while bringing energy, direction and elegance to phrasing. Haydn’s music feels like a dialogue, always engaging and alive.
What has inspired you most during your musical journey at the Academy?
During my time at the Academy, I have been lucky to dive into a range of musical experiences, exploring different styles on both the standard cello and Baroque cello. I have been most influenced and inspired by my professors, Jo Cole and Andrew Skidmore, whose insights and guidance have shaped my experience greatly.
In the first year of my master’s degree I was lucky enough to work on Handel’s Ariodante as the continuo cellist. I found this experience equally challenging and rewarding. I have also been enormously inspired by the incredible variety of projects I’ve found myself immersed in. Whether painstakingly setting up 100 metronomes on stage at Snape Maltings, singing and playing old English alehouse tunes with Bjarte Eike or exploring monumental symphonic repertoire with visiting conductors, I feel that I’ve left no stone unturned in making the most of the wide-ranging opportunities here at the Academy.
Tell us about your ambitions for the future.
My immediate ambition upon graduating this year is to continue refining my playing, so that I can confidently contribute in the most positive and meaningful way when I enter a professional setting.
I want to continue learning wherever possible and remain open-minded throughout the process. I would be happy with a range of professional outcomes, as long as collaboration with other musicians remains a primary focus. I aim to work in a setting that will allow me to explore a variety of musical styles and works while continually refining and adapting my skills in pursuit of the highest quality.
Jessica plays the Frank Ravatin cello and the Nathaniel Cross Baroque cello (c1740), on loan from the Academy’s Collections.