If I wasn?t so hugely fond of the London Chamber Orchestra the distance would be a chore. But we?re all very close; I?ve been conductor since 1988 and my wife is the first violinist, so it?s always worth the air miles. It?s a bit like a club; musicians play in it because they really want to and there?s no public funding; it?s run purely on personal and private donations and the Royal family help like crazy. We couldn?t exist without royal patronage.
My relationship with Prince Charles goes back 30 years, to the time in 1981 when he invited me to conduct the Philharmonia for the first concert in the Throne Room in Buckingham Palace in modern times. The palace was a different place in those days; there was no security and we were all just wandering around everywhere.
I was extremely honoured when the Prince of Wales got in touch late last year to ask me to conduct the London Chamber Orchestra at the royal wedding, and for some help with choosing the music. I don?t do many weddings. The last one I?d done was his wedding to the Duchess of Cornwall. But Prince William had asked his father for some guidance because he knows the Prince is very knowledgable about music, and the Prince turned to me. As it happens, Catherine is also very clued up; she loves music and had really set ideas about what she wanted, and her parents were involved a little bit as well. My job, as I saw it, was simply to make sure Catherine got exactly what she wanted.
During our meetings I suggested all sorts of things but William and Catherine said no to anything baroque or Handelian. I couldn?t figure out why Catherine kept insisting on English pastoral music. It was only when I was doing an interview for the BBC outside Westminster on the day before the wedding, and all those trees started arriving, that the penny dropped that English pastoral was their ?theme?. I just said to the presenter ?now I understand? but I still couldn?t tell him what the music was.
I don?t normally get nervous before concerts; professionalism kicks in. But when Catherine got out of the car in front of Westminster Abbey and stood there all on her own I did get a surge of butterflies. I thought: ?I can?t mess this up for her.?
At the reception in Buckingham Palace, I?ve never seen the Prince of Wales so animated. He said: ?Everyone?s talking about the music.? But he was right to feel delighted about it because so much of it had been his idea. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn?t find the right music for the entrance of the Queen. Who found it in the end? The Prince of Wales.
Afterwards, he wrote me a lovely letter, as did Catherine. It wasn?t really from a future Queen; it was from a girl who had just got married. She spoke of the music and the thrill of starting married life. Later, she sent Rosemary and I some photographs of us at the reception; with a Post-it note stuck on them saying: ?I thought you might like these.? There must have been hundreds of people at the reception; it was so kind of her to go through them like that. She really is going to be such an asset to the Royal family.
Prince Charles often talks about harmony ? it?s his big word ? and I think he?s right. Harmony is so important to our society and music makes harmony. I find it hard to feel excited about music at the moment; the first thing that gets the chop in any recession is the arts. But having worked with underprivileged kids for the charity Music Junction, I?ve seen for myself how much children?s academic grades go up when music is introduced to the curriculum. It?s a fact; arts are so important. I truly believe if children had more exposure to music they wouldn?t feel like rioting.
When I was growing up in London, everyone was in a church choir, it?s what you did; I was a chorister at Westminster Boys? Grammar and my weekends were music, music, music. I played the piano as a child and started learning the violin aged 13 after being inspired by the Beatles who had were using string quartets. I then listened to a piece by Vaughan Williams called Fantasia on the Theme of Thomas Tallis and that was that, I was sold. I got into the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, which was fully funded by the education authority, and that became my life. Talk about taking a young boy off the streets.
There was never any question in my mind that I?d do anything else but music. I began playing the violin professionally when I was 17. My children have so far all gone down the arts route too; one daughter is an actress ? she was recently in Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant and Catherine Tate ? another daughter is in musical theatre school and my 13-year-old son plays saxophone and seems to be talented.
I miss England when I?m here in North Carolina. The skies are blue all winter, which is great, but there are none of the older buildings or the history. And it?s brunch on Sunday rather than a traditional roast, which isn?t quite the same. My idea of a perfect weekend over here is to drive down to Lake Norman, a beautiful 17-mile flooded valley, where we keep a small sailing boat, and spend the day on the water. I find being out on the boat, miles from civilisation, is one of the best ways to relax after a run of concerts.
I hate Sunday evenings. When I was a child it meant music making would have to stop until choir practice on Tuesday night, which I found rather depressing. I still experience this sense of despair when my son looks at me sadly on a Sunday night and says: ?School tomorrow, Daddy.? I?m lucky that I don?t usually have to work on a Monday; experience has taught me that it?s healthy to take a break from music. I love it so much that if I?m not careful I get suffocated by it.
In short
Herbal tea or stiff drink?
Definitely not a herbal tea.
Best piece of advice you?ve ever been given?
Be yourself in everything you do.
Best advice you?d give an aspiring musician?
Chase the music; never chase after a career.
Your earliest memory?
Watching the Flowerpot Men. They used to have a thing called ?Little Weed? which frightened me so much that I?d run behind the couch whenever it came on.
Your favourite weekend away?
I?d be down to Cornwall in a shot; ideally the Roseland Peninsula.
Iconic piece of clothing?
My tail suits. I need three of them.
Your best piece of critical acclaim?
A letter from the Prince of Wales after the royal wedding.
Last supper?
Egg and chips.
My favourite things
My wife, Rosemary.
All my children; three children and three stepchildren.
My dog.
Cars ? I drive a Jag and I?ve had an Aston Martin and a Rolls.
Our sailing boat.
Engelbert Humperdinck Mary Beth Hurt Lauren Hutton Billy Idol Wolfman Jack
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