Cultivating Musical Excellence and Community Impact: A Musician's Perspective
We were delighted to be joined at our Friends of the Vox launch event by Richard Hammond-Hall. Richard is Vox Anima Chamber Choir's accompanist, former Director of Music at St Mary's Church West Malling, and Head of Instrumental Music at Surbiton High School.
Richard spoke to our guests about how working with Friends of the Vox has impacted him personally, as a professional musician, and further impacted the wider community, with a particular focus on young musicians.
A huge thank you to Richard for sharing his experience, and for allowing us to reproduce his speech below.
“There are three ways in which I work with Friends of the Vox as a professional musician, and hopefully, through an explanation of these, I will be able to highlight the important work that Friends of the Vox is already doing and the huge potential this organisation has for future impact.
The first way I have worked with Friends of the Vox is in my role as an accompanist. I’ve worked in London, as a professional accompanist, for over ten years. In that time I have had the privilege of accompanying choirs live on BBC Radio 3 and working with some of the country’s leading choral conductors. Without wishing to exaggerate or sound sycophantic, I can honestly say that James is the best musician and teacher I have ever worked with. I have recently just completed my accounts, ready for that dreaded January deadline, and I worked out that in the last financial year I have driven nearly 3000 miles for Friends of the Vox! That is because I know that in every rehearsal and in every concert I will learn something, and that I will become a better musician just by being in the room. We are in a winery. Great musicians, like great wine, get better with age. We often talk about late-Beethoven or mid-Brahms; we are so blessed to be benefiting from mid-Meaders here in this random, rural corner of Kent. Jamie, we are truly blessed that you arrived on our shores. If the work of Friends of the Vox means that more people, especially young people, have access to this remarkable musician then that is only a good thing.
The second way I have worked alongside Friends of the Vox is as the former Director of Music at St Mary’s, West Malling. Friends of the Vox partner with St Mary’s to support their Music Scholarship Programme, providing the scholars with individual vocal tuition, choral conducting masterclasses and inspirational side-by-side projects. In education, good choral music is often associated with the independent sector. This is because doing choral music well takes time and resources. With the help of Friends of the Vox, organisations like St Mary’s can provide local young people with the training and experience they need to develop and thrive. It means the young people they work with can walk that little bit taller when they step into university choir auditions, knowing that their experience stands up alongside those from schools like Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, and King’s Rochester. Indeed, with the help of Friends of the Vox, St Mary’s music scholars have gone on to gain choral and organ scholarships at the University of Cambridge, Durham University, Manchester University, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music in London.
The third way in which I work with Friends of the Vox is as a music teacher at a school. However good a school’s music department is, the busy nature of the school environment means that music making can often be quite pragmatic, even at times superficial. The SLT might ask for a two minute song for an Open Morning, an item to enrich Prize Giving, or something for the Christmas Carol Service where we dutifully sing through The Holly and the Ivy. All of that is important, but music can go so much deeper. Excellent, meaningful music-making, challenges and enables young people to develop their emotional literacy and provides them with an outlet through which to process and express their emotions. It helps them to make sense of the world around them and understand their place in it. In January, Vox Anima Chamber Choir will be coming to my school to deliver an afternoon’s side-by-side project exploring the amazing work by Cecilia McDowall, Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo. I am already seeing firsthand how this project is engaging, energising and inspiring 50 children from Year 5 - Year 13. The pupils are already starting to self-organise fundraising events for charities that support the child victims of war and to make the world a better place, and the event hasn’t even happened yet!
Friends of the Vox provides the structure, the support and the platforms that empower schools to deliver ambitious, challenging musical projects that have real depth and lasting impact.
I started by talking about my accounts; I actually met Jamie through my accountant. She wrote to me saying that a really interesting musician had just moved to the area and I should reach out. I thought ‘oh, can I really be bothered?!’ but, as I hope you can tell from everything I have just said, I am so glad I did.
I urge you all to get on board… but hold on tight, you’re in for one hell of a ride!”
About Richard Hammond-Hall
Richard Hammond-Hall is a critically-acclaimed, gifted pianist and accompanist. He has collaborated with some of the UK’s leading young singers and instrumentalists and enjoys a busy accompanying schedule, which includes Vox Anima Chamber Choir. Richard read music at King’s College London, where he was also organ scholar, graduating with first-class honours in 2013. In 2018 he completed his MMus in piano accompaniment at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied with Pamela Lidiard. He continued his studies at the Guildhall as an Artist Fellow. Richard was School Accompanist at Westminster School until July 2021. He now works in the thriving music department at Surbiton High School, a post he combines with an active freelance career.