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Editorials…
… a conductor who can plan programmes astutely, direct with style and clarity and chat to an audience, pointing out important snippets with the aid of live music examples. Nothing could be more user-friendly, and Wednesday’s concert provided both immense pleasure and valuable instruction… Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
26 October 2006
Bards of a feather
“…I believe passionately in conveying the spirit of the music and engaging the listener, helping the audience become part of what should be a fantastically exciting collective experience that we call concerts." read more  |
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Gig Magazine
26 September 2006
Wallen swans into orchestral residency
…‘Errollyn’s work has proved really enjoyable for the orchestra and for our audiences,’ Curtis told Gig. ‘We’re interested in commissioning music that gives listeners a gateway into the world of contemporary music. Errollyn’s music does just that.’… ‘Maestro David Curtis and OOTS has brought a fresh vibrancy to music-making in the UK,’ Wallen said. ‘I consider it a major honour and a high-light of this year to have been appointed composer in association.’ read more |
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Warwickshire Life
2 February 2006
Striking the right chord
David Curtis describes the Orchestra of the Swan as, to take Pierre Boulez’s statement, an ensemble of possibilities.
“If you ask someone what an orchestra is they will generally answer fifty or sixty men in penguin suits on a platform playing Mozart. But being in the Orchestra of the Swan is about much more than that. We’ve played in private houses, care homes, village halls, an airport, worked with children on school projects – there are all sorts of possibilities for players and audiences.”
The orchestra was formed in 1995 after David, who spent much of his professional career playing the viola in the Coull String Quartet, travelling the world and performing in BBC commissions, was invited to lead a local orchestra in the Stratford festival. So he proceeded to hurriedly phone round friends and acquaintances to put one together. It was a success and from then the seed of the Orchestra of the Swan was sown. read more
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Gig Magazine
1 October 2005
Life is good for Orchestra of the Swan and its conductor David Curtis
…For Curtis, every piece – new or old – is approached with the same freshness, curiosity and rigour …‘I think it is important that the orchestra has a reputation for saying yes – that when we commission a new work, we go for it, we sit down to play it with a big smile on our faces… read more |
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Arts Professional
2 May 2004 • Beyond the Concert Hall
Making Music and Breaking Barriers
…to Orchestra of the Swan the most important aspect of any of our work is the active engagement of our audiences with the music and musicians, whether performing at Symphony Hall, a village hall, the airport fire-station or a private home… read more |
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The Birmingham Post
1 April 2004 • Warming up for the fun run
Conductor David Curtis tells Christopher Morley how he intends to take the fitness plunge
Many orchestral conductors undertake some form or other of physical exercise in order to keep themselves fit for their stints on the rostrum, but David Curtis, artistic director of the Stratford-based Orchestra of the Swan, does seem to be going a little far in his quest for the body beautiful and biddable. On Sunday he takes part in the Stratford Marathon, raising funds for his orchestra and crowning months of dedicated training.
“Like all the best ideas in our house, this came as a suggestion from my wife,” explains the Marathon Maestro. “Why don’t you carry on the jogging you like doing and go in for the Stratford Fun Run?’, she said. ‘It’ll also get you fitter and you could raise some sponsor ship for the orchestra at the same time.’ read more
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