Ellie Cowan
Education Officer
Hi, I’m Ellie, the Education Officer for the OAE. Thanks to the range of projects we deliver in the Education Department, my day-to-day job can be very different. From booking players and rehearsal spaces, liaising with schools to organising workshops or trips to the concert hall, collating and organising music for projects, compiling and creating…
Read MoreMe, Cecelia’s Bass, and I
Thu 21 Feb 2013
Tuesday 29 January, Budapest 10am. Feeling very lucky that I had not gotten up at 5am to travel back with the Orchestra, though feeling a little bit anxious about carrying a 2mx1mx1m 45kg double bass in its case back to London. All on my own.
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Our New Year’s Resolutions
Fri 4 Jan 2013
As 2013 begins to take hold, most people come up with a New Year’s resolution or two, but in reality only 1 in 10 of us will keep at it for the whole year…depressing isn’t it?!
Read MoreLindt: More than just a chocolate bar
Mon 15 Oct 2012
Here in the OAE office, not only are we a little bit obsessed with cake, but also chocolate, so it’s particularly convenient that Lindt are a sponsor of the Orchestra. Occasionally the office is treated to a sampling of this delicious chocolate which particularly pleases our projects director and keen cook Ceri Jones, who is…
Read MoreNot all audiences are the same: Jennifer Jones
Mon 8 Oct 2012
When I rang my Mum, Jennifer, (pictured right) at the eleventh hour and asked whether she would like to be in the OAE’s new season brochure – since we were looking for an older woman to complement the bodybuilders and other people with ‘strong looks’ that had already contacted the OAE – she completely astounded…
Read MoreAward-winning (and green) brownies…
Wed 25 Apr 2012
You may remember that in March, the OAE Green Team got a bit excited with the concept of a green month, which naturally meant there was an excuse to make cake (we find any excuse to make cake at the OAE). We therefore decided to have a low-carbon bake sale which would fund the planting…
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Green March with the OAE
Tue 10 Apr 2012
March 2012 marked the second Green celebration period for the OAE. Following the success of Green week in February 2011, this time we expanded to a month. The self-elected office green team decided to focus on 3 strands of activity for the month; firstly we would look at our concert and touring activity in March,…
Read MoreAround the country in 5000 swings…
Tue 3 Apr 2012
As part of my musicians miles for the Anthem for a Child tour I decided to do something ever so slightly different, and along with a car full of stands, clothing, pencils, banners, pritt sticks, cellos, violins, and countless suitcases belonging to tandem cycling musicians (and at one point Cajons) I packed a 14kg kettle…
Read MoreCeri Jones
Projects Director
Hi, I’m Ceri and I’ve worked at the OAE since 2004 (from Intern, via office admin, and right through the Projects team!). Amongst a gazillion different tasks my role as Projects Director mainly involves managing the projects team to get the OAE show on the road, specifically managing the relationship with our visiting artists to…
Read MoreMy day as Dermot…
Wed 23 Nov 2011
OK well not quite. I didn’t get to rub shoulders with Tulisa, Kelly Rowland, Gary Barlow (swoon) and Louis Walsh (err…that’s not so impressive), but the other week (when the OAE held its fourth annual auditions for the Melgaard Young Conductor scheme, our equivalent of the ‘X Factor’) I did get to spend a whole…
Read MorePlaying our part in BBC 4′s Symphony
Wed 2 Nov 2011
Back in June the OAE spent 2 days filming in Christchurch Spitalfields with Sir Mark Elder, the results of which will be premiered on BBC Four this Autumn. We were approached late last year by the BBC Classical Music TV team who were amidst plans to produce a programme for BBC four, tracing the…
Read MoreCeri gets phone rage…
Thu 25 Aug 2011
Da-da-duh-duh, da-da-duh-duh, da-da-duh-duh-duuuh Brrrrr-brrrr, brrrr-brrrrr No I’ve not gone mad, I’m just re-enacting all the interruptions from the bustling audience in San Sebastian on Tuesday night. Having experienced this in the UK a number of times (we all remember the infamous incident at the BBC Proms a few years ago, when the bassoon solo at…
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The Glam Factor. With Ceri Jones.
Fri 5 Aug 2011
When I tell people that I work for an Orchestra and occasionally get to accompany them on tour, they often get very excited and say, ‘ooh isn’t that glamorous’… Erm… well in a word, not always! (editor – that’s two words!) This past weekend I was lucky enough to accompany the OAE on one of…
Read MoreHow to survive The Night Shift…
Fri 8 Jul 2011
A day in the life of The Night Shift from Ceri’s perspective: It’s 9.30am on Friday 24th June, It’s been a looooong week: Monday Dublin, Tuesday Royal Festival Hall, Wednesday and Thursday catching up and meetings – and that’s just for me! I assume it’s been worse for the players who also had Glyndebourne…
Read MoreA tale of two pianos. Or to be more accurate, fortepianos…
Tue 28 Jun 2011
Every time a project involving fortepianos appears on our advance schedule, my heart sinks a little – not because I don’t like the sound of them, or enjoy hearing some of the fantastic repertoire that was written for them, but fortepianos usually = logistical nightmare. And this time there were 2 of them… The quest…
Read MoreThe Apprentice (conductor). The search is on.
Tue 14 Jun 2011
There are just a matter of weeks left to apply to our OAE Melgaard Young Conductor Scheme. The scheme has been running now for 4 years, and gives budding young conductors the opportunity to nestle up close with the OAE, observing rehearsals alongside great OAE conductors, getting to know and share knowledge with players,…
Read MoreTour Diary: Sheffield
Mon 11 Apr 2011
A short video from our trip up to Sheffield back in February – a concert which was part of our Green Tour initiative which saw the OAE ditch individual cars in favour of coaches and trains. Though we now know that trains are noisy places in which to film interviews… turn the volume up to…
Read MoreUnattended articles may be removed or destroyed by the security services
Tue 22 Feb 2011
As mentioned below, our concert in Sheffield last week had a rather odd start. The Orchestra came on stage on time for a 7pm start, all fine. We settled in our seats. The Management team of 3 (myself, CEO Stephen Carpenter and Projects Director Ceri) were all split up in the hall, rather than sitting…
Read MoreMy week as a green crusader
Tue 15 Feb 2011
In honour of the Orchestra’s Green Tour around the UK this week, the office-based administrative team also committed to Green Week. For a bit of fun most of us wore something green all week, as a constant reminder about all the things we would 100% commit to do. I spent the week carrying my thermos…
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