ⒸBill Hiskett
In April 2016 I had the pleasure of photographing one of the biggest events I had covered in my photographic career, the Suzuki International Gala at The Royal Albert Hall. When I was asked to do this, I had never heard of the Suzuki Method before, and had no idea that I was about to enter a world-wide family of music lovers and players. That day lives in my memory forever. I was accustomed to photographing events at many of the major music venues in London, but was not prepared for the scale of this event - it was huge!
Roll on to late 2019 when I was invited to cover the 2020 version of the Gala- of course I accepted, only to be thwarted by the pandemic which wreaked havoc on the world for the next two years.
It was with great joy that I received an email from the BSMA Administrator Nickie Chapman telling me that the Gala was back on for the Easter weekend in 2023, and accepted the invitation straight away.
One of the surprises was that I was being asked to cover both Saturday and Sunday with the first day taking place in the Royal College of Music, just across the road from the Royal Albert Hall. I have looked at this fantastic building many times as I walked down the steps from the Royal Albert Hall but had never had the chance to cross the threshold into the building.
The first steps into the RCM do not disappoint- the entrance hall is beautiful with red marbled columns to each side and a central staircase stretching away left and right to doors to the gallery overlooking the concert hall. The other first impression is that the hall is full of adults in bright orange t-shirts directing children of all ages and their parents to halls up, down, left and right. I ask where to go and am directed to a table out the back behind the registration desk where I meet Etty Wake of BSMA Admin who is organising people. I ask where best to start and am directed towards the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, a huge room with a large stage, a beautiful barrelled roof and seemingly hundreds of young people and more adults in orange (I do like that design) getting ready for the first rehearsal.
ⒸBill Hiskett
I start clicking away, a few wide shots at first to let people see that I am about and what I am doing before starting to get a bit closer. The first thing I notice is how even the youngest children don’t seem to be phased by my camera, and this encourages me that I won’t be putting anyone off.
I spend 20 minutes or so in the hall, popping up to the gallery for some wide shots, picking out details or that particularly eye-catching group of players really getting into the music, and then realise that according to the schedule I had been emailed the week before, I should already be heading to another room.
After a few questions, I head upstairs to the Recital Hall, where 21 Korg electric pianos were lined up and whose ivories were being caressed by a collection of young players and a few not quite so young teachers. I must admit that I can’t remember the music that was being played, but it sounded wonderful. (Editor’s note: this was the Beethoven Sonatina in F, 2nd mvt in Book 5)
One of the things that struck me was how attentive all the players were, taking on board their leaders’ comments and sounding better every time, while I moved around the room taking a variety of shots, from wide-angles of the room to a selection of close-ups. I hope everyone will be pleased with their pictures.
Time to move on to the next venue- the wonderful Britten Theatre, down in the depths well under the main entrance. We learn later that this is due to the space above being used for set backdrops.
ⒸBill Hiskett
It is in the Britten Theatre that we hear a speech by compère Edward Kreitman. I take a few shots of Edward and the audience before moving on back to the main concert hall, where somehow even more players have been squeezed onto the stage and the floor in front. Meanwhile, the level of performance has been rising throughout the day, and we are also treated to very enthusiastic instruction by a new orange-clad leader. I get up onto the stage to get photos of the ones at the back - must try to ensure that everyone is covered.
The rest of the day is spent circulating between the three rooms described above, each time seeing a new batch of players and listening to fantastic music. One important appointment is to photograph Allen Lieb, CEO of the International Suzuki Association, talking to both the pianists and cellists at their Playtogethers. I found Allen’s talk in the piano room really inspiring, of how he only started violin to get out of another class at his elementary school in America. He also raised the point that pianists, unlike many other instrumentalists, do not need other players to play a concert and as a violinist, this was a really interesting notion to him. I could have stayed on listening to Allen’s talk, as it was so interesting -but I had a job to do.
During the afternoon I managed to catch up with both Edward and Allen outside in the courtyard where the weather was superb, for some nice portrait photos.
The day ended with a massive Playtogether in the Concert Hall.
My overriding impression of day 1 was of young and old people together having a wonderful time doing what they love. The staff was all smiles even though they must have been tired, many having been on the go all day.
Fast forward to The Royal Albert Hall on Easter Sunday.
Sunday morning was lovely and bright as I drove into London from Reading, where I had stayed overnight. The Suzuki office had kindly reserved me a spot in the Albert Hall loading bay, and from here I carried my gear up to the production office where I claimed a corner for my camera bag. I have been working at the Albert Hall for 10 years and have always left my gear there. It’s always there when I go back, which says something about the sort of people we work with.
I was amazed to see that all 24 pianos had been transferred from the RCM to the RAH overnight and that the hall was filling up with what would be a total of 1307 young musicians from 31 countries, a truly international event. It was wonderful to see the Arena floor full of violinists, just leaving me with the problem of how to capture them all.
Rehearsals got under way under the direction of a range of conductors, first all instruments together, then violins, followed by the cello and piano groups. The recorder and flute section had their go and then the violins - sometimes the players on the stage, at other times together with those on the Arena floor - each time playing with gusto and skill, the music sounding sublime.
The Albert Hall is a wonderful venue for a photographer as there are so many different places and angles to photograph from, but there is also a lot of area to cover. I noticed the next day that on Saturday I had covered 6,000 steps or 4.4km, and on Sunday 7,000 steps (5,2km), all inside two buildings …
Rehearsals continued apace until about 1:30pm, with lighting engineers playing away all morning to ensure that we were guaranteed a superbly-lit performance which would show off the players and the venue to the best of their abilities once the concert began.
One set of people I haven’t yet mentioned was the chamber orchestra made up of Suzuki teachers and invited musicians. Throughout Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday they provided a magnificent anchor for the younger players, sounding brilliant the whole time.
At 3 pm the concert started, and the house was packed with both musicians and an audience keen to hear what had been achieved. They were treated to over two superb hours with music of uniformly fabulous quality. Even Black Swan Film and Video director Ali Khan, accustomed to hearing the very best artists in the world, commented to me on the quality of the music-making.
The start of the concert was also the start of the busiest part of the weekend for me. Although I had a concert programme, I always seemed to be in the wrong part of the hall, involving a quick dash down the stairs, around the corridor and back in through another door to grab a few shots before moving on to another location. During the 15-minute interval I decided to put a long lens on a tripod up in the gallery, which enabled me to get a lot more shots making sure that everyone was covered in at least a few pictures. I also managed to grab a shot showing the whole view of the hall, the performers, and audience from up there.
The concert was drawing to an end, and as I had heard talk of confetti and cannons (??) I knew that something was planned, and positioned myself opposite the stage at a medium-high level for the finale. I didn’t quite catch it as it happened, but I hope that the final pictures captured the end of the concert.
And with that came the end of a fantastic two days which I was lucky enough to not only witness in person but, I hope, to have captured through the lens of my camera.
Thank you for asking me to be your photographer for the weekend - it was an honour. I was shattered when I got home, but it was so worth it.
Fast forward to the next Gala in 2027?
https://www.hiskett.net/Events/Suzuki-Gala-2023/
Password to access photos: Yamaha
Bill Hiskett,
official Gala Suzuki event photographer
