The Royal Albert Hall has a 2 -year-ahead booking policy. Therefore, on 9 April 2021, still in Covid territory, I was ready to book our 2023 Gala. However, it takes more than two years to organise an undertaking like this. There were nearly 2,000 performers from all over Europe and beyond, participating in this amazing concert.
Teachers and children came to London especially for this event, from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam. Everybody knew that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Indeed, it was an unforgettable occasion, and not to be missed.
Planning for this concert started with trying to find the right date. Easter Sunday 2023 was our best choice, embracing most of the European school terms, although it was not straightforward. Then we had to book the venue, but the Albert Hall was not an easy call. I was turned down twice. RAH have an 85% full house policy and childrens’ concerts, surprisingly, do not usually fill the hall. However, with our young Suzuki performers, typically the whole family comes along too, so I had to persuade them (in fact we quickly sold out). Then the programme manager was alarmed that our children were playing the entire concert from memory. How is that possible? No music, no stands, no chairs, no single conductor and only one day of rehearsal? And behaviour - that was a huge issue. I had an email saying they thought my proposal to put on a Gala had “not quite understood the aesthetic of our hall”. We patiently explained the process behind the Suzuki method – of how students are trained to memorise everything as they go, and how these thousand children learn about good concert behaviour right from the beginning (the youngest child was 5 years old). Of course, we also depended on the 174 highly-trained Suzuki teacher leaders who created the musical magic of each piece in performance, and the 108 teacher helpers, who stayed with the children in the hall throughout the concert.
1,300 children from over 30 different countries played violin, viola, cello, piano, flute and recorder. Some of the programme was instrument specific (e.g. the Bach Double, Massenet Méditation, Mendelssohn Concerto (3) for violin, the Haydn Concerto for cello, and Mozart Alla turca for the pianists.) Some of it was played Tutti with the music arranged by the amazing Tim Murray for all our instruments to play together. Tim was also commissioned to compose a wonderful new Fantasia on Greensleeves for the occasion, which was breathtaking. The whole concert was backed by world-class piano accompaniment and a formidable string ensemble made up of grown professional former Suzuki students.
Rarely have I witnessed such clear evidence of the power of music to break down the barriers of language, race, religion, disability, gender or nationality. These young musicians rehearsed only one whole day together (next door at the Royal College of Music.) At least half of them did not speak English, but our Suzuki teachers know how to lead without words, and the results were electrifying. This was a practical demonstration of Suzuki’s philosophy to change the world through music and education. Children were not auditioned to get in to the Gala, (except the pianists, because of keyboard limitations) but players had to be in Suzuki Book 2. No child was turned away, and on Saturday we organised two big Playtogether concerts in the RCM Britten Theatre running alongside the Gala rehearsals, for the little children not yet in Book 2. We even had some tiny pre-Twinkle 3 year olds in the Playtogethers, as well as some of the older children who had missed the deadline.
Registration for a mammoth event like this needs professional help. Our teacher helpers were carefully instructed in how to use the wrist bands and scanners by the IT company. The whole process of registering every player was done off-site in the old Baden-Powell House, Queens Gate (pianists were registered at the Royal College of Music). Literally thousands of teachers, children and their parents were swiftly organised and dispatched up to their rehearsals and Playtogethers. That took 2 days.
The stage management for this Gala was nothing short of phenomenal. The Albert Hall creates a custom stage for every new client and our team were on site with the builders at 5am on Sunday. The tech rehearsals began at 9am, creating space for a Yamaha CFX concert grand, 1,300 children, 300 adults, 24 electronic pianos, and 15 orchestra members. We used the choir stalls and the arena as well as a built-out stage, and a hundred stalls seats. In the end, it was a pencil and paper effort of ingenuity which only Juan and Mona could conceive.
The last Gala concert had been prepared for April 2020, which was cancelled because of Covid. The Albert Hall reimbursed all tickets, but British Suzuki had to rebate all the registration fees (although some families kindly waived their refund). We had already purchased thousands of t-shirts, programmes and goody bags, along with expensive software and extra professional administration. We were nearly bankrupted. This time, in 2023 we needed to make a profit, but as a charity that was never our raison d’être. Some people find it almost impossible to believe that every single musician, teacher/leader, compere and helper came to the Gala without a fee, on a voluntary basis. We had a homestay scheme for those who wished, staying over in Suzuki families, but literally hundreds of Suzuki teachers paid for their own air fares and hospitality.
This extraordinary generosity is only possible because of each individual’s gratitude to our teacher, Shinichi Suzuki. He has changed our lives for ever. We are so grateful, and now is the time to give back. Personally, I feel so incredibly lucky to have been born on the same planet as Dr Suzuki, during his own lifetime.
