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May
Interview: The man bidding to put Harrogate on the classical music map
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“I’m either very brave or stupid,” says William Dutton.
William is talking to the Stray Ferret about his decision to create a professional chamber orchestra based at the Royal Hall in Harrogate.
The orchestra — called Cuore — will play its first concert next week on Thursday, May 8, the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Cuore, which will be the only professional chamber orchestra in Yorkshire, aims to provide the quality of concerts music lovers expect to hear in Manchester, Birmingham and London.
Such an ambitious project could revolutionise the classical music scene in Harrogate and beyond and has generated a real buzz on the local arts scene. But at a time of tightened belts and reduced arts funding, will it work?
“Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith or you will never find out,” says William, who will be the conductor at next week’s event.
It promises to be quite an occasion. Freddie Fox, whose great-great grandfather Samson Fox was one of the founders of the Royal Hall in 1903, will introduce the concert and has agreed to be an ambassador for Cuore. British conductor Barry Wordsworth and Lord Michael Berkeley, the composer and presenter of Private Passions on Radio 3, have agreed to attend and be artistic advisers.
The all-British first half includes works by Gustav Holst, Lennox Berkeley and Edward Elgar. Lord Berkeley is Lennox’s Berkeley’s son. Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings follows.
But there’s more to the occasion than music: Cuore has teamed up with partners to showcase the best of Yorkshire: tailors Carl Stuart are making a bespoke suit for William to wear on a podium built by carpenter Graham Sunter and Dunesforde Vineyard is supplying its Queen of the North sparkling wine for a VIP reception.
William says:
The performance starts as soon as the audience sees the door of the Royal Hall. I want people to come and not just hear the music but to have a visceral experience.
William Dutton will be conducting at next week's concert. Pic: Oliver Baumann
Putting Harrogate on the map
At 30, William is young in the classical music world. But he has considerable pedigree.
He sang in front of Prince Charles, as he was then, at the Royal Hall reopening in 2008 and has since performed there as a violinist and conductor.
He planned to stage a grand post-covid reopening concert at the 950-seat grade two listed Edwardian hall but admits that venture “failed miserably”.
Now, with two London patrons on board, he hopes to put Harrogate on the musical map.
Yorkshire, he says, has a “rich and diverse musical output” but no professional chamber orchestra even though there are 130 amateur orchestras in Yorkshire and Humberside.
The Royal Hall
The vision is for the 35-piece orchestra to perform at the Royal Hall four times a year and tour Yorkshire. William says the town’s favourable location between Leeds, York and Ripon, which all host regular classical music, will help to draw crowds.
The name Cuore was chosen for its three meanings in Italian: core, heart and soul. The orchestra aims to put music at the core of the community, be part of the soul of the culture, and speak directly to people’s hearts.
It will include musicians who currently work in orchestras such as the Royal Northern Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, Opera North, the Royal Philharmonic and the Philharmonia.
Can William really attract top talent to Harrogate? He says:
Musicians will go where the best paid work is and that’s not currently here. I have to pay them and cover their travel expenses. It is a challenge, but we think we can do it.
William will conduct next week's event.
Classical stigma
Born in Leeds and brought up in Harrogate, William made his BBC Proms debut as a singer in 2007. He starred in Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation of The Magic Flute, studied violin at the Yehudi Menuhin School and in 2014 won the strings category of BBC Young Musician of the Year.
In 2020, he became the first British pupil to be invited to study conducting at the Italian Conducting Academy in Milan, and made his UK conducting debut two years later.
He talks passionately about Cuore's educational side. “There’s a lot of stigma around classical music and we aren’t really engaging in the right way,” he says.
He suggests letting local children attend rehearsals for free and developing a programme of workshops in schools.
Ticket prices for have been capped at £5 for under-18s at next week's concert but the standard price of £35 is not cheap. William says:
Thirty-five pounds seems expensive but put it this way — it’s £1 per player and the conductor comes for free. A 35-piece orchestra is a really good size with all the arts cuts taking place. I want the audience to think ‘wow’ and be inspired to bring their friends next time.
William has certainly shaken-up the local arts scene. Time will tell whether his ambitions succeed.
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