Leading British conductor Alice Farnham is leading the National Concert Hall Female Conductor Programme, in which 12 young aspiring conductors engage in a series of workshops, master classes, mentoring programmes and much more over the course of 10 months. The programme aims to encourage high calibre female musicians to take up the baton and become orchestral conductors - find out more here.
We asked Alice for her choice cultural recommendations...
Film
The best film I've seen recently is Florence Foster Jenkins. Meryl Streep (clearly actually a rather good singer) was so funny, but there was also so much pathos and love of music. It was also good to see Hugh Grant in a less stereotypical and more subtle role. I expected to laugh, but didn't expect to cry as well.
Music
Because classical music is my life and profession, I like to listen to other genres when I'm not working. I'm a particular fan of Motown classics, or Queen when I'm really tired and need an energy boost.
Book
A recent book I absolutely loved was Robert Harris' The Conclave. It makes a nice change to read a more sympathetic portrayal of the Catholic Church - definitely flawed like anything involving human-nature. I love anything by Robert Harris, as it's always guaranteed to be well-written, well-researched and a gripping story.
Play
Mark Rylance and Louise Jenkins in Nice Fish. Weird, but very funny. Mark Rylance is one of those actors that brings out the best in all the performances on stage.
TV
Fleabag is one of the best comedies I've seen years. So funny but also extremely sad. What an original idea.
Gig
When I get back to London later in the autumn I am hoping to catch the new Royal Opera House production of Puccini's La Boheme, directed by Richard Jones and conducted by Antonio Pappano. I worked many times on John Copley's wonderful production that ran for over forty years. Fascinated and excited to see what Richard Jones brings to this.
Art
David Hockney, every time.
Radio/Podcast
In my spare time I listen to the spoken word way more than music. I even learn scores to it sometimes. My list of favourite programmes is too long to list, but with so much travelling I cannot stress how much I love being able to stream or download BBC Radio 4 and wherever I am. It's been life-transforming. I listen religiously to The Archers Omnibus - from Singapore to St. Petersburg.
Tech
iPad Pro - the Forescore app is amazing. I can download PDFs of most scores I need to learn, and mark them up with my special pen. I then send the PDF to the orchestra librarian of wherever I am working and day-one: I have my marked up score sitting on the podium. Amazing! No more back and overweight luggage issues.
The Next Big Thing...
More opera in unusual spaces. It doesn't have to be performed in a traditional proscenium.
The inaugural Female Conductor Programme at the National Concert Hall, supported by Grant Thornton, begins on 29th September - more information here.
