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CAREER PROFILE:
Claire Willis
Claire Willis talks of her work as Press Officer to one of the largest
recording organisations, Universal Classics, which incorporates the Deutsche
Grammophon, Philips and Decca labels.
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What were your earliest experiences of music? |
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I'm not sure that I can remember! My family has always had an eclectic mix
of music on vinyl, tape and CD that ranged from Abba to Zemlinsky. My parents
bought a piano when I was about five and I started to experiment by playing
tunes by ear - the resulting cacophony is probably what persuaded my mother to
invest in piano lessons! Fortunately, she had a very patient friend willing to
take me on at such an early age! |
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Did you sing or learn an instrument? |
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I learned piano first, and although I enjoyed playing Beatles tunes etc., I
was not a great natural. I took my first piano exam at the Kenya Conservatoire
of Music, but this was not an auspicious start since I only scraped a pass!
However, at the age of eleven, I started having clarinet lessons, which I
really took to, despite the fact that I really wanted to learn the 'cello. As
my parents were living overseas and I was at boarding school, I needed to learn
something portable and the clarinet was the only woodwind instrument on which I
could make a noise. So that was it! In particular, I loved playing in ensembles
- for example, I joined the school orchestra as soon as I could play three
notes and asked the others to teach me as much as they could. I also learned
the violin from age fourteen, which was fantastic. Despite being too much of a
late starter to achieve much technical facility, it gave me extra opportunities
to play orchestral repertoire in the local Youth Orchestra when there were too
many clarinettists! |
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Who influenced your musical development and how? |
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First, my mother, who is not musical, for providing the opportunity to study
the piano; however, I took my first regular instrumental lessons at school, so
that was extremely influential in my development. My first clarinet teacher was
very encouraging and, although I picked up some bad habits, enabled me to learn
very fast. Following Grade 8 at the age of fourteen, I started with a new
teacher who did some much-needed technical instruction.
Then I had lessons with John Sharp from the Northamptonshire County Music
School. He was a fantastic teacher who really understood what learning an
instrument takes and coached me for auditions for music colleges. The Northants
Music School was very, very important: school music was of a good standard, but
things really took off when I joined the Northants County Youth Wind Band under
their conductor John Greaves. WOW! He was such an inspiration to us all - we
recently had a reunion of those years and plenty of the band are still playing.
It was a great social and musical experience. |
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Had you planned a career in music? What were your musical
aspirations? |
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I wanted to be a lawyer until halfway through the lower sixth at school.
Then I suddenly realised how much of my life I was devoting to playing and that
was it! Music college auditions were extremely daunting, but I got through.
That was, of course, a great moment because the hard work had all paid off. But
that is just the beginning if you want to play professionally! |
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What lead to your current work with Universal Classics? |
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I enjoyed all of my studies at the Royal Academy of Music, but, being
conscious that I lacked that steely determination as a player, I took every
opportunity to gain other experiences. For example, I took a Saturday teaching
job at Camden Saturday Music School, worked for an agent during a summer break,
was an ABO volunteer, did part-time work with the Academy of St Martin in the
Fields' Orchestra and managed a film-session orchestra. After I left the
Academy, I studied Historical Musicology at King's College, London as a
post-graduate while teaching part-time, but soon realised that my skills lay
outside the world of academia! I applied for a job as PR assistant to Dvora
Lewis, one of the best in the business, and learned the 'trade'. I also spent
six months as the Education Manager for the London Symphony Orchestra, which
gave me invaluable project-management experience. |
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What are the challenges facing you in your career? |
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To sustain the enthusiasm and ideas!
To promote classical music and artists, particularly in the non-specialist
media.
To keep up-to-date with the increasing proliferation of the media (traditional
and 'new')
To find enough time to keep listening to great recordings. |
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How do you feel that the classical recording has changed over recent
years? |
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I am a relative newcomer to the industry - but my understanding is that it
has to be commercially viable, which is why there are now resources devoted to
recordings that will appeal to a variety of music buyers. There is still
dedication and appreciation of the great artists, but this has to be in context
of commercial necessities. So-called 'crossover' projects are absolutely vital
for survival. |
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How do you see the future of the classical recording industry? Do you
think that the Internet will play a significant part? |
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In a word, yes! However, there are two major challenges regarding the
safeguard of copyright and the prevention of piracy. The Internet has huge
possibilities for retail of classical music (on CD or other downloadable
formats) and for the wider promotion of artists (streaming of concerts,
exclusive interviews, etc.) Classical record buyers are quick on the uptake of
the opportunities - it makes sense to order specialist classical CDs direct. It
is just this kind of specialised field where the Net offers such a huge
advantage: the availability of related information is also a big bonus for
classical music - particularly with links to information on concert
performances. Online exploitations of back catalogue recordings will continue
as a vital resource, with stores (and, at some stage, individuals on home PCs)
able to download and burn their own CDs. |
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What advice do you have for anyone wishing to pursue a similar
career? |
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There are so many opportunities in the arts - my advice would always be to
look at the kinds of jobs people are recruiting for (make it a habit to scan
the appointments' pages) and take opportunities for work experience. Pick up as
many office/IT skills as you can. Also, never sell yourself short - musicians
are (I think) extremely adaptable and quick at picking up new ideas - they are
also very good self-starters/learners. There are many routes in and a number of
marketing and sales people in this business come from music retail
environments. As for press, the key is to be keen to make contacts, chase
opportunities and have a voracious appetite for reading newspapers and
magazines! It is also important to have imagination, patience, an eye for
detail and good communication skills, since they are key requirements for both
the press and the artists.
Finally, I have come across some individuals who say ' it's such a terrible
shame that you don't play anymore…with all that talent, training gone to
waste'. What rubbish! I learned so much that I still put to use every day. No
one bats an eyelid if a history graduate becomes a management consultant, so
what's the difference? A final word - be realistic about salary expectations
and working hours! If you want to earn big bucks in the City, then go and work
in the City! |
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Universal Classics have been associated with many superb recordings.
Which are your personal favourites? |
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There are too many to record here, but in brief: as a student, I spent all
my savings on the Solti Ring Cycle on Decca, which is still the gold standard?
Karl Böhm's Tristan and Isolde on Philips; Alfred Brendel playing
Beethoven's Piano Concertos with Simon Rattle - a great collaboration; Julius
Katchen playing Rachmaninov, one of our 'Great Pianists' recordings; Jessye
Norman singing Strauss's Four Last Songs on Philips; Pollini playing
Diabelli Variations on DG; Boulez conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
in Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, (a big sound) on DG! Also,
Strauss's Alpine Symphony with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra - a classic!; Bach's St Matthew Passion with John Eliot
Gardiner on Archiv and Malcolm Bilson playing Mozart Sonatas nos. 20 and 21,
also on Archiv. |
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