Robin Hill & Izzy Cooper Recording & Concerts on the QM2

The onset of 2010 has been a busy one.
After a snowy start, and precarious journey to Dewsbury, for a highly successful lunchtime concert, Robin set off for a week in London recording with soprano Izzy Cooper.
I'm listening to the recording as I write and I know you will all love it.
Robin and Izzy have performed many times together, and due to high demand this classical guitar/vocal album will be released in 2010.
With everything from the sweetness of Rodrigo's 'En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor', the raunchy flamenco of de Falla and a Robin Hill original, 'Cancion', there really is an eclectic mix.
It was an intense week, recording all day with the evenings spent preparing for the next session.
This was made all the more difficult by the death of my Grandmother. She and Robin had a very special relationship, as can be seen by this post, 'A Professor Calls and Lunar Bianco'. But professional as ever, the recording went on, and when you hear the words to 'Cancion', you will hear how difficult this must have been.
So it was a very tired guitarist that arrived home in the early hours of Saturday 23rd of January. This didn't prevent us spending an hour or so listening to his weeks work accompanied by the dawn chorus.
But by the 26th Robin was off once again.
This time flying to Dubai to join the Queen Mary 2, for an extensive trip visiting Cochin, Phuket, Penang, Port Kelang, Singapore, Laem Chabang, Vung Tau and finally Hong Kong.
Four concerts were performed in the beautiful Royal Court Theatre and with four different programmes Robin was kept very busy.
However, it wasn't all work.
Over the 2 1/2 weeks he met up with some old friends.
First there was the fabulous and extremely talented magician, Brett Sherwood.
The two get on very well and discovered they had a mutual interest in table tennis.
During one of their games some passing passengers stopped to watch.
They couldn't resist asking Brett if he could make the ball disappear. Sure enough, quick as a flash, the said ball disappeared before their eyes, only to to reappear a few seconds later.
This was a virtuoso performance by Brett and made Robin's task of beating him at table tennis all the more difficult.
The next time I'm in a pub with Brett I shall be plying him with drinks until he tells me how he does it!
I'm also very grateful to Simeon Wood, another old friend who was also on the QM2, and in fact left the same day as Robin. After completing his own gruelling 13 hour flight from Hong Kong he took the time to 'phone me and make sure I was aware that Robin's flight had been delayed and that he had therefore missed his connection.
All the more ironic as a few weeks previously he had been laughing about the fact that travelling with Robin always seem to result in some form of disruption.
Believe me, I know.
But now he is home, for a while anyway, and the house is once again filled with the sound of the guitar.

Toucan Play...

The concert last night evolved in a rather extraordinary way for two musicians from Huddersfield.
They actually first met in Lima airport, Peru!
Robin spotted Simeon, submerged beneath a pile of flute cases, and likewise, Simeon rightly surmised, with incredible deductive powers, that Robin was also a musician, as he was sitting with his guitar flight case.
The two struck up a conversation and found they were destined for the same place.

Here they are, later in the trip when they were in Costa Rica:



Last night the venue was full, with some members of the audience travelling quite large distances, as they had previously seen the pair play when in South America.


The programme was eclectic, with Simeon playing a wide variety of flutes and pan pipes in a combination of duets and solo performances.

Programme:

Entracte - Jacques Ibert Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Fairie Queen - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

She Moved Through the Fair - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Malaguena - Trad. Robin Hill

Un Dia de Noviembre - Leo Brouwer Robin Hill

Tango En Skai - Roland Dyens Robin Hill

Gabriel's Oboe Theme - Ennio Morricone Simeon Wood

Devotion - Simeon Wood Simeon Wood

Concerto in D - Vivaldi Robin Hill/Simeon Wood


INTERVAL

Sonata in D - Christian Gottlieb Scheidler Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Grasping the Thistle - Simeon Wood Simeon Wood

Adagio: Concierto de Aranjuez - Rodrigo Robin Hill

Rakes of Kildare - Trad. Robin Hill/Simeon Wood

Danza Brasileira - Robin Hill Robin Hill


ENCORE

Improvisation - Robin Hill & Simeon Wood (Chinese Flute)

The concert was a great success and both musicians look forward to playing together in the near future.

Robin Hill and Simeon Wood - In Concert

Rather late notice, and please don't sack the manager - after all, one of my Twitter friends, Jonathan Harris, said this about me today:

"#followfriday @annahill for knocking spots of other music industry managers in her use of the internet. and she does it for love !!"

But if you are in travelling distance of Shelley, Huddersfield, then you will be able to see Robin in concert with Simeon Wood.

As the promoters say:

Robin Hill and Simeon Wood in concert together
Saturday 9th May 2009, 7:30PM - 10:00PM
World-renowned guitarist Robin Hill joins forces with flautist Simeon Wood to become The Dream Team - hugely popular in this area this will be our first opportunity to hear them combined in one great evening of music- with their own laid back style!
Admission Details:
Tickets £10 (children & students £8) available from Shelley Spar Stores or ring 01484 604486


There will be a mixture of solo pieces by both performers and a number of duets. It will be a fabulous evening and a great way to spend your Saturday night.

Details can be seen here


For more information, contact:
Mrs Priestman
Tel: 01484 604486

Venue:
Shelley Village Hall,
Huddersfield Road,
Shelley,
HD8 8HE

'Twitter' on Life of a Musician...

The last time I heard from Robin he was about to go out to dinner, in Jamaica, with the flautist, Simeon Wood.
Not a bad way to pass an evening.
He will be working hard now though, with plenty of guitar practise, as Robin has a concert today.

I have also been busy.
For some time I have been aware of 'Twitter', and have been considering adding it to the blog.
Fellow blogger, Jason Heath , has been a fan for a while now, and fuelled by his enthusiasm, I investigated further.

As I have said before, there are many people following this blog because they are interested in the 'Wife of a Musician', alongside the 'Life of a Musician'.
Twitter gives me the opportunity to add little bite size snippets of information, that may be about me, Robin, thoughts in general, or, really anything I feel like.
The beauty is that it's quick, easy, and it means there will always be something new for you to read, even if I haven't posted a traditional blog that day.

All you have to do is glance to your left, and you will see the new feature,'Twitter Updates'.
This will carry the last five entries I've added, but, if you want to read more, click on 'Follow me on Twitter', and you can see how, gradually, my network of fellow twitters will grow.
Alternatively, join yourself, and you'll find me at, 'twitter.com/AnnaHill'.

At the risk of sounding like Jason's stalker, we have already met up on Twitter, and I'm also posting the same YouTube clip he used recently, mainly because it explains the whole thing so succinctly.

I do have other 'experiments' underway, but, more of that on another day.
I don't want to go into technological overload....