A short video tour of electric voice theatre’s 2020 projects (4 mins)
A year of online creativity featuring vocal music by women composers with podcasts, live zoom performances, workshops and stories in collaboration with and celebration of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths & Medicine.
Play the video for a whistle stop tour!
Scroll down to meet the 2020 electric voice theatre team who made it all happen.
Click on their pictures to hear their work
Browse the links below to find out more about all the projects which took place virtually around the UK or visit our sister site Minerva Scientifica to discover more about the composers and scientists.
FRANCES M LYNCH
Soprano, Composer, Artistic Director, Workshop Leader
Working out how to sing with the evt team online was quite a challenge! Massively enjoyed running the Essex Virtual Choir, and SPLASH BURBLE GURGLE WHOOSH workshops. Funniest thing for me was squeezing into a tiny space to get off-stage (ie. off-screen) during live dramatic presentations on zoom – a couple of times I was hopping about with silent foot cramp!
Click on the picture to hear Frances singing one of her own compositions
……FRANCES is knee deep (well over her head really) in planning projects for EVT this year with Herbie and the rest of the team which will be announced very soon. Meanwhile she’s still working on the Podcast Series WOMEN OF SCIENCE & MUSIC: 30 CELEBRATIONS, and looking forward to writing more music both for EVT and for the 1,500th Anniversary of the birth of St Columba (“Colmcille 1500″) in collaboration with Alexandra Jones, Bàrd a’ Chomuinn – Gaelic Crowned Bard, at An Comunn Gàidhealach.
HERBIE CLARKE
Production Manager, Sound & Video Engineer
There was so much to remember while I was doing the background tech for the live Zoom Performances – but the most important thing was to out do Ian Knowles, the director of Chelmsford Civic Theatres who was introducing the Soundings from Essex events, in who could wear that most eye-catching shirt!
Click on the picture to hear one of Herbie’s tracks used in this year’s Advent Calendar
……HERBIE is still video editing, producing music tracks for our Minerva Scientifica Birthday Celebrations and working on the media and planning our projects for 2021 with Frances. Despite this he’s still found time to revamp his Music for The Media website called herbtracks.co.uk. His music has been used on numerous productions around the world and covers many styles. In the coming months more music will be added. Take a listen – CLICK HERE.
DR PATRICIA FARA
Science Historian
The rollercoaster of Soundings from Essex enabled me to survive that dreadful lockdown summer, but I did keep having the classic academic nightmare – standing at the podium stark naked lecturing on something I knew absolutely nothing about.
Click on the picture to see Patricia in action!
…..PATRICIA is still working on our EVT PODCAST SERIES and yesterday (!) her new book was published: Life after Gravity: Isaac Newton’s London Career (OUP). It comes with a NEWTON QUIZ but before you try it, we suggest you cheat by listening to her introduction below!
She recently published some very pertinent articles in History Today: The Original Anti-Vaxxers & The First Blind Medical Trials; can be heard talking about Emilie du Chatelet on In our Time, and on March 12th will lecture on Carl Linnaeus.
CATHERINE BOOTH
Science Historian
Lockdowns in 2020 saw me continuing to research historical Scottish female scientists, some of which are on the Minerva Scientifica site. I love finding unexpected connections between arts and sciences. I was so excited to discover that composer Isobel Dunlop, was the niece of scientist, Professor Sir D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, whose descriptions of mathematical patterns in nature have inspired artists for over a century.
Click on the picture to hear Catherine in one of our Podcasts featuring WW1 frontline doctor Adeline Campbell
……CATHERINE is still working on our EVT PODCAST SERIES, continuing her research (that’s the fun bit) and preparing to produce a book on the topic – lots of work needed yet. She is always keen to hear about women she’s not yet come across….suggestions welcome.
She is a busy trustee of the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation, has made over 100 face masks for friends and family and has found exploring Edinburgh, and finding lots of interesting sights very rewarding. If you visit Edinburgh, be sure to follow her example and see the Colinton Tunnel! (pictured below)
MARGARET CAMERON
Mezzo-Soprano
Portraying an unnamed wireless operator in France during WW2, I was struck by the courage and ingenuity of women at work during times of adversity.
Click on the picture above to see a video of the piece (subtitled)
……MARGARET has been continuing her lockdown singing as an alto with the BBC Singers, enjoying the snow in the woods, listening to the song of the robins and baking cakes – ginger and pear this week – delicious. She claims that her highlight of the year so far was knowing the answer to a University Challenge question about Caroline Herschel, because she’d sung about her with Frances!
JENNY MILLER
Mezzo-Soprano
I enjoyed constructing homemade sound studios for Minerva Scientifica’s on-line performances, trying to find enough light for filming sessions, trying to shut the dog out and up, and trying not to make inadvertent and inappropriate appearances on zoom. Lockdown has been such an adventure in zoomland!
Click on the picture above to see Jenny performing on Zoom!
……JENNY is currently rejoicing in the distant sight of ‘Land ahoy’ as Lockdown wind-down begins to liberate her company Barefoot Opera. Check out their website for details of advanced movement/voice classes for singers (every Tuesday 6:30pm) & for their new peoples opera for Hastings and Bexhill, ‘Bloom Britannia’ by Stephen Plaice and Orlando Gough which will come out guns blazing Oct 22-24 in St Mary in the Castle Hastings.
Click on the picture below for the launch video
JULIAN STOCKER
Tenor
I think the funniest thing I did in 2020 was take a picture of myself singing and mowing the lawn. Also sowing and singing! I’ve enjoyed all the recordings and also hearing the amazing results. “Bats, Moths & Biplanes” was a particular highlight – Fantastic how it all came together.
Click on the picture above to hear the piece
……JULIAN is hoping to embark on a mini song recital tour, accompanied by his wife Karen, singing sacred songs arranged by Benjamin Britten. He will be appearing at the Pinner Music festival in June singing Bach, and hopes to develop opportunities to sing musical favourites at care homes around the country once regulations permit.
Below picture shows Julian with EVT singers performing a little bit of Barbershop!
DAVID SHEPPARD
Countertenor
My 2020 evt memory is of the joy of finding the prickly plant ‘Miss Wilmott’s Ghost’ to add to the set-dressing in my dining room, for the piece about Ellen Willmott.
Click on the picture above to see how David uses this prop in his performance
……DAVID will continue his singing alongside his work as a qualified Clinical and Sports Massage Therapist and Reflexologist, training to be a Pilates Teacher, practicing his new Double Bass, composing with technology, exploring a cottage industry in prints and greetings cards with his artist partner, and website building!
Picture below shows David in full flow being worshipped by his EVT colleagues!
GWION THOMAS
Baritone
I’ll always remember sitting in a corner of the bedroom singing a quirky solo (Click on the picture to hear the song!) and drinking wine during the Essex project, and the evt huge contribution to Brixworth Music Festival (of which I was co-director), daily ‘streams’.
In 2021………………
……GWION is still enjoying teaching both at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Rugby School despite the challenge of remote singing teaching and learning. He’s looking forward, in October, to joining fellow EVT member, Jenny Miller and her opera company, Barefoot Opera, in their big Hastings community project: ‘Bloom Britannia’. He also continues his involvement with Brixworth Music Festival in Northamptonshire, as they plan to put on some concerts in September, covid willing!
ANNA THOMAS
Minerva Scientifica Website Manager
My most memorable EVT moment from 2020 was probably in October when the Minerva Scientifica Website suddenly became unusable for a week or so, but with a lot of hard work and patience over a few days – for me at the time, a lot of sitting in coffee shops working on my laptop – we managed to sort through several of the pages for the Echoes from Essex project despite the setback.
Click on the picture to hear one of Angharad’s favourite pieces from the project
In 2021………………
……ANNA is working hard to write up her PhD thesis on how popular music producers in the UK are using digital technologies to edit singing voices. It’s due in September – only 3 chapters to go! After finishing her studies at the University of Oxford, she will be exploring career options in academia, the music industry or market research. Thankfully she is still managing to help keep our Minerva Scientifica Website up to date!
JACK CORNELL
Artist
I have always wanted to see an opera, but never thought my first experience of seeing opera singers perform would be through a Zoom collaboration!
Click on the picture to see one of Jack’s fantastic films
LAUREN LISTER
BSL Interpreter
Working with the wonderful EVT one thing that was hard was finger spelling ‘The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” and also Interpreting the following from the brilliant Dr Gothamie Weerakoon “the taxonomy and ecology of tropical lichens, bioindication and conservation of lichenised fungi in endangered habitats” & “bioactive products from endolichenic fungi in mangrove ecosystems, Ecological relationships and bioindication”.
Click on the picture to hear more from Lauren about her involvement in the project
Meeting and working with a wonderful bunch of people at an unprecedented time where I thought I wouldn’t be able to be involved in music/performance or theatre work for some time! It was a brilliant experience and a Monday night family for 9 weeks. Thank you!
SIMONE IBBETT-BROWN
Mezzo-Soprano
Many thanks for having me on this wonderful project. It was so interesting, what an amazing group of people!!
Click on the picture to hear Simone singing
ALICE PRIVETT
Soprano
Singing with a click track for a recording was totally new and unusual for me – very challenging and good to utilise some different skills! It was fabulous to hear the finished pieces with all of the other voices. A very different choral experience!
Click on the picture to hear Alice singing in a choral piece by Eliza Flower
PEYEE CHEN
Soprano
I had fun listening to Frances’ recording of ADA BAB(BLE) and recording my part with it.
Click on the picture to hear ADA BAB(BLE).
I missed interacting with fellow musicians this year, and even just having the simulation of singing with another human being made me feel sparks of joy!
Baking my first loaf of bread with my sourdough starter felt like such an achievement! My starter is still alive, after all these months, and I’m still baking regularly. Quite proud of that!
