Top Cumbrian violinist returns to her roots
Last updated at 10:56, Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Cumbrian violinist Emma Hancock plays with top orchestras in the United States, where she now lives. On a recent trip home to Carlisle for her wedding to a fellow musician she spoke to Jane Loughran about her quest for a work-life balance. Photography by Phil Rigby
Emma Hancock started playing the violin at the age of three; by the time she hit her teens, she had drilled herself to practise for three or four hours every single night after school.
For those who attempt to reach for the stars in the fiercely comptetitive world of classical music, this kind of gruelling self discipline is taken as read. No-one becomes a violin virtuoso, as Emma has done, without following a relentless routine of practice; fine-tuning and polishing every nuance of his or her performance.
Emma’s astonishing musical talent had been spotted early by parents who knew what to look for. Her mum Margaret is a violin teacher and her father Michael is a singer and conductor who has worked prominently with Carlisle Cathedral Choir and who has a number of radio broadcasts to his credit. Both parents encouraged Emma’s music but steered away from forcing her to practise.
When Emma started entering important national competitions for young musicians, it was her decision to step up her training and to become increasingly self-disciplined. She made her London debut aged 10 in the Purcell Room and at 14 she performed Bruch’s Violin Concerto No 1 in the Queen Elizabeth Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the Grand Final of the Audi Junior Musician which was broadcast on Classic FM. She is currently first violinist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
“Being a musician is similar to being a gymnast; non-stop training is vital for success. You might do the splits brilliantly at the age of six but unless you carry on doing them every day, you will simply lose your ability. Your work is never finished; there is always scope to improve. It is a constant challenge to stay at the top of your field and inevitably self doubt sometimes creeps in,’’ says Emma.
Perhaps her brief crisis at the age of 17 was therefore inevitable. A spirited girl with imagination was bound to wonder whether she was missing out on life; everyone needs to occasionally smell the roses and Emma woke up one day questioning her entire way of life.
“I booked a flight to Greece and flew off for seven weeks without my violin. It was a short period of real rebellion. I was asking myself endless questions. Had I led a blinkered life? Did I know how to socialise? Was I missing out on life’s pleasures? Was my music taking over my whole existence?
“I was only 17 and I felt burnt out and too old for my age. I needed to go to Greece, lie on a beach and do as little as possible. I needed to feel like a normal teenage girl.
“If you have devoted yourself to music from the age of three, you are bound to wonder whether you have done the right thing. I had to make sure that I was really and truly in love with my music,’’ she says.
When Emma came home to Carlisle, as soon as she walked in the door, she rushed to find her violin and then burst into tears. “Quite simply, I realised how much I had missed playing,’’ she says.
But Emma still had to find her real focus. She had left Carlisle’s Trinity School at the age of 16, determined to travel and to enjoy a low pressure lifestyle. She went to the United States, exploring west and east coasts, and concentrated on folk music, rather than classical, playing with Celtic band Tarras whose recording “Rising’’ achieved number one in the Folk charts; it was also voted Mojo’s Folk Album of the Month.
Emma toured all over the country with Tarras, recorded albums and chilled out. It was, she says, an amazing two years. However, her classical training began to nag at her. Emma’s mini rebellion was almost over by the time she arrived at the Royal College of Music as a foundation scholar.
“I had not never attended a specialist music school and I had a bit of technique to catch up on but I am grateful for the fact that I was not over-drilled as I think it helped me to be a free and creative,’’ says Emma. Nevertheless, after just one year of professional study, once again, she began to kick at the traces.
“My stress levels began to rise. I felt my worth as a human being was entirely related to how well I performed on stage. For me, music can never be absolutely everything and I decided to cut myself some slack. I have always been determined to be a rounded, healthy human being rather than a one dimensional musician,’’ says Emma.
Emma’s quest for an ideal work-life balance is a running theme; there appears to be a constant struggle between the musician and the woman. Right now, the core woman is in the ascendancy. In May, Emma, returned home from the US to Carlisle for her cathedral wedding to fellow musician, freelance double bass player Matthew McGrath.
The couple moved in together just six weeks after their first date. “We had dinner together and felt as if we had known each other for ever – it was all just so natural and our ideals were similar. Musicians are a slightly crazy breed and it is hard to explain yourself to someone from another world. Matt and I have a complete understanding of each other. Our jobs force us to be extremely organised and to be diagnostic in our approach to problems.
“We might wonder why something is out of tune and then work out how to fix it. We use the same approach to the rest of our lives; working out how to get to the root of a problem,’’ she adds.
The nature of their work means they are often apart. It was during a lengthy phone call two years ago while Emma was at home in the United States and Matthew was in Switzerland that the conversation turned to marriage. A week later, Matthew jumped on a plane and rushed back to propose.
“I am always working on Friday and Saturday nights and my domestic life needed to be nurtured,’’ says 26-year-old Emma. Her decision to use her husband’s surname, even releasing her latest CD titled Fireborn, two weeks before her wedding, under the name of Emma McGrath is a clear signal of where her priorities now lie.
“In some ways, I am very old fashioned and I don’t feel the need to hang on to my surname. I decided to change my name in advance of the wedding to make sure Matt wasn’t leading me up the creek,’’ she jokes.
“I am determined to make time for Matt, see friends and family and enjoy my married life. In our world, it takes a huge effort to do all that and still maintain your professional standards to the point where you have the respect of your colleagues. However, I do believe it is possible to have it all,’’ adds Emma.
Emma has just accepted an additional post as one of the lead violinists with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra; she has the title of assistant concertmaster. “We are making our home at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and hope to make the most of the active lifestyle that the location encourages. “Matt’s family live in Denver and so we will have lots of babysitters when we need them,’’ she says.
And when will that be? “Maybe in two years’ time. We want to get our careers settled first,’’ she says. Musician Emma resurfaces.
When she graduated from the Royal College of Music, Emma chose to live and work in the United States because she believes it offers a more secure life for a classical musician. “American orchestras really take care of their musicians. We have health care, free pensions and childcare. Carlisle is my home but my musical home is now the United States,’’ she says with a trace of an American east coast accent.
Apart from her astonishing natural talent, Emma has another commercial attribute of a leading female violinist. Just like Vanessa Mae, Hilary Hahn, Nicola Benedetti, Julia Fischer, Jennifer Koh and Janine Jansen, Emma has cover girl good looks. The ultra glam violinist is a curious phenemonen that Emma struggles to explain.
“The violin is probably the most glamorous, showcase instrument in an orchestra and the violinist stands right at the front of the stage. It seems to attract players who like plenty of attention. I cannot think of any other explanation,’’ she says.
Emma insists that there is no star on her dressing room door in the United States. “There are 100 thoroughbreds on the stage who have mainly been playing far longer than I have,’’ she says. Back home in Cumbria where she is a rare talent, the spotlight always finds Emma who promises to return to perform at a charity concert in the future.
But for the moment, Mrs McGrath has a new husband and little more thinking to do about exactly how to ensure the balance of her life is absolutely correct.
Emma has just released a CD called Fireborn which was recorded at live concerts including one at St Cuthbert’s Church in Carlisle. All proceeds from the CD are in aid of Signpost International, a non-denominational Christian development agency that works to eradicate poverty.
First published at 14:54, Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Published by http://www.cumbrialife.co.uk
