- Alma
We did it. We created it, built it, we structured this ensemble. It's crazy, it's exciting, but I can't shake this feeling that it's not enough, that there are still steps missing, that we've forgotten something. Yesterday, with the others, we set ourselves a challenge. Each of us, on our own, has to answer the question, where do you see this ensemble in three years?
- Speaker
hEEElp We're starting an ensemble! An audio guide for emerging early music artists.
- Alma
My name is Alma. I'm 25 years old. I play violin in an early music ensemble. And now I need to look ahead. So, before discussing it with the other members of the ensemble, as usual, I do my research and turn to those who have the answers to my questions. Like Helena de Winter. She was Secretary General of the European Early Music Network, and today she is the Training Coordinator for the Sustainable Emerging Programme. She travels a lot, but I managed to chat with her for a few minutes.
- Speaker
Episode 5. Setting Objectives
- Helena De Winter
Hi Alma, can you hear me okay?
- Alma
Yes.
- Helena De Winter
How are you? Pierre told me you had a few questions for me.
- Alma
Thank you Helena. I actually have a thousand questions, but I'll try to be concise.
- Helena De Winter
Okay, no problem. Go ahead.
- Alma
What's been on my mind is that despite our full training at the Conservatoire, I feel like we're missing something. In your opinion, what should young ensembles just starting out like mine be better prepared for?
- Helena De Winter
One thing that may be missing is this entrepreneurial aspect and vision. It's a bit taboo in our sector, in the cultural sector. We want to believe that it's only about the music, only about the arts. I think if you make it only about the music, it will be difficult to develop your own ensemble. I think at some point your ensemble is a bit like a company that has to be developed. I mean, you have to earn money from it. You have to know about budgets, how budgets work. You have to know about how remunerations work. You have to know about how to communicate about your ensemble, how to make this ensemble visible so that you can get more concerts and more opportunities to show yourself and to create this relationship with an audience. And so I think it's important to have a bit at least this entrepreneurial vision that may be missing usually when ensembles start.
- Alma
All right. And do you think it's...
- Helena De Winter
important to go to professional events is that actually useful for musicians so i think there there are a few professional events that are quite important um i'm not saying all ensembles have to be there and it's the only way that they can find concerts meet promoters but it's something that can help and for i mean for early music ensembles there's a network which is called the european early music network. This is definitely an interesting place to be because you can meet a lot of people at once from the early music sector, from all over Europe and the world. And also attending the various conferences and talks and workshops can help to better understand what the issues and challenges are that the sector is facing. But clearly this represents an investment for the ensembles to do that.
- Alma
Over the past few months, We've been asking lots of questions, gathering lots of information, receiving lots of advice. But do we really have to listen to everyone all the time?
- Helena De Winter
When you start your ensemble and when you start working, developing your ensemble, you probably get a lot of advice. You may get a lot of advice from a lot of different people. And the more people you will meet and ask for guidance, the more advice you may get. Of course, you can't take all this. I mean, you can't do everything that people suggest that you should do because sometimes because it's just too much and you can't do everything at once. So you have to prioritize. You have to see what is the most important for you to develop right now and what can maybe wait six months or a year, what you should do later. I think it's important. That you don't forget about what is your own identity as an ensemble, your artistic identity, and maybe the artistic entity can contain quite a lot of aspects of what you want to develop with your ensemble. That's important that you keep this vision and that you don't forget it amidst the many tips and advice, pieces of advice that you may get from different people.
- Alma
Hey hey Hope you're all doing well and making progress on your homework. A voice note, as usual, to tell you that I've started sketching out what I'd like us to do together over the next three years. I don't know how you're going about it, but I've started making lists, what I really want, what I'd like, and what can wait. What about you? How do you get clarity on it all? Oh, I'll leave you. Marc de la Linde from the Ministers of Pastime is here. Talk to you later. Hey Marc, ready for my avalanche of questions?
- Marc de la Linde
Yeah, sure, let's go for the question. But first, do you want a cup of coffee? I might have one.
- Alma
Yes, please. Marc, when you look back on the early years of the Ministers of Pastime, what surprised you the most?
- Marc de la Linde
I would say that the thing that surprised me the most was that it grew up so fast in terms of connecting between us. I mean, easy. I think it was easy. At the beginning, things are quite easy, I think, and then it gets a bit harder. But yeah, the beginning was super exciting and we wanted to play all the repertoire in the world together. and we wanted, yeah... to leave that growing of the ensemble together, then, I mean, it's like a human relationship. Then it starts to get a bit harder. There are some moments where, after the first wave of joyness, it comes to more difficult times. But I think that now we are in a moment that, I don't know, it's getting very solid. I have the feeling this group, we are in a good point right now, that we've been through some... Very good moments, some more difficult moments, and now it's great.
- Alma
Thank you very much. And what do you wish someone had told you right at the very beginning?
- Marc de la Linde
I think I would tell me that it's okay, actually, because, I mean... If you work with these targets and you go very fast and you grow up as the capitalism wants you to grow up, you also lose some kind of thing, I have the feeling, of the ensemble. And I really like what we have now. And maybe it doesn't sell as much or as fast as we want, but I have the feeling it's something very solid that we are creating. And if it takes 10 years and... something that we should have done in five, I don't mind if it takes 10 years. So I would say just keep going, be patient, and it will grow.
- Alma
Thank you so much, Marc. This really helps.
- Marc de la Linde
Thank you so much. It was great meeting you and see you next time.
- Alma
Excuse me, I'll have another one, please. It's me again, sorry for spamming your whatsapp but I just wanted to say something a little soppy. Honestly, I want us to keep asking questions, keep talking, keep doubting, and most of all, keep playing together. It's genuinely the best, I love it. Big hugs
- Speaker
hEEElp We're starting an ensemble! An audio guide for emerging early music artists. A podcast produced by the collective Frisette as part of the European project Sustainable Emerging, supported by Creative Europe and coordinated by the Cultural Encounter Centre of Ambronay.
