Future Classic Women Awards – Nigel Foster & Nadine Benjamin

Hello and welcome to future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on women's radio station, the program where we search for the most amazing new female artist on the classical panorama today. Our special guest is pianist Nigel Foster that is introducing to us his fantastic London song so Cycle Festival with a comeback. Fantastic guest. That is Nadine Benjamin, one of our nominees from the previous season. How are you? Oh, it's such a wonderful pleasure to be here. Thanks for inviting me back. We're very happy when Nigel told me, you know, I can bring in. And Nadine is like, yeah. And I'm so happy that the radio stations, you know, has taken off and it's had its longevity and it's still continuing to be supported. So if anybody can still keep supporting, that would be amazing. That's very kind. Thank you so much. Thank you. Nigel, welcome. Thank you for inviting me. It's lovely to be here. Thank you. Nigel, how did you come up with this fantastic cycle of concerts that is actually starting very soon, isn't it? Yes, well, it actually started a few weeks ago, back in October. This is a series called Outsiders have a different theme of the festival every year. This year it's Outsiders and we have different concerts. We have Ambellios, which is with Nadine, who's the musical outsider. We have a concert of songs of Clara Schumann, who's the emotional outsider. That's the 28th of November. We have lots of different. We had the exiled Outsiders last week, which is three composers who escaped Nazi oppression in the 1930s and made new lives for themselves in the UK. Wow. So lots of different outsiders. And the concert opened with the Outsiders Fight Back, which was a concert about the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Okay, wow. Fantastic. So, and when are the. Where are the concert going to be? The embellish one is next week. That's Thursday the 14th, which is with Nadine and a wonderful young antenna called Michael Bell. And next week we have this week, rather, we have the Autistic Outsider, which is the premiere of a new song cycle by Michael Anchani Wills and poems and by James Robinson May, who's a wonderful baritone, who's. And who's an alumni of the National Opera Studio. And he wrote some poems about the turmoil which autism made in his life and how he's overcome that and made it a part of his singing and his work and his career. And they're at the wonderful Hind Street Church, aren't they? Yes. All the concerts take place there. Yeah. No, yes. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, I watched. Yes, it is. It's a really intimate venue, actually. And I was at the Stonewall concert and it was just so moving. I was crying by the end. It's just amazing how you've been woven all these stories so they have a personal kind of resonance with each and every one of us in the audience. It's really fantastic. It's such an intimate thing because you have opera, which is huge staging and big orchestras and a chorus of 60 people. And an orchestra, 60 people, lighting and everything else. But song is a singer and a pianist. Yeah. So it speaks really personally and emotionally and directly to an audience. Absolutely. I mean, if you think about how it all started, the songs were, you know, normally performed in the salotto. Right. In the salon, so in the living room of people. And that was the entertainment of the time. You didn't have around there. Exactly. Neither radio or even radio need a radio or CDs, so. So people would meet up, have a dinner all together or a tea, I don't know. And then someone would go at the piano and accompany the guest singing. And that was a very special moment of bonding as well. Yes, yes. Who wonders? There's somebody that. There's a lovely pianist, Marc Verter, he runs these wonderful salons now where he just has that intimate setting like you were just talking about, Stefania, which is really personal and intimate and just a new way to enjoy music, I suppose. Now I'll ask you a personal question. Personal question. You have such a powerful voice. How is it to sing in a more intimate venue? Well, I kind of. One of the things that I learned when I was in the Youth Theatre, because I was at the Battle Arts Centre Youth Theatre, that's how I started. And one of the things I learned is to walk into a room and to take in each corner of the room, which I'm going to do now because I realized that I can fill a space quite easily. And as you take in a corner, it makes your whole frequency and your whole body frequency adapt to the room. Oh, right. You're never supposed to change your voice. You just stay on your body. Because that's really important for a singer never to come off their body, really. But in song you can play around with that a little, but that kind of just brings everything together and just gives a balance. But yeah, I love singing in intimate spaces. I do a concert every. A free concert, St. Paul's in Covent Garden, and that's, you know, every December. And that's really intimate as well. So. Oh, when is going to be the next one. 20th of December 28th. No, 20th. 1pm at St. Paul's in common. And it's free and it invites everybody to be there, which is wonderful. Absolutely. Let's sign that down. And first of all, we will come to listen to you singing the Berlioz concert. Now, we don't have a Berlioz. We do have Berlioz later. But we're starting with a special piece by. Sang by actually. Is Berlioz. What am I talking about? It's Berlioz. Le Spectre from La Nuit and is sung by Jesse Norman. So can you tell us why did you decide to start with Berlioz? I mean, why this country is dedicated to Berlioz. Well, it's the 150th anniversary of his death this year. So it's an important anniversary. And he was such a fascinating character. This concert. We have readings from his memoirs. And he's such a comedian. How he writes is just incredible. Talking about the musical establishments of his day. How he fought against the sort of abstained conservative way that some things were done so that he could do his own things and write in his own way and upset the poetry which he wanted to set. And. Yeah, you wouldn't think of classical musician as revolutionary, isn't it? Yeah, but that's what they are. They were in those. Absolutely. They own terms. Yeah. So Belios was one of them. And he was actually doing it with irony as well. Yes, yes, yes, yes, exactly. I think irony is the best we sometime. I mean, people get so angry. Yeah, but he was such a romantic. Oh, yeah. And he was a law unto himself, really, wasn't he? You know, in terms of like he got taught. Was it just the guitar and flute? Because he never did the piano, did he? Never. He wasn't initially taught the piano. And so he wrote everything for. From playing the guitar and the flute. It just made him even more quirky. And a whole law unto himself. And the way that he hears the harmony and the way the strings and everything get connected together, you know, luckily for me, in an operatic way. It's really quite an operatic version. There's a lot of drama. There's a lot of emotion and passion. A quick question before we listen to it. Le Spectre is from the translation of Caste or Spectra, in the sense of spectrum of a range. I think it's the Ghost. Right. So very good. Coming out of the Halloween week. Exactly. It speaks. J. Sa. Sweet. Welcome to women's radio station. I'm Sarah Louise Ryan and welcome to Love Lessons live on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on Women's Radio station. Hello and welcome to Julie Mae is listening. Hi, this is, this is Anna Kennedy and we're at Women's Radio Station supporting women's well being and we're talking all things autism women. The possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Hi, I'm Lauren Mishkon. I'm a birth doula and mum of three and I'm passionate about supporting women to have empowering and positive birth experiences. Please join me for my brand new show From Tummy to Mummy here on Women's Radio Station. Every week I'll be here with an expert guest talking about women's reproductive health, everything, fertility, pregnancy, birth and baby related right through to the menopause and beyond. Please join us for an informative and fun hour. Hello, my name is Ingrid Marsh on Women's Radio Station and coming soon is the Radical Wellbeing show to help support women's wellbeing. Each year I share the airwaves with ordinary women like me and you, doing extraordinary things. Women who have overcome huge obstacles in their lives who are now here with me to empower you. On the Radical Wellbeing show, you'll be inspired to kick away the roadblocks and live your life to the fullest. If you're ready to get radical about your well being, then this is the show for you. Hi, I'm Hazel Butterfield, a blogger, book clubber and mental health advocate and you can listen to my show. Get booked here at Women's Radio station daily at 5am and 5pm throughout my shows we'll talk about the books I've read, new releases, chat to authors, publishers and book enthusiasts, all with the theme and aim of supporting women's emotional well being. If you have a book to tell us about, get in touch@presentersomensradiostation.com join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Do you want to be a doula? Would you like to support families through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period? Do you have qualities of compassion, listening, caring and empowering? At Nurturing Birth we offer approved doula training courses across the UK which are facilitated by an award winning doula. Here you will learn more about the support you can offer, explore the doula role and think about how to set up your business. No need for previous qualifications. Find out more at nurturingbirth.co.uk. Here we go. Welcome back to future Classic Women Awards on Women's Radio Station, the program where we search for the most amazing new female artist on the classical panorama. Our guests today are pianist Nigel Foster and the fantastic soprano Nadine Benjamin. Now, we didn't listen to Nadine singing Berlioz because that's going to be live on the 20th. No, 14th. 14th of November. That is next. Next week. Absolutely. So that was Jessie Norman. So would you like to tell us about Jessie who actually passed away? Jesse Norman was such an amazing artist. She was an inspiration, fabulous, extraordinary singer. Yeah, she'll be very sadly missed. Yeah, she died this year. She died? Yes, in September, a few weeks ago. Yeah, just a few weeks ago actually. So she will be sadly, sadly missed by us all. When we were just saying she is an absolute master of song for a contemporary music, everything. She was amazing at songs, she was amazing at operas, she was amazing at temporary music, at romantic music, everything. Yeah. And like Berlioz, she was a Lawrence to herself, wasn't she? She did things her way. A real inspiration. Yeah, real. Really inspirational. Such a distinctive voice as well. When you hear her sing, you can't mistake her for anything else. She's Jessie Norman. Absolutely. The other singer I always recognize, no matter what, is Maya Callas. Oh, of course. She's one of my idols as well. You know, she just. I love that. She's a goddess. I was just. Then I did a concert this year and it was. It was my first time in Greece and it was at the Women's Festival in Greece. Beautiful. And. And on after the concert had finished, I had felt this kind of spiritual frequency experience. And then I found out afterwards that it was the anniversary of Maria Callas death. Imagine that. The first time I'm ever singing, I've ever been to Greece, I've ever sung in Greece and that's the day that I'm there. It was, it was, it was such a moving experience. Yeah, we were talking about, you know, the, the inspiration, the energy that is behind music. Sometimes people don't realize, but we're never alone at the moment we're singing. We have the composer with us, we have the great inspiration with us. More than words can. It can speak to the heart of. And it's an international language. Absolutely, absolutely. Of course, music can speak to you and speak to your heart, speaks your soul. It's just amazing. It's just. Yeah, so you're. And in song when there's words and as well, we have amazing poetry. Yeah. So. So the combination of. Of Amazing words and music is just something really special and powerful. Yeah, it's just wonderful. I have a very big question. Does it ever happen to you that you're singing something when your mood is completely the opposite of what you're saying? Yes. I mean that's the master of being a professional, isn't it? That sometimes life does take over. But what is really important is that you've done the preparation so that when that kind of does sneak in, the preparation kind of overrides that. So you're still just staying in character because once you open your mouth, really the only thing that should be important is what you're saying. Yeah, but we do, of course we have feelings underneath that, that maybe we're dealing with in our dives. Some of us are dealing with people's deaths and you know, marriage breakups and you know, or children like just who are maybe ill, you know, or trying to manage a life in a career. At the same time we never know what's going on behind people's eyes or. But when they sing, all of that is released. It's almost like an escape. It's almost like a different world and we get to share that world with people and take their fears and their. And give them joy and give them healing and. Yeah, it's such a. It's a two way symbiotic thing really. Such a privilege actually. What. Yeah, we do because I mean maybe and we can help somebody in the audience who has all these problems, who has health problems, who has family problems, who has emotional problems. We can lift them into some. It isn't us, of course, it's their music. Absolutely, absolutely. We're just there, the vehicles, we're the channel. Yes. Like the oracle. Yes, yes. That's the science of music. Yeah. Nigel, how did you decide to dedicate your life to songs? To working with singers, for example? It started really at music college of the Academy when I was a student and the warden of the Academy, a man called Royal Academy. Yes, yes. There's a man called Noel Cox asked me if I would accompany the choir and I said why not? I'd never played for a choir before and I think it was Mendelssohn Elijah, which is wonderful piece and I fell in love with his music and all these singers and the singers in the choir started asking me if I would play for their singing lessons and that's how it started. Fantastic. I'd much rather work with other people than on my own because I think being a solo pianist you're travel worlds on your own. You live out of a suitcase and it's very lonely. I love the give and take, the chamber music aspect and the collaborative aspect. It's just wonderful working with you. Well, sometimes I think it's like a call, isn't it? When you. Someone is like taking you into the path and making you to choose. I started playing when I was seven and that's all I've ever done. Really? Absolutely. I wouldn't have any other night. And what's so special about the London Song Festival is that it provides a platform for up and coming singers, singers that have been around a really long time and it gives them a chance to integrate and also for us to hear new and exciting pieces or lost pieces and how to try and. Yeah. And then program maybe unpublished works. Exactly. Rarely heard works. Yeah. Rather than the same old things which everybody's heard. Yeah. Which I think that's what makes the festival sounds so special. And we have master classes as well. Yes, you do. It's a weekend, actually. We've just had two full days of masterclasses over 70 young singers. Oh, wow. Fantastic. There's two master classes, one held by the wonderful Roddy Williams, which is. Oh, I love him. English song, which is on December 10th. We do love him. And then Christophe Pregardien, a wonderful German antenna who I'm flying over from Germany for this. Oh, wow. And then he's doing a masterclass of leader. Oh, gorgeous. Sh. And let's listen then. Now Len La from L with Jesse Norman. No pardon. With Regine Crespa. La. Sam. Race. Welcome to the women's radio station supporting women's well being. Women's radio station is all about diversity from opinions, career, ethnicity, education and most importantly, women's well being. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website womensradiostation.com for more information. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash but just don't know where to start. @empowerandenrich.org you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me@empowerandenrich.org and let's change your together. Do you want to be a Doula. Would you like to support families through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period? Do you have qualities of compassion, listening, caring and empowering? At Nurturing Birth, we offer approved doula training courses across the UK which are facilitated by an award winning doula. Here you will learn more about the support you can offer, explore the doula role and think about how to set up your business. No need to for previous qualifications. Find out more@nurturingbirth.co.uk hi, I'm Carolyn Van Beers. Please join me for a brand new show here on women's radio station. It's Mother's Hour. If, like me, you're a mum juggling far too many balls and dropping most of them, this is definitely the show for you. We'll examine the highs and lows of motherhood and make sure you laugh out loud as we take on this challenging role together. With spoonfuls of advice, incredible stories. It will be refreshing, honest and funny. Look at being a mum. Are you struggling with money? Turn to us as a national charity helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk welcome to the Women's Radio Station supporting Women's well being. Women's Radio Station can give voice to your brand. With a wide range of of sponsorship opportunities, including individual programs. We can tailor your experience for you. For more information on how you can sponsor a show, go to womensradiostation.com women's radio station supporting women's well being. Welcome back to future Classic Women Awards on Women's Radio Station. Today our guests are Nigel Foster and Nadine Benjamin. Nadine. So we were talking about the amazing Jacine Orman, Maria Kalas. But you too, you're having such an amazing career. I mean, you were already super big when I interviewed last time at the Reed. And then in the meantime you've been to the Opera Awards and it's funny, I don't see myself as like what I would call big, but I do see myself at the moment being supported in a way that allows me to show what I can do and I'm really excited about that, you know, being an Eno Harvard artist, working at the London Song Festival, working with all these fantastic orchestras. I'm going to be working with Marion Allsop next year as well, doing the Beethoven 9 and just getting these wonderful opportunities to learn because I am seeing what is seen as a young singer, you know, so. And my first time really on a main stage, in a professional audience, on an a house stage was last year or the year before. Is amazing as Clara in Porgy and Bess and is and as Musetta in Bohem. And I loved it. I completely loved it. And I've loved being an Eno Harwood artist and I've loved the support I've got and I love recording as well. Yeah. You know, so obviously you. When I did my first debut album. Yeah, you were amazing and I really appreciated you taking the time to play what had happened. End up absolutely what we had worked on. And now we're. I've just done an album recently with the Emily Dickinson scholar Nicole Panizal and we have done a whole Emily Dickinson album called Emergence Emily Dickinson on the Stone Records label. And it's 30 songs composed by different composers, but 30 poems, epigrams and letters of Emily Dickinson composed by five different composers. Did you choose to do this project on Emily Dickinson or it was proposed to you? So Nicole and I have both worked with the composer Juliana hall and she said, you two must really work together. And we just said, well, why don't we do this? I had done Emily Dickinson program via the the London American Festival run by Odelina de la Martinez and also the fact that Nicole was an Emily Dickinson scholar. We just thought why don't we do Emily? And she touches people's hearts with her poetry in so many ways that we just felt that we had something to say and so we just decided to champion in it really and self fund it. Find things that find people to support us. We had a small budget from the Coventry University who allowed us to record it and. But it's. It's been. Yeah, it's been fantastic. Oh, wonderful. And when is the CD coming out? The CD was reduced. Released on the 6th of September. Oh, wow. Okay. Yes. And. And you'll hear some of it today. Fantastic. Yeah. By the composer Juliana Hall. But I just feel really grateful. I feel a bit teary now. Oh my God. I just feel really grateful. I mean I was told, you know, that, you know, that, you know, this doesn't happen to everybody. I know it doesn't, I'll tell you that. And I just feel so grateful to be doing what I love and my whole life is dedicated to it. I live, breathe and sleep music. I'm totally obsessed and I make no apologies for it. Absolutely Nigel, do you do the same? I think you said that before, right. Music is my life. I can't imagine a life or a world without music. It's just, it's unique. Well, you know, when I was little, I remember I had a talent for writing, I had a talent for painting. My dad was a musician and he said, you have to learn music. There is a saying in Italian it says learn the art and put it aside. And in Italian is imparalarte and mettilla da parte because it makes the. And it's something that stayed with me for all my life. And I thought, and then I. I admire greatly doctors. And I'm thinking, you know, there's nothing more important than being a doctor and saving life and in any way. And then lawyers, when they defend, you know, there is so many amazing job out there. I was thinking, oh my gosh, what am I going to do? And. But then really, music choose you, isn't it? And I remember when I was at the academy, I had a moment when I didn't exist exam and I didn't get the mark that I wanted. I thought I deserved a better mark. And so I went to the teacher and says, listen, if I'm not good enough, tell me now. And I change my, you know, I can become an amazing. I have a degree in law. I can become an amazing lawyer and do some good in the world with being a lawyer. I don't want to be a middle class pianist, for example. And the teacher told me something very, very special. She said, you know, you have so much talent in your little finger that many other pianists in the same academy don't have. So you actually have a responsibility. Wow. And you cannot give that away. And, and that really changed my life completely. And then there was no choice anymore. Yeah. And sometimes you have these moments and you know, I don't know, maybe he's saying that to any student. Who knows not. I mean, I had that from other teachers too. But there is a moment where you suddenly click. And I think, for example, for you, Nadine, the moment you clicked was when you, I don't know, you just decided to become a singer. Well, I think, you know, what you're talking about is really important because as artists there is this social kind of belief system that if you're an artist then it's not as important as some of the other jobs that you've referenced and that you don't make any money out of it. So why would you do that? And I have to say that it has been A battle within myself, like singing, like, oh, my God, it's not enough. It's not enough. And I've had huge struggle with that and trying to be more than that because. To qualify being a singer, but being a singer, being a musician, there's so much work that goes into what we do. Like we were talking about earlier, the preparation and the fact that you've just said it is a responsibility, and music chooses us and we choose music. And that is such a wonderful and humbling responsibility. I mean, absolutely onerous or no, it's hard work, but. It's such hard work. But the rewards are just incredible. Yeah. When you see the people's faces, the audience, and how they've received the music. And then what I find every opera that I work on is talking about a specific thing that's going on in my life at that time. And it really challenges me to open myself up and to look at things in a different way or to have conversations that I wouldn't necessarily have. So art does really open us up, and it opens platforms up like politics and, you know, and it gives people a voice. Given me a voice. Yeah. You know, I'm from very, very, very humble beginnings and. And if, you know, it saved my life, you know, some people know, but, you know, 17 years ago, I was homeless on the street. And so music has been a way of me voicing and releasing my feelings and grabbing onto something that has shown me a path that I would never have known, and it allows me to connect with a whole world that I would never have understood if I didn't sing. Music is an international language. It can speak to anybody everywhere, whatever their nationality, class, background, religion, anything. Culture. Yeah, yeah. You know, nowadays, and building bridges and bringing people together. Yeah. It's an amazing thing. I think the most important thing is actually what you said is to tell the audience not to be scared of it. That can be for anyone. Absolutely. And from anyone from anywhere. You don't need any specialist knowledge. You don't need to understand foreign languages, that there's some translations in the program. You don't have to understand anything. You just have to be there and open yourself. Absolutely ready to receive and just let music do its magic. Yes. Which is why I do the free concert every year in December at St. Paul's because it means that anybody can walk through the door and experience it. I don't want any barriers for. I think opera, classical music is for everyone, you know, and it belongs to a us all, so. Yeah. Wonderful. Well, let's listen now. The Storm by Juliana hall on the poem by Emily Dickinson with Nadine Benjamin yes and Nicole Paniza. It might not come this de. To have a tiding or two concerning our state and feelings. Our state is pretty calm. And our feelings are somewhat so. We are rather a Christ fallen company, What with the sighing wind, the sobbing rain and the whining of nature. We are enjoying this evening what is called a no be storm. A little north is you are pretty definite. Father thinks it's amazing and I'm half disposed to think that he's in the right about it, though I keep pretty dark and don't say much about it. Welcome to the Women's Radio Station Supporting Women's well Being Women's Radio Station is all about diversity from opinions, career, ethnicity, education and most importantly, women's well being. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website womensradiostation.com for more information. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash but just don't know where to start. At Empower and you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me@empowerandenrich.org and let's change your future together. Do you want to be a doula? Would you like to support families through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period? Do you have qualities of compassion, listening, caring and empowering? At Nurturing Birth we offer a approved Doula training courses across the UK which are facilitated by an award winning doula. Here you will learn more about the support you can offer, explore the doula role and think about how to set up your business. No need for previous qualifications. Find out more@nurturingbirth.co.uk hi, I'm Carolyn Van Beers. Please join me for a brand new show here on women's radio station, it's Mother's Hour. If, like me, you're a mum, juggling far too many balls and dropping most of them, this is definitely the show for you. We'll examine the highs and lows of motherhood and make sure you laugh out loud as we take on this challenging role together with spoonfuls of advice, incredible stories. It will be refreshing Honest and funny. Look at being a mum. Are you struggling with money? Turn to us as a national charity helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk welcome to the Women's Radio station supporting women's well being. Women's radio station can give voice to your brand. With a wide range of sponsorship opportunities, including individual programs, we can tailor your experience for you. For more information on how you can sponsor a Show, go to womensradiostation.com Women's radio station supporting women's wellbeing. Welcome back to future Classic women awards on Women's radio station. This is the last slide of our interview with Nigel Foster and Nadine Benjamin. Nigel, traditionally on the last part of the interview I ask some funny questions. So for example, do you have any ritual or superstition before going on stage? No, not really. Just be at one with the music and get into the character of what you're playing. Very good. Make sure I'm wearing the right glasses. That's one thing. Because I've got playing glasses and I've got normal glasses for real life. What's the difference? It's very focal. So for the reading, the reading bits are the embossing and quarter of the glasses, I think. But for I'm playing it's 3/4 or if I have the wrong glasses I have my chin in the air which has happened a few times. So it is not good. So I check I've got my glasses and check I've got my music. That's a very good thing. And yunadine. Oh my gosh. What funny. I think music like turning up. The other day I found out I had a coaching and I thought I had the coaching on another day and I had none of my music with me and I was like no help. And so I ran to the library and photocopied all the things I needed and da da da da da. And just made it back on time for my coaching. I was just like thank you. There is a card. Wow, that's a scary moment. But it's also quite funny as well and it shows us how resourceful we can be, you know, in the moment and as musicians we really can think quickly on our feet. That's that. That's the most important thing Isn't it? You need to react fast, particularly when you're going on stage and there is no way back. Absolutely. Did it ever happen to you? There was one occasion actually when I had. I hadn't put the brakes on the wheels. Oh, no. On the piano. So this was a big Rachmaninoff song or something. I can imagine that. Actually the piano was moving away from me, so I shuffled up the piano stool and the singers saw this and they shuffled across to match. And as the song went on the piano, me and the singers sort of gradually moved across the stage. It wasn't at Hyne Street, Boston Hill Chapel, I think, where it was before. Well, yeah, that was moving from a different point of view. That was quite fun. Well, actually, do you ever think that song cycle are a bit more static compared to opera, for example? So in that case you put. I like to have a bit of movement and staging, I think this sort of old fashioned song recital where Amsinger stands in the bow of the piano and sings. I think it's nice to have to use different parts of the venue and to move and to interact and things from the balcony or from the back of the church or something. Just to use the space. Absolutely. It's a wonderful space. Yeah. Because when. Because the way Nicole and I are presenting the Emily Dickinson stuff has stayed. We worked with. At Snake Maltings, we had a small residency where we worked with the director Lynn Binstock, and we kind of carved a story out of it where 10 songs are kind of put together and we act them out and we bring the relationship with the pianist and the singer together. So I might sit on her stool, she might come and sit with me. Oh, wow. You know, so it's about that relationship that you're building because, you know, we both want to tell the story and the music tells the story, but if we can bring it alive in a different way, that's also great. And when you're doing song, there's so many people involved. There's the poets first, there's the composer. Absolutely. There's the singer, there's the pianist, all of which have an equal. There's the audience as well. Yeah, yeah. Almost the most important part, there's no one to show it to. There's no. It doesn't make any difference. Did you have a. Do you remember the strangest comment from someone in the audience after a concert, for example? Well, one of the most emotional things have I played for live music now many years ago, which takes music into hospitals and hospitals and there was we went into one ward, I think it was Ann cancer ward. And then we sang our songs. And there was one elderly lady who was in absolute tears. It was a song which she had heard and sung when she was a child and had brought all her. And she just held my hands after the concert, and I could hardly say anything and said, you know, my life is happy now. You've made such a difference. You made everything all right. I was so moved. It was such an incredible thing. And the hospital rang me next day and said that she had died that night. So to think that the music which me and the singer had shared with her was the last thing, and it was just incredible. I couldn't speak after that. I was just. Yeah. I mean, caught up inside. We find that with people with dementia as well. Yes. Music can make them bring their minds. Yeah. Like, back into the present language. It is a language almost the brain recognizes outside of our normal day to day today. And I have a very similar story. When I was in Winchester Cathedral last year. I do a concert there every year. And, you know, when a lady came up and said her son had died and I'd been coming there for the last two years, and she said, you've really helped my healing. Yes. And, you know, when we look at that music as a healer, oh, my gosh. It just moves us away. Yes, yes. From being involved, from ourselves. Exactly. Yeah. That's such a daily life. Yeah. Beautiful. Imagine. I always remember that. I always remember that. Oh, yes, yes, yes. It's such an extraordinary thing. It's like the flower from. Yes, yes. She's saying in that. In that. That this is. That the flower died. I was giving this flower at a ball, and. And the flower died on my chest that night. And that is the envy of kings, you know? How beautiful. That's what makes that song so beautiful as well. It's an extraordinary song. Now, the next song we're gonna listen to is Lightly Stepped A Yellow Star. So it's another song from Emily Dickinson. Yes. Composed by Juliana Hall. Exactly. And would you like to tell us something about this song? Well, it's from a song cycle called In Reverence, and they're all a little bit about prayer, and they're about family and they're about wonder. And she's. This is a very. She writes so intelligently and so intricately, and she uses a lot of rhythm here to kind of show the lightness of the star. And in the show that we do with Nicole Penniza and I, we play it and we just listen and Watch and act it out. So it's a wonderful little piece, a little quirky piece. Let's listen then to Lightly Stepped a Yellow Star with Nadine Benjamin and Nicole Panizza. NICOLE Panizz, PIANIST. Step a yellow star. To its lofty place loosed the moon. Softly lit. As an a st. Father, I observed to heaven you are punctual. And this was Lightly a Yellow Star by Juliana hall in Reverence with Nadine Benjamin. Nadine, you wanted to say something about. Yeah, I just want to just do a quick gratitude to say thank you to the London Song Festival, to the women's radio station, yourself and Nigel and to DJ Ritu who does the world in London. Carlos Conde, Jack Livigny, Nelly Mirichoyu, Anthea Paliszczuk, Michael Harper, all the people that really just have been such a support to me. I really appreciate you all and you know, you asked how is it to be where I am now? And I am where I am because of you people and because of your support and your love. And I really. And all the orchestras and all my fellow colleagues and singers, thank you so much. Thank you, thank you for the beautiful music that you're bring, you know, with your wonderful voice. That's the most beautiful gift. And you, Nigel, well, it's been wonderful being here. Thank you for inviting me and thank you for the opportunity to speak about the concert. You're more than welcome. Well, this concert is on Thursday, which is the autistic outsider. We've got wonderful baritone James Robinson May and two wonderful baritones and Theodore Platt whose I'm currently at the RCM Royal College of Music and it's a concert about the healing power of music and autism. And then of course Hamia Belio's concert which is a week after that, which is with Nadine and Michael Bell and Gabriel Wolf doing some wonderful Bellio songs. Yes. On the 14th. On the 14th, 7 o' clock, Hind Street Methodist Church. Yeah, beautiful. Well, if you have any questions that you would like to ask to our guest or nomination on future classic women awards, please email presentersomensradiostation.com or tweet us @womensradiostn. Again, a big thanks to Nigel and Benjamin for the great, for the great music played today. You've been listening to future classic men awards on women's radio station live every day at 10am and 10pm London time. Thank you for listening. Welcome to the women's radio station supporting women's well being. Women's radio station is all about diversity from opinions, career, ethnicity, education and Most importantly, women's well being. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website womensradiostation.com for more information. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money or are you holding hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash but just don't know where to start. @empowerandenrich.org you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me@empowerandenrich.org and let's change your future together. Do you want to be a doula? Would you like to support families through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period? Do you have qualities of compassion, listening, caring and empowering? At Nurturing Birth we offer approved doula training courses across the UK which are facilitated by an award winning doula. Here you will learn more about the support you can offer, explore the doula role and think about how to set up your business. No need for previous qualifications. Find out more@nurturingbirth.co.uk hi, I'm Carolyn Van Beers. Please join me for a brand new show here on women's radio station Its Mother's Hour. If, like me, you're a mum juggling far too many balls and dropping most of them, this is definitely the show for you. We'll examine the highs and lows of motherhood and make sure you laugh out loud as we take on this challenging role together with spoonfuls of advice. Incredible stories. It will be refreshing, honest and funny. Look at being a mum. Are you struggling with money? Turn to us as a national charity helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk welcome to the women's radio station supporting women's well being. Women's radio station can give voice to your brand. With a wide range of sponsorship opportunities including individual programs, we can tailor your experience for you. For more information on how you can sponsor a Show, go to womensradiostation.com Women's radio station supporting women's wellbeing.