Sarah Bardwell: How to join an orchestra

One always remembers the first day in a new job, but I didn’t have much time to reflect the day I joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) as its new managing director. In my first week, we had a concert at Windsor Castle, one at the Royal Albert Hall, another at Cadogan Hall and then, at the end of my first week, we were in Westminster Hall playing with the Saudi National Orchestra. It was incredible; my feet didn’t touch the ground. This first week set the mood and pace for the weeks that would follow. Now, looking back on my first five months, I feel very lucky to work alongside such interesting people who work so hard to deliver such exciting, varied and memorable music experiences.

When you start a new job, it can take a long time to meet everyone in person, especially during a time when a lot of people hot seat, many spend time out of the office at concerts, recordings or rehearsals and some work from home. In my early weeks, I would return to the office thinking I already knew everyone, only to find there were even more new people to meet. I’m a people person and it’s only now, five months on, that I think I finally know everybody.

'Our players, in essence, run the orchestra. They hired me to help them, but they make the decisions' (Image courtesy of the RPO)

Having met so many new people and had so many new experiences across the last five months, I have come to absolutely adore the organisation. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is very special; the musicians are special and the team behind them is really special. Together, our people want to share the joy of music to the broadest possible audience, and the enthusiasm, commitment and passion from my colleagues and our friends is contagious.

I’m an egalitarian. My basic premise is that I want everyone to have a chance to experience music – orchestral music – in the format that works for them. That’s the most exciting thing about the RPO musicians: in my time with them so far, their performances have ranged from orchestral settings of the music of Queen to performing alongside an Indian dance company. In the classical music sector, our concert audiences come first – and every orchestra has an obligation to listen to them. We invest considerable time and resources listening to the people that come to our concerts because, quite simply, there’s no point us doing any of this if we don’t have people who come to the concerts to listen. I’m delighted to have been directly involved in our new annual audience trends report, which will share so many new insights on how the audience views the orchestral world. Other key audiences I have spent time listening to in my first months at the RPO are the people that run the venues, the international promoters that we work with – and of course our corporate partners and supporters.

From all this, there’s a lot of information to gather and think about. I have learned that there is brilliance and there are challenges. It is not a straightforward sector. The challenges are not insurmountable, but we have to recognize them: we have to recognize that funding is difficult, and its coming from different places now, there are challenges around international touring, there continue to be challenges around the legacy of Brexit and there are environmental challenges. There are so many elements that impact an orchestra that you might not even realise at first glance as an outsider.

'Change has to take place because it’s the right way for things to develop and, ultimately, it always has to start with the music' (Image courtesy of the RPO)Beyond the serious issues, there have also been some quirky, memorable experiences from my first months at the RPO. The fast pace of work and progress at the RPO means every week brings new highs and experiences, so I often finish a week going, “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe what just happened this week!”. For example, I was very excited to drive one of the two RPO trucks, which was very exciting. It is a full HGV and once I had managed to climb up into the cabin it was incredible (I only went one junction down the A40 but it was definitely a bucket-list thing). I still get a real thrill when I see the RPO truck parked outside a venue where we’re rehearsing, recording or performing. Another unexpected moment was finding myself in the staff catering area at Windsor Castle, when we were doing a private performance for His Majesty The King – I had one of the tastiest curries I’ve ever had there, and the players and I were so well looked after.

My professional life before joining the RPO encapsulates experiences from outside the orchestral world and I hope that allows me to bring fresh eyes and new perspectives on how things can be done. I fully embrace change as important, but it has to take place because it’s the right way for things to develop and, ultimately, it always has to start with the music. Positive change and evolution is something I think we all need to embrace. We need to make sure we continue this wonderful RPO journey that has been started by my predecessors. We need to embed ourselves in our communities, not just the London borough of Brent, but our residencies across the country – in Hull, Northampton, Crawley and Reading.

'The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is very special; the musicians are special and the team behind them is really special' (Image courtesy of the RPO)

We also want to continue our touring. Our international touring is a really important part of who we are and what we do, but we need to think about whether we can put more residencies in there. I don’t think people always just want an orchestra to rock up, do a quick gig and get out; that’s not as meaningful as spending time there. That changes the feeling of an ensemble’s relationship with a place, with a community, and this deeper level of engagement is important. I want people to feel that they own a bit of us: I want them to feel we have enabled their own musical journeys – and we have a strong brand to help us achieve that.

Beyond the stage, everything we do behind the scenes is managed by an incredible RPO staff team of about 40 people. The team runs two orchestras – the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. We’ve got an incredible transport and stage team, and a brilliant librarian. No one ever thinks about the librarian, but most orchestras have a librarian that has to prepare all the music – and an orchestra can’t play without one. It’s a music career that I don’t think many people know about as an option.

In addition, we’ve got our fabulous community and education team. They are out every day doing something different, bringing musicians to special needs school in Wandsworth, visiting our Brent Music Academy, or running our Strokestra up in Hull. This dedicated team is the linchpin of all of that work, and they are brilliant to watch. Beyond that, we have a remarkably dedicated development team. Their work with our donors, trustees and corporate partners is absolutely vital. We wouldn’t be able to run the RPO without them, and I love the fact that we can give experiences to our donors and corporate supporters that they really enjoy. We’ve recently opened up rehearsals for supporters and we’ve just done a patrons trip to Germany and Austria, which was really fun. With all these aspects of our work, we embrace change and we make sure everyone feels involved and valued.

'My basic premise is that I want everyone to have a chance to experience music in the format that works for them.' (Image courtesy of the RPO)

Of our 13 board members, seven of them are players – our chair and vice chair are players. Our players, in essence, run the orchestra. They hired me to help them, but they make the decisions. I think we’re supportive of each other, we’re invested each other – and we want to make it work as one strong team.

So that’s snapshot of the RPO today – a collective of committed people that are passionate about music excellence and discovery. As I take a moment to look back on my first five months at the RPO, it is now clear to me that managing an orchestra definitely opens a lot of doors that you weren’t expecting, but that a good thing. The breadth and diversity of the RPO’s work is the thing which inspires our thinking about what’s next. The support and passion of the people I have met at RPO concerts across the UK and abroad speaks volumes on how relevant and cherished orchestral music is today – and how it continues to play such an important part in the everyday lives of millions of people.