Starting off the year at Hawkwood was a brilliant way to press the reset button on what has been a difficult few years for myself and artists and musicians in general. To be in a calm, supportive and non-judgemental space and to have the freedom to pursue the things that interest me without the distractions of everyday life was incredibly valuable. It has definitely given me a sense of calm that I am bringing to my everyday interactions even a few weeks on from the residency.
The first thing I was working on was a framework to build on my own personal artistic journey this year in terms of my own performance, which I have been putting this into practise every time I pick up the trombone. Over the last few years, along with every other aspect of life, developing my own playing and performance has always been at the bottom of my priority list and very jumbled and haphazard when I did take time to pursue it. At Hawkwood I had the time and space to focus on the things that are personally important to me and set the structure for the development of myself as a trombonist and my goals for this year.
I also was able to focus on some composing work, including several pieces for brass band and wind septet which I have now completed, as well as sketching out ideas for future compositions. Hawkwood is an amazing place for idea generation, which is always the thing that is the most challenging when working at home. These pieces will hopefully be recorded at some point in 2022.
Thanks again for having me and for a fantastic and very productive week.
Full credit to Tom Green, with thanks to the DCMS & Arts Council England for their funding.
