artsmanager

Volume 17
INTERNATIONAL Issue 9
6 May 2021
£12 (UK)
€20.00 (EU) / $28 (US)

MOST: Bridge for

Balkan Music
The new project taking Balkan
music to the rest of the world
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

T
he best part of editing an
arts magazine isn’t the
prestige, the travel or the
pay (unfortunately!) – it’s the
connections you make with
people across the world. Thanks
to IAM, I have colleagues on every
continent – including Antarctica
– who constantly inspire. In this
issue, connections, and the
power of the arts to build them,
is to the fore.
Let’s start with MOST: Bridge
Andrew Anderson for Balkan Music. The Balkans
consulting editor (where I happen to live, in
Bulgaria) has lots of wonderful
music, but often artists here
struggle to make it beyond the
region. “There has to be local
COVER management capacity that
PHOTO: Lakiko © Lakiko
artists can work with,” explains
project manager Balázs Weyer
(pages 9-11). “Ideally, artists
and managers of the same
generation will emerge together
and grow their careers together.”
Hopefully, MOST will lead to
more Balkan artists appearing on
European stages soon.
We’re also talking about
connections in our Q&A with Bill
Bankes-Jones from Tête à Tête
opera festival. Specifically, how
to create a sincere connection
with audiences when presenting
digital work. “Be open, listen,
trust, be kind, share decisions,
trust the process, have faith in
what you are doing,” he advises
in our interview (pages 17-19).
Meanwhile Gordon Back
has been dealing with a similar
issue with competitions – and
has discovered that, for young
people in particular, digital
presentation is no obstacle. “For
the young musicians, the virtual
space is normal. They have a
completely different perspective
and that really comes across,” he
explains (pages 13-15).
As always, we want to
connect with you, our readers.
Share your stories, projects
and ideas: iameditorial@
lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk.

CONTENTS
05 News
• The New York Philharmonic relaunches its Bandwagon project
• France will restart culture from 19 May
• New project plans to increase streaming income for African musicians
• Amir Nizar Zuabi signs up as artistic director of Good Chance Theatre
• Anne-Louise Sarks takes top job at Melbourne Theatre Company
• Only 40% of companies signed up to Black Opera Alliance pledge
• Audible launches first drama school partnership

09 Introducing
Feature: Gordon Back 09-11 • MOST – the new project taking Balkan music to the rest of the world

13 Feature
• Gordon Back on the challenges of organising a digital violin competition

21 Advice
• Bill Bankes-Jones has been running hybrid online/live festivals for over a
decade. He shares his 10 secrets to success with IAM.

Advice: Bill Bankes-Jones 17-19

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 IN
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NA
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Tel: +44 (0)1825 983119

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Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way,
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TN22 1SL, UK
JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON: The New York Philharmonic is running a second series of outdoor
Tel:  +44 (0)1825 983105 concerts – this time using a mobile shipping crate. Bandwagon 2 will see NY Phil host four
Fax:  +44 (0)1825 983108
info@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk
festivals across New York City from May 7-30. In total, the festivals will feature 100 artists and 39
www.lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk performances ranging from classical to jazz, opera to reggae. Whereas the original 2020 Bandwagon
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored programme was based off the back of a pickup truck, this time NY Phil are using a six metre shipping
in a retrieval system or trans­­mitted in any form or any
means electronic, mechanical, photocopy­ing, recording container with a foldout stage and LED video wall. Producer Cath Brittain and designer Chad Owens
or otherwise without the prior permission of Lewis
Business Media (Arts) Ltd.. The views expressed here are led the project, which is backed up by Meyer Sound’s Spacemap Go system. The container also
those of the authors and not of the publisher, editor,
Lewis Business Media (Arts) Ltd. or its employees. We boasts a mural designed by Julia Cocuzza. All events are free, with entry on a first-come, first-served
welcome letters but reserve the right to edit for reasons
of grammar, length and legality. No responsibility is basis. PHOTO: © Chad Owens
accepted for returning photographs or manu­scripts.

WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM 5
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

people COVID

Amir Nizar Zuabi has signed up as the new

artistic director of Good Chance. Zuabi
succeeds project founders Joe Murphy and
Joe Robertson, who shot to fame with their
play The Jungle that began at the Theatre
of Hope in Calais’ ‘Jungle’ refugee camp.
Zuabi is an award-winning playwright and
director and has worked with The Public
Theatre, Young Vic and Riksteatern. He is
currently leading Good Chance’s The Walk
project, which will see a 3.5 metre-tall
puppet journey from the Syria-Turkey
border to the UK this summer. “This is a
huge opportunity to bring the voices of
displaced and marginalised communities
from around the world to the centre of
the stage,” said Zuabi. “These voices are
seldom heard but by giving artists from
these communities the ability to speak
loudly and boldly about their unique
experience and celebrating the richness of
the culture they come from we can deepen
the debate around culture in the UK and
further afield.”
France will restart culture from 19 May
French President Emmanuel Macros has announced
that cultural events in France can begin again
from 19 May. The announcement was made in an
interview with Le Parisien.
The move is part of a progressive reopening
already underway. Schools restarted on 26 April,
while travel restrictions were lifted on 3 May.
From 19 May museums, cinemas and theatres
can open with limited audiences, with a curfew of
9pm. Then on 9 June the curfew will move back to
11pm, with cafes, restaurants and sports venues
also reopening. Finally, on 30 June, all restrictions
will be removed.
“I am optimistic that the whole of France will be “In the coming weeks, we must be very vigilant
able to start reopening from 19 May,” said Macron. to support the recovery without creating economic
“The measures will be national, but we will be able to weaknesses,” he stated. “In May, for those who start
activate health ‘emergency brakes’ in the territories to reopen, there will be the same economic aid as
where the virus circulates too much.” in April. From 1 June, support will be provided in
At present, France is experiencing about 3,500 proportion to the resumption of activity.”
new cases each day, with around 250 deaths. Just There have been reopening announcements
over 25% of the population have received at least elsewhere: the UK will resume concerts from 17
one vaccine dose. May, while Bavaria will reopen for tourists from 21
Macron also confirmed that financial support May. Additionally, the Bayreuth festival has said it
would continue. plans to go ahead this summer.

technology

New project plans to increase streaming

Anne-Louise Sarks (pictured) will be
Melbourne Theatre Company’s (MTC) next
artistic director. Sarks has held positions
at the Lyric Hammersmith, The Hayloft,
Belvoir Theatre and Malthouse Theatre.
Back in 2010 she was MTC’s emerging
resident director. “I had my first major
opportunities at MTC, and I want to make
sure that artists across Victoria feel as
welcome as I did,” said Sarks. “My belief
is that theatre should always be offering
something new. It should give you a fresh
way of looking at the world; or expose
you to a new idea; or put a surprising
perspective at the centre of a story you
thought you knew.” Sarks will begin in her
new role at the start of the 2022 season.
income for African musicians
The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) has launched
a new programme that aims to increase streaming
revenue for musicians – titled Revenue Streams for
African Musicians (RSFAM).
At the moment, MIAF is asking musicians from
across the continent to take part in a survey. The
data will be used to assess the state of revenue
income for African musicians. The survey is open
until 31 July and can be completed online.
Said MIAF director Eddie Hatitye: “Input from
working musicians will help the MIAF and its
partners to develop tools, guides and capacity-
building programmes to empower musicians
with workable knowledge, and advocate for the
development of relevant legislation to support the
music industry.”
MIAF will then begin the second phase of RSFAM,
which includes free training and practical tools to
help musicians boost their online income.
Alongside this, MIAF will lobby governments to
create laws that are more favourable for musicians
in regards to streaming earnings.
“The music industry is changing at an alarming
rate,” added Hatitye. “Musicians often need
support to fully understand the industry and make
the right decisions. Participating in this initiative
will unlock some vital opportunities for music
creators. We hope that it will also facilitate a deeper
understanding of the key issues that need to be
addressed at policy level.”
The survey is open now and available online.
musicinafrica.net

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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

opera

Only 40% of companies signed up

to Black Opera Alliance pledge
The Black Opera Alliance (BOA) has released
the first data on its Pledge for Racial Equity
and Systemic Change in Opera project.
Back in September 2020 BOA sent out
its pledge to 106 opera companies across
the US, asking them to sign up. Of those, 44
signed the pledge, while a further 61 did not
respond or have said they are “in the process”
of responding. One company said it would
not sign the pledge at all.
Companies that have signed up so far
include the Metropolitan Opera, Austin
Opera, Seattle Opera and Washington
National Opera. BOA has not released the
names of companies that did not respond,
nor of the company that dismissed the
pledge.
“Seattle Opera stands in solidarity with
BOA as it advances anti-racist work in opera
that centres Black artists and administrators,”
commented Seattle Opera general manager
Christina Scheppelman.
Added Met Opera manager Peter Gelb:
“We recognise the importance of addressing
the issues you lay out in your pledge, both at
the Met and throughout the broader opera
community.”
BOA’s pledge outlines eight areas where it
says improvements “must be made” in order
for opera to be relevant to modern society.
Commented Dr Derrell Acon (pictured)
from the BOA Leadership Council: “Insight
reporting to the sector on our findings will
mightily advance opera’s understanding and
approach to this work, as well as further
position BOA as a leader in the broader TRG Arts, with the alliance tracking how many
performing arts sector vis-à-vis verifiable people from the African diaspora work in all
change and accountability in the spheres of areas of opera in the US.
racial equity and social justice.”
BOA’s research is led by consultancy firm blackoperaalliance.org

technology

Audible launches first drama school partnership

Audible – the spoken-word
platform owned by Amazon – has
announced a new partnership
with The Identity School Of Acting
(IDSA, pictured).
The partnership will see
Audible fund a new voice acting
module, which will cover “audio
book and drama performance,
voice reel surgery to offer actors
advice, support and coaching and
studio workshops”. Audible staff
will work directly with students as
part of the module.
In addition, Audible will
sponsor two students each
term. The sponsorships will go to
“students who require financial
assistance and have a specialised
interest in audio recording”.
IDSA was founded in 2003 and
works exclusively with part-time
students. It is also known for
its diverse student intake. The
school has two branches: one in
London, and one in Los Angeles.
“IDSA students are an
incredible mix of unique
performers from all over the
world, and we can’t wait to
discover what we can create
together,” remarked IDSA head of
acting Mark Barrow. “Our ethos
has always been to create space
for actors from as wide a variety
of backgrounds as possible, and
we are delighted that Audible has
chosen to help us develop the
next generation of talent.”
Added Audible UK manager
Kevin Addley: “Training the next
generation of actors in audio
entertainment is, of course, close
to our heart. We are delighted
to partner with IDSA as we are
committed to encouraging
diverse voices into the profession
and we see really exciting
collaborations developing from
this partnership.”
identityschoolofacting.com

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Briefing. Design . Technology

Business and Operations Planning

Helping you move your idea to opening night

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Take it to the bridge

A new project is bridging the gap between Balkan musicians and the rest of Above: MOST
participants
Europe. Hangvető’s director of programming, Balázs Weyer, explains how Divanhana
© Divanhana
the new network – titled ‘Most’ – works

F
or many professional musicians in the West,
touring is a big part of life. Not only does it
provide a significant source of income, but it
is also an important form of cultural exchange, as
artists travel across borders. All of this is supported
by a network of managers, agents, festivals and
venues that has developed over decades.
is looking to overcome. Using capacity building,
mentoring, training and policy initiatives, MOST
(which means ‘bridge’) aims to get Balkan musicians
breaking out within and beyond their region. Led by
Hangvető, the organisation responsible for leading
Hungary’s two editions of WOMEX, the programme
is now entering its second year.

But what do if you’re from a part of the world where
no such network exists? That’s been the situation
for a long time in the Balkans, where many artists
struggle to find lasting exposure outside their own
small markets.
It’s this problem that MOST: Bridge for Balkan Music
“The Balkans is a very strong area
content-wise: they have a lot to offer.
But for some reason those artists can’t
reach the global market”
“We invested two years in mapping out the region,
identifying the issues that need to be tackled, the
obstacles, and finding the right partners,” explains
Hangvető’s director of programming, Balázs Weyer.
“What we found is that the Balkans is a very strong
area content-wise: they have a lot to offer in terms
of artists. But for some reason those artists can’t
reach the global market. And those that can – like
Goran Bregović – are usually managed by Western
management companies, agencies and labels. So
their success doesn’t help build the local scene.”
As well as issues for artists, Weyer says they also
identified problems for up-and-coming managers.

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“If you want to be a music manager in the Balkans
there is no place where you can take an internship,
there are no people to learn from. That has a
negative impact on the artists, because they
can’t find managers to work with – and without
management, it is very difficult to take your career to
the next level.”
Based on their research, Weyer and his team
decided on four pillars that would form the basis
of the MOST project: management training, groups
looking for international representation, venue
and festival partnerships, and urban cultural policy
development.
“The first pillar is management training,” he says.
“There has to be local management capacity that
artists can work with. Ideally, artists and managers of
the same generation will emerge together and grow
their careers together.
“The second part is an export readiness programme,
for artists who are almost ready for international
stages. This includes training programmes, financial
support for showcasing, media kit development,
video production and, of course, lots of mentoring.
“The third pillar is for venues and festivals. Each
year, 10 local Balkan venues and festivals are paired
up with 10 venues and festivals from other parts of
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
Europe. Then, throughout the year, they co-curate Above: Jazz Factory
Festival © Jazz
and exchange artists across their programme. This Factory Festival
helps Balkan artists get on to international stages,
and also brings new artists into the region.
“The fourth pillar focuses on urban cultural
policy and development. The idea is to help local
creatives work together with city councils and other
administrative bodies. They apply jointly for funding,
and we help them fine-tune their ideas so that they
are not just a one-time project, but instead have a
legacy after our initial funding runs out.”
All of this sounds very ambitious, but actually
Hangvető has already run a similar project among
the Visegrád Group countries – Hungary, Czech
Republic, Poland and Slovakia – with great success.
“We launched the Central European Music Square in
2014, with partners from all four countries,” recalls
Weyer. “The goal was similar: to build a regional
network to help artists tour and develop their
careers. It was really effective, and it still operates
today without any external funding – all it needed
was a little push from us to get it going in the first
place. It’s mutually beneficial for everyone.
“The lessons we learned from CEMS we could then
apply to MOST, which is at a much larger scale as
this time we’re working with nine countries: Albania,
10
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo,
Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and
Serbia.”
Of course it has been a slightly strange time to
launch MOST, with COVID ruling out most concert
and touring opportunities in 2020 and 2021. But
the project has already had some successes, notes
Weyer:
“The training programmes were transferred online,
and actually worked out better than they might have
done during non-COVID times. All the musicians,
agents and managers had time on their hands, and
we had access to some mentors who might have
otherwise been too busy to work with us – they
were really happy to be able to do something that
felt useful.”
Aside from the training and mentoring, another
success has been with project partner Songlines
magazine.
“Songlines is a very important publication within
the world music sector,” explains the director of
programming. “Each issue they release a sample CD,
and we arranged for them to release one featuring
artists on the MOST programme. The feedback for
this was overwhelming and much better than we
expected, and I’m sure it will lead to a significant
increase in festival invitations for these artists.”
Weyer is also starting to see signs that participants
are taking ownership of the programme.
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“Some of the management trainees are working on Above: The Méra
World Music Festival
a joint company that will manage artists from across
© András Bethlendi
the region,” he says. “It’s a really nice idea, because
markets like Bosnia and Bulgaria are quite small on
their own, so an exchange inside the region would
be a huge first step for many of the artists.”
This ties in with what Weyer says is the most
important part of the project: legacy.
“Only those projects that have a lasting effect make
sense,” he asserts. “By the end of the four years we’ll
have worked with 60 artists, 100-plus managers, 40
cities and 60-80 festivals and venues. This is a huge
alumni network, and so even if the funding runs out
the network will live on.”
So, over the next five-to-10 years, we should expect
to see more Balkan musicians on international
stages. But what makes their music unique?
“Folk music carries the history of a region,” explains
Weyer. “And there are not many places in Europe
that have a more turbulent history than the Balkans.
The music has a lot of highs and lows. For me,
Balkan music has the biggest emotional range in a
single song. Whether they are crying, or laughing, or
dancing, or grieving, it is done with a huge intensity.
It’s very emotional and sensitive, and I am excited to
see this music find new fans.”
MOST is supported by Creative Europe, the European
Union’s framework programme for support to the
culture and audiovisual sectors.
11
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

Magic moments
The Menuhin Competition is all about creating magical moments between Above: The Menuhin
Competition
contestant Guido
young musicians and audiences. But how do you achieve that in an online Sant Anna performs
with Gordan Back in
format? Artistic director GordOn Back explains 2019 © Clare Taylor

Music competitions are all about the moment: that
brilliant second when the player, the orchestra and
the audience all align. Usually, that magic takes place
live on stage. So how do you go about replicating
that in the digital realm?
That’s the challenge that Gordon Back, artistic
director of the Menuhin Competition, has set
himself over the last six months. IAM caught up with
Back to find out how he met that challenge, and to
get his insights on creating a meaningful event for
the virtual world.
the original contestants.
“We had to honour the hard work of the original
entrants, and I think the competition has given them
a sense of hope during the pandemic,” affirms Back.
“It’s led to some interesting changes though – one of
the juniors has grown about two feet over the last
year!”
However, the competitors are about the only thing
that has stayed the same: the events, the repertoire
and the jury have changed.

“The standard is probably is the highest we’ve ever

“I pick younger jury members
had,” notes Back. “We had a record number of
applications – 321 from 54 countries – and so it is who are performers, and I also
really the best talent in the world taking part.” pick people who’ve never been on
Although the competition was postponed from May juries before”
2020, Back and the rest of the organisers have kept

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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
Explains Back: “First, we had to ensure it was a level
playing field. Some of the kids didn’t have access
to a piano for the first round because of various
lockdown measures, so we had to select works that
everyone could perform.
“The second reason is logistical. We usually have
chamber music in the Semi-Finals and then
orchestral works in the Final. But this year everything
has to be solo, so we added challenging repertoire
to give them a feeling of chamber music in the Semi-
Finals; the slow movement of a sonata, for instance.
“Then for the Final, I put in the first movement of
the concerto, but also the second movement from
one of Mozart’s five violin concertos as a completely
different test. That’s based on something the great
violinist Josef Gingold once told me – he said you
could tell more from the first two bars of the solo of
a Mozart violin concerto than from anything else!”
The jury, meanwhile, has two new members,
with violinist, conductor and educator Alf Richard
Kraggerud, and Richmond Symphony music director
Valentina Peleggi, stepping in.
“When someone has that star
quality you can still see it, on
camera or on stage”
“The jury for me is one of the successes of the
Menuhin Competition,” asserts Back. “I pick younger
jury members who are performers, which is a bit
unusual, and I also pick people who’ve never been
on juries before. I think this policy gives them a more
direct, intuitive connection with the music, and it
also means they can pass on practical advice.”
At the time of writing, the Semi-Finals have
already been filmed, although the results won’t be
announced until they are broadcast on 15-16 May.
Back says that he’s been very pleased with how the
online format has worked.
“The best are still rising to the top,” he enthuses.
“Performing, after all, is about adaptability. Nothing
is perfect, even in a concert hall situation. The
great players are the ones who can adjust to new
circumstances. When someone has that star quality
you can still see it, whether that’s on camera or on
stage. I’m really looking forward to hearing what our
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
Left: Menuhin
Competition
laureates SongHa
Choi and Johan
Dalene with Gordon
Back © The
Menuhin
Competition
finalists can do – I think it’s going to be very special.”
And, while Back says it took him a while to get used
to the new format, it’s been a different story for the
competitors.
“I’m a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to technology,”
he laughs. “I thought it was going to be strange
hearing an amazing performance that is then
followed by silence instead of applause. And I
thought it might be hard for the kids to truly express
themselves. But actually for the young musicians,
the virtual space is normal. They have a completely
different perspective and that really comes across.”
So far, our conversation has focused on the
competitive elements of the competition. But the
fact is that Yehudi Menuhin didn’t want that to be
the competition’s primary purpose, as Back explains.
“Menuhin didn’t necessarily like competitions. He
saw this more as a meeting place for likeminded
people, with an educational element. He saw all 44
kids as prize winners – everyone who qualifies has
won just by being admitted. And he also believed
that you can’t really predict at age 13 who will be a
success in their 20s. But what you can do is nurture
and encourage a pool of talented players who will
go on to become professional musicians. So those
non-competitive elements are very important.”
To that end, the Richmond Symphony have
organised a number of social events. These include
an ‘Adopt a Performer’ programme, which will see
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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
Above: Menuhin the competitors welcomed into classrooms across
Competition
laureate Clara Shen
the city. There will also be workshops, masterclasses,
performs with and virtual meetings between the competitors.
Gordon Back © Min
Zheng Shen
Continues Back: “The idea is in the following year
or two, when travel opens up, Richmond will invite
four to six of the finalists back so the local kids can
experience a world-class level of playing.
“The competitors themselves are very adept at
interacting online, of course – it’s completely natural
for them to engage with one another like that. We’re
already seeing a lot of interaction between them on
social media.”
I’m curious as to what the take away lessons are
from this year’s event – are there elements from
this virtual edition that can be applied to future in-
person competitions?
“There are definitely some advantages,” says Back.
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“For example, judging the First Round in the comfort
of your own home helps the jurors with their
workload. And having a digital First Round reduces
our carbon footprint, and makes the competition
accessible to people who might not be able to travel.
We’re not sure exactly how we’ll apply this in future
editions, but it’s a conversation we’re already having.
“for the young musicians, the
virtual space is normal. They
have a completely different
perspective and that really
comes across
“And then there’s the reach. Normally the
competition is just seen by the 15,000 people who
buy tickets. But now we’re maximising the global
reach. We’ll probably have hundreds of thousands
if not millions of people watching it over this period.
Can we keep those kinds of viewing numbers in the
future? We certainly hope so.”
What about the future of classical music – has this
pandemic year had a lasting impact?
“I think there will be a huge desire to have classical
music when things reopen: it is going to come
back with a bang,” he says. “And I think with
music education being cut back across the world,
competitions are becoming more important –
events like ours give young people access to
classical music, which is so important.”
However, he says the mission of the Menuhin
Competition will stay the same, whatever the format.
“It’s about nurturing talent and building
relationships,” Back says. “However much hard
work it is, when you hear the young musicians live
it brings tears to your eyes, because of the sheer
excitement of the playing. How can a 10-year-old
produce this amazing sound and have all these life
experiences in their performances? It’s almost a
miracle, and I’ll never grow tired of it.”
The Menuhin Competition will stream from 14 May,
with the Junior Finals on 21 May and the Senior Finals
on 22 May. A gala concert follows on 23 May. The full
programme of events is available via the Menuhin
Competition website.
15
11TH QUADRENNIAL
INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN WWW.VIOLIN.ORG

COMPETITION
Jaime Laredo, Jury President
Deadline for application: February 28, 2022

OF INDIANAPOLIS
September 9 - 25, 2022
The Indianapolis
might well be the
world’s leading
violin competition in
terms of cumulative
prizes and career
development for
its winners.
Richard Lin – The Strad
2018 Gold Medalist Leonidas Kavakos
Augustin Hadelich Marco Rizzi
Liviu Prunaru Stefan Milenkovich
David Chan Robin Sharp Bin Huang
Ioana Cristina Goicea Dami Kim Yura Lee
David Kim Svetlin Roussev Yuval Yaron
Yuriko Naganuma Barnabás Kelemen
Anna Lee Luke Hsu Bella Hristova Ivan Chan
Chin Kim Simone Lamsma Benjamin Beilman
Jinjoo Cho Nai-Yuan Hu Antal Zalai
Andrey Baranov Judith Ingolfsson
Jaakko Kuusisto Susie Park
Haoming Xie Ida Kavafian
Soovin Kim Pavel Berman
Juliette Kang Ye-Eun Choi
Sungsic Yang Frank Huang
Mihaela Martin Ji Yoon Lee
Alina Pogostkina Andrew Haveron
Soyoung Yoon Yoojin Jang Andrés Cárdenes
Risa Hokamura Annick Roussin Shannon Lee
Virginie Robilliard Sergey Khachatryan
Martin Beaver Ju-Young Baek Olivier Charlier
Kyoko Takezawa Ji Young Lim Michiko Kamiya
Celeste Golden Boyer Clara-Jumi Kang Tessa Lark
FOUR DECADES OF DISCOVERY
 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER

Q&A with Bill Bankes-Jones

Bill Bankes-Jones has spent 10 years producing hybrid live/online Above: Bill Bankes-

events. So what lessons has he learned along the way? Here, the Tête à Jones © Hugo
Glendinning

Tête artistic director shares his ideas

IAM: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF
A HYBRID LIVE-ONLINE FORMAT?
Bill Bankes-Jones: We’ve actually made hybrid
live/online festivals since 2009. Every year since
then every show in the festival has also been
available, in full, online, within a couple of days of
the premiere. In that sense, 2020 was the same as
any other year.
We hit the online/art in isolation trend very
early with Tête à Tête, launching a participatory
opportunity under the hashtag #CoronaChorus on
13 March 2020, 10 days before the first lockdown.
There were some gloriously playful contributions,
and some that were really moving.
us to aim for, but with valid options for anyone
needing to bail out along the way.
The pandemic also gave us a makeover. In
partnership with The Cockpit we developed a
new format, the ‘Interactive Broadcast’ where we
wouldn’t just share archive video ffrom a show,
but make it a live event by setting a time, charging
a small admission price (GBP1), inviting questions
from the online audience before and after the
actual performance, and in some cases including
other content that would inform the performance.
These could be accessed by telephone, too. I felt
it was important not to exclude audiences just
because they had no internet access.

Some weeks into the pandemic, and with everyone IAM: WHAT IS THE ESSENTIAL
going online/into art in isolation, I felt very strongly FEEL AND ATMOSPHERE THAT
we had to hang on to what mattered: human YOU HAVE TO PRESERVE IN
connection. I wrote the Manifesto, a commitment YOUR ONLINE WORK?
to live performance with live audiences and an BBJ: In two words: human interaction.
ambition to aim for that above all else, against the It’s been gratifying to see that the purely online
COVID-permissible. I put a marker in the sand for performances almost all have the feel of live,

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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
Above: behind the almost like a performance for a live audience
scenes work on The
Crocodile of Old that the camera is spying on, even though the
Kang Pow audiences weren’t physically present. It’s almost as
© Claire Shovelton
if the Manifesto pledge to imagine a live audience
set a house style for the festival videos.
IAM: WHAT WERE THE
BIGGEST CHALLENGES WITH
THE ONLINE ELEMENTS?
BBJ: The biggest challenge was personal, for myself
and marketing manager Leo Doulton, who was
acting as concierge for the broadcasts, lining up
the audience’s questions, because the pair of us
had to run from live show to broadcast studio and
back again. The whole enterprise was both rather
breathless and great fun. I missed spending time
with the live audiences, but then that itself was
curtailed by the level of COVID compliance we had
to achieve at that point.
IAM: WHAT ARE THE LESSONS YOU’VE
LEARNED ABOUT HYBRID LIVE/
ONLINE EVENTS OVER THE YEARS?
BBJ: Lesson 1: Keep your planning flexible. You
need to be very small, flexible and fast.
Lesson 2: Prototype. It was fantastically useful for
us to try out one performance as a pilot and then
have a couple of months to transfer the learning
from that to the planning for the main festival.
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Lesson 3: Have a clear aim. The Manifesto gave us
all a common goal.
Lesson 4: Develop a strong network. In lockdown,
festival artists had much more time to talk,
and video conferencing allowed us to link up
around the world. We spent many hours sharing
challenges, and enjoying each others’ company.
Lesson 5: Keep communicating all the way. With
circumstances changing all the time, it was so
important to keep each other posted about
what might be possible.
Lesson 6: Hold your production lightly. We all had
to let go, and build flexible concepts that could give
in reaction to short-term constraints.
Lesson 7: Carefully consider and rehearse the flow
of people. We were 100% safe because we stuck
rigidly to COVID restrictions, and practising before
trying out with the public.
Lesson 8: Work with your artists to keep COVID-
compliant. Though we had staff with the specific
remit to keep everyone COVID-compliant, this was
as enablers rather than police.
Lesson 9: Be responsive with your online audience.
Receive as well as transmit, and we can take at
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 INTERNATIONAL ARTS MANAGER
Above: Rehearsals least a little of the interaction audiences give live
for filming Song of
Isis, Goddess of
performers into the online space.
Love with singer
Sèverine Howell-
Meri
Lesson 10: Slow down in the theatre. Technical
© Claire Shovelton rehearsals in normal times can be hurried and
even panicky, but COVID puts the brakes on
everything, slows every process down. The only
choice is to go with that, and enjoy the calm.
If you believe in what you are doing, and have
given it the robustness that comes from creative
integrity, then you’re almost invincible. This will give
you the strength to face anything, and the flexibility
to adjust to most circumstances.
IAM: IF YOU COULD JUMP IN A TIME
MACHINE AND HEAD BACK TO THE
START OF THE ORGANISING PROCESS,
WHAT MIGHT YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?
BBJ: I wouldn’t do anything differently. I feel very
proud of what I achieved. 99% of that achievement
was accomplished by letting go, by allowing
everyone to have a voice. Tête à Tête hasn’t had
a pyramidal management structure – I’ve always
tried to be open to let ideas and energy flow
through the organisation freely. In that sense, the
pandemic weirdly presented a whole set of new
opportunities; we capitalised on the time artists
had on their hands – and the ease of meeting over
video rather than in person – to create a huge
WWW.INTERNATIONALARTSMANAGER.COM
thinktank and support system.
IAM: IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE
PIECE OF ADVICE TO ANYONE ELSE
THINKING OF DOING SOMETHING
SIMILAR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
BBJ: Be open, listen, trust, be kind, share decisions,
trust the process, have faith in what you are doing
and trust the great strength this will give you.
IAM: WHY ARE FESTIVALS LIKE TÊTE
À TÊTE IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW?
BBJ: Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival certainly
felt incredibly important last year. Though
other countries were determined to keep their
performing arts going through the pandemic – the
Teatro Real in Madrid is a shining example – the UK
performing arts shut themselves down completely.
With some notable exceptions – for example,
Cornwall’s Minack Theatre – organisations focused
their energies on closure rather than creativity.
Ahead of its 2021 return, Tête à Tête: The Opera
Festival has released a video and other assets with key
tips on how to successfully put on live performances in
the new age of pandemic. Learn more here.
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