UKARIA 24: INSIGHTS FROM OUR LOYAL PATRONS
BY RACHEL BRUERVILLE
A quick search through our customer database reveals that UKARIA audience members Linda Sampson and Paul Ensor have been very loyal patrons over the years. The first booking recorded under their names was made in December 2012: a season pass for the ten concerts presented in 2013 by the Ngeringa Farm Arts Foundation, now UKARIA.
In fact, Linda and Paul estimate that they’ve been coming to concerts since at least 2008, if not before. Linda describes: ‘Of course, this was before the ticketing was recorded online. So, you would patiently wait by your letterbox at the end of each year, and as soon as the brochure came in you would be sure to send the booking form back immediately!’
Throughout UKARIA's history, the emphasis on artistic freedom is embodied through our annual UKARIA 24 weekend. Australian recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey curated the first UKARIA 24 weekend in 2016 and was granted the freedom to create her artistic vision, and to invite guest artists to realise that vision across a series of concerts.
Linda
and Paul are among a small group of patrons who have been in attendance at
every single UKARIA 24 weekend from 2016. So, what keeps them coming back?
Artists L–R: Phil Slater, trumpet; Umberto Clerici, cello (UKARIA 24 Curator, 2021); Genevieve Lacey (UKARIA 24 Curator, 2016); Karin Schaupp, guitar; Marshall McGuire, harp; Chloe Hooper, writer. Photo: Christopher Morrison
Linda: That very first one in 2016 with Genevieve Lacey… she spoke directly to us, the audience, and that's one of the great things about UKARIA 24 is the personal interaction with the artists. I fell in love with Genevieve at that moment.
Paul: What I've always appreciated with UKARIA 24 in particular, is the fact that the curator will talk about the background to their selections and give some context for the choices they've made. And I think that adds a totally new dimension rather than just coming in and listening to a piece of music, because for me, it always gives a heightened sense of emotion – that deeper understanding.
These relationships that develop between artists and audiences is at the heart of UKARIA’s vision.
Linda: Yes, it's the intimacy of UKARIA. You feel you're all there together. You're at one with the audience as well as the artists – it really is a two-way relationship.
Artists L–R: Anthony Marwood, violin (UKARIA 24 Curator, 2023); Stefan Cassomenos, piano; James Crabb, classical accordion (UKARIA 24 Curator, 2017); Coleman Itzkoff, cello. Photo: Dylan Henderson
When I asked Linda and Paul if they had any particular highlights across all the UKARIA 24 weekends, their answers also came back to those relationships with the artists, and the freedom of the curators.
Linda: Do you remember that exquisite violinist, Vilde Frang? Yes, she came with Nicolas Altstaedt [in 2018], and then Lawrence Power [in 2022] as well.
Paul: Yes, Vilde was mesmerising to watch, and Nicolas [Altstaedt] too – sometimes it’s about the little subtleties – it could be the expressions that they have on their faces, just their animation, the way they play. Over the course of each weekend, you do get to feel very close to them, as though they were real friends.
Linda: And Nicolas had the beautiful dancers too, with the Bach cello suites.
I also remember the paintings from Diana Doherty’s [2019] weekend. It was Telemann’s fantasies… Paul Kildea was narrating, and the visual artist [Bernadette Trela] was interpreting the sound of the music in colour and form, live as Diana was playing. It was an immensely difficult oboe work, and it was utterly absorbing.
Paul: That's what's totally different about UKARIA 24 is that you have the curator who's given the freedom to be as creative and as interpretive as they want to – they pull together this series of artists and you get this incredible collaboration every time.
Linda: We've never gone away disappointed. We've always walked out on a high.
Paul: We were so enchanted as a result of the first concert with Genevieve, that we've always just booked, year after year. You never know what you're going to get, but you're never disappointed.
Linda: And we put our trust in UKARIA to make that selection of the curator – to anoint that person with such a huge task!
This trust that Linda and Paul have in our artists is a very special thing – knowing that whoever a curator might choose to invite, and whatever they might choose to present, audiences will feel connected to the whole experience.
Linda: I think what enhances the whole weekend too, is the fact that you're there in this beautiful place, with those views – you're surrounded by space, and light, and nature… it’s amazing how we've watched that garden grow.
We trust the UKARIA 24 weekends to always bring us something that will give us pleasure, a challenge, a learning experience, delight… I feel immense gratitude.
Paul: Attending the full weekend is different to attending isolated concerts, because you're sharing that whole experience… over the years I recall meeting a lot of people from interstate, too. You’re there, sharing meals and concerts, and you might not know who you’ll be sitting with, but you’ll be there with a lot of like-minded people.
If you can book for the whole weekend, including the meals, you’ll see… never was the saying ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ so pertinent!
Vilde Frang, violin. Screenshot from the UKARIA short film by Âme Productions (Jessie Rodger, filmmaker; Brett Cox, sound engineer)
I finished my chat with Linda and Paul by asking them what they are most looking forward to in Olli Mustonen’s UKARIA 24 weekend this year.
Paul: I’m most excited to hear artists I haven’t heard before – I’m pleased to see there’s a guitarist coming [Ismo Eskelinen], and I love listening to singers in UKARIA too, so the Irish tenor, Robin Tritschler, sounds very interesting.
Linda: I’m just looking forward to the whole weekend! I’m sure it will open up new horizons for us – it always does. I feel I've learned, and grown, and matured in my range of musical tastes over the years.
You want to be among those 220 people in the concert hall, sharing that special experience. I think UKARIA is a treasure. It's like a little jewel there on the hill – a jewel box. And each time you open it, there's something else to discover.
UKARIA 24
FRIDAY 18–SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER 2024
CURATED BY OLLI MUSTONEN