Introducing... Abigail Fenna, Principal Viola
How did you become involved with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO)?
I joined the RPO in 2011 with a trip to Shanghai, which is still one of my favourite touring destinations. We returned there recently, and it didn’t disappoint.
What was your first experience of orchestral music?
My parents used to take me to the Saturday morning family concerts at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool with my older sister. However, at that time I was not a willing audience member – something I’m often reminded of to this day! If I managed to sit still through the concert (without flipping the seat up and down endlessly), I was rewarded with a hot lamb samosa before we caught the train home. Of course, these days, I love listening to concerts, and I still enjoy a lamb samosa!
How did you find yourself on this career journey?
I found myself on this career journey through an awful lot of grit and determination and by being fortunate enough to be able to take the opportunities that came my way. I started learning with free peripatetic lessons in primary school and later studied in London and Geneva. I worked in both Switzerland and Sweden before returning to the UK and joining the RPO.
What is the best thing about being part of the RPO family?
For me, the best thing has to be being able to enjoy the sheer breadth of personalities the Orchestra encompasses, and listening to how those characters emerge as musical voices on stage. It is such a friendly place to work and there is no shortage of great company, whenever you need it.
Tell us about your favourite RPO journey.
My favourite RPO journey is any trip where we really connect with the local community and introduce new people to our concerts. A recent example of this was our USA tour. We chatted to so many people during the day, from fellow lap swimmers in a local pool in Orlando to the server in a restaurant in Georgia, who then decided to come to our concert that night and loved it!
Do you have any pre-concert rituals?
Not as such but in order to feel as expressively free as I'd like, I always ensure I'm as familiar as possible with the whole score. The sense of jeopardy on the concert platform is a real draw for me, and this preparation allows me to enjoy the risks that make a performance so exciting, without feeling bound by the shackles of concern.
Must listens – if you had to recommend one artist or composer, who would it be and why?
I could probably answer this question differently on every day of the year! Since the last composer I listened to was Mozart, it feels appropriate to choose him, especially since he was a violist. The sheer contrast amongst his works from absolute euphoria to profound grief, and from humour to intimacy means there’s always something new to discover.
If you could work with any artist on a performance or project, who would you choose?
I think I’d like to travel back in time and participate in the rehearsals and premiere of a work by Beethoven. There are such fascinating written accounts of him that I would love to witness first hand somebody so passionate and uncompromising, yet so seemingly vulnerable at work.
Away from music, tell us two of your favourite hobbies and why they strike such a chord.
Like many musicians, the answer is cooking and gardening! It’s not a coincidence that these hobbies feature regularly amongst us though. Gardening is something that gets us outside in the fresh air and yet demands delayed gratification – a huge contrast to our often-hectic lives as performing musicians. For me, cooking is quite similar to music: there is real method to it but also space for interpretation and things just have to happen at the right moment in order for it to succeed.
Dream dinner party – who would you invite, what would you cook?
My dream dinner party companions would have to be the RPO friends that I go to eat with when we have a sacred free night on tour. I can’t think of anyone that I could have a more enjoyable evening with than them. We have such a shared history and there’s never a shortage of highs, or occasionally lows, to discuss! I might try to replicate a meal we’ve shared on tour, such as Kansas City Barbeque.
Abigail gratefully acknowledges the support of her Chair Patrons, Nabil and Mai Habba.