Classical Crossover performer Hannah Woolmer has been impressing audiences with her beautiful violin playing on the concert stage and has been heard as the composer on soundtracks like “Love Online.”
During this difficult time for musicians, Hannah has been one of the musicians to be able to quickly turn the lack of live performance venues into an opportunity to connect with music fans online.
Natasha: How long have you been performing?
Hannah: I began playing the piano at 5 and then the violin at 10, so I have been performing in various youth orchestras and concerts for a long time. I performed my first major violin concerto at 17 but I would consider my first truly professional work to start after I graduated.
Natasha: What was your musical education like?
Hannah: I come from a very nonmusical family and was state school educated in UK. I was introduced to music by witnessing older children having lessons and performing at school and asking if I could do that. I didn’t realise at the time how lucky I was, but over the past years music education has gradually been taken out of state schools and so I really grew up during a privileged time. From that point on I went down a traditional route of joining various youth orchestras and classical competitions. I was awarded a place at Junior Trinity in London before going on to study full time at The London College of Music.
Natasha: Did you have any experience with creating videos/live-streaming before covid?
Hannah: I did, to some degree. My good friend Daniel Roberts introduced me to live streaming on social media as a way to maintain contact with fans and audiences when not performing live for them, but at first, I wasn’t too sure how to use live streaming as a musician. Should I perform concerts? Should I do big prepared speeches, like I have seen other people do? In the end, I settled with using Twitter/periscope live streaming to answer questions and show behind the scenes. I delved into YouTube a few years ago, but I found the video making and editing so time-consuming that I couldn’t maintain it (however now, thanks to my work in films, I have a bit more experience and can make and upload videos quickly, hence my return to YouTube this month). Finally, I found the concert platform Stageit a few years ago, which allowed me to broadcast live ticketed concerts online and around the world. I liked this platform because it gave me, the artist the scope to create professional and high-quality shows. I originally only performed on there once every few months to allow my audiences around the world to see me perform when I was unable to come to their country, but through the pandemic, I have been performing 3 shows a week and over time I have really refined the show in terms of production.
Natasha: Once things hit what adjustments did you make?
Hannah: As soon as I knew we were going into lockdown I….like every other artist and musician panicked. But I decided to make a plan, I worked out what parts of my art form would be able to still continue. At the start of the pandemic that was stageit shows, film composing and radio presenting, and which parts would instantly stop – live performance, working with other musicians, So I worked towards increasing my outputs that were still available and adding more, such as my podcast and starting my YouTube channel up. I also have adjusted my Stageit show to give people the best possible experience and the things they miss such as happy healthy contact with others and new sites.
Natasha: Do you have any suggestions for other musicians in the same spot?
Artistically – It’s a good idea to adapt your shows to make them more intimate and personal. Choose music that suits intimacy better, and vary your repertoire.
Production-wise. Use the best mics, cameras, and wifi that is available. Do test shows prior to your first concert and every time you’re using new software.
Getting an audience – This is something so many of us artists overlook. We are often not used to self-promotion or encouraging an audience to come because we play at festivals and venues that take care of that for us. But online it’s mainly down to us. Invite friends and family, put it on social media, personally invite fans and give some of your most loyal fans a free ticket to the first show because it does take time for new audiences to try out an online concert. Also, make friends with other artists using the platform as everyone is very encouraging.
Natasha: Tell us about your partnership with Daniel Roberts?
Hannah: My partnership with Daniel began in 2012 as he was recommended when I needed a pianist for a recital in Portsmouth. We gelled artistically and socially and performed and toured extensively until 2015 when Daniel moved to Brasil. We are still best friends and perform and record periodically, in fact we were due to perform a concert when lockdown happened.
Natasha: How did the Woolmer orchestra begin?
The Woolmer Philharmonic Orchestra began on 20th February 2014, I enjoyed running it and we made various recordings and concerts in partnership with Arts Council and Heritage Lottery Fund, but I had to make the sad decision to put it to rest in 2017 due to performing commitments of my own. I hope one day it can resume.
Natasha: What inspires your compositions?
Hannah: I find it very hard to start compositions, so I always ask for inspiration from others, be it a word, a picture anything, just an impetus, and then I’m off like a flash composing. This is why I enjoy composing for the film so much as the film and drama itself is inspiration so I work very quickly.
Natasha: Tell us a little bit about when you first heard the Lark Ascending and a little about your own take on it?
Hannah: I was 13 and accepted to play in The Essex Young Peoples Orchestra a year younger than their minimum age. We played this boring piece called ‘The Lark Ascending’ all course long and the second violin part was just long notes and the whole thing didn’t seem to have a tune. On the day of the performance for our parents the soloist turned up (at this time I knew nothing about concerti or soloists and very little about performance etiquette) and when he began to play the solo I was so mesmerised I forgot to play and just watched, it was magical.
To me, though The Lark Ascending is an extremely popular piece today, it is one of the most wonderful pieces of all time. It is bittersweet, beautiful, and heartbreaking all at once. Vaughan Williams, by all accounts, was a wonderful man. He composed the piece after returning from ww1. He was a pacifist and refused to fight but bravely signed up to be a medic on the front lines. I couldn’t imagine anything more terrifying than facing enemy fire without a gun.
I believe the piece is so heartbreaking because it really gives us an insight into who Vaughan Williams was at this point. A man who has said goodbye to the naivety of the past, a man full of sorrow, but also one of eternal hope.
Natasha: Tell us about “Love Online” and how composing for a film differs from your regular compositions?
Hannah: “Love Online” was a film I composed for in 2019. It is a very witty rom-com that allowed me to compose many different styles and genres. Composing for film differs from my usual composing in many ways. Firstly, I’m not the boss or the ‘visionary’, instead, I am helping bring other people’s vision to fruition. In addition to this, composing for film often has a very tight schedule and so it can be demanding. I often think I have to use a lot more of my classical training in the film as I have to produce emotions on cue. I can’t take 2 minutes to build an emotion when the scene requires it to happen in 10 seconds, so a lot of problem-solving.
Finally, I compose for a film with reels of the film synced up to my daw, so my first sketches will be completely synced up and in time with the film, from there if an orchestra is required then we will have scores printed and record the orchestra, again in time with the film.
If you enjoyed learning about Hannah, keep up to date with her through her Official Website and buy tickets to see her online through StageIt
