It’s been a remarkable week for two of Ensemble Cymru’s young stars, Collette Astley-Jones and Llinos Elin Owen, as they celebrate clinching exciting new jobs!
Llinos’s Story
Ensemble Cymru, Resident Ensemble at Bangor University and Venue Cymru, gave Llinos her first job as a professional bassoonist more than ten years ago. During this time, Llinos has been a regular feature in the Ensemble’s concerts, most recently performing on the Pedr a’r Blaidd (Peter and the Wolf) national tour.
Now Llinos has an impressive new credit to add to her growing CV as she has just landed the job of sub principal bassoonist with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, the orchestra for Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Talking about her new position Llinos said: “After freelancing for more than ten years, it’s just fantastic to have the security of a permanent contract. I’ve already had my schedule through so I know exactly what I’ll be working for the next year which is brilliant because I can now fit my other work in around this. I really enjoy the variety of working with different groups and ensembles, and this role allows me the freedom to still do this, while having the security of 35 weeks a year of guaranteed work.”
And the hard work has already begun for Llinos as she’ll be performing as part of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia’s 65-piece orchestra at Sadler’s Wells, London, during April for a production of The Rite of Spring & Petrushka by the Fabulous Beast Dance Company.
Llinos, who’s originally from Pwllheli but now lives in Worcestershire with her husband, first picked up a bassoon at the age of 13 and hasn’t put it down since! Her talent for music was nurtured from an early age as her grandmother, also a talented musician, taught Llinos to play the piano at the age of four. You can read Llinos’s full biography here.
Collette’s Story
Collette is another member of the Ensemble Cymru family and most recently, did an exceptional job as the orchestral manager for the Peter and the Wolf National Tour. Having only just completed her Masters in Music at Bangor University last October, it hasn’t taken long for Collette’s talent to be recognised within the industry as she’s now been snapped up by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for the role of Artistic Planning and Ensemble Assistant.
Collette tells us what she’ll be doing in her new job: “I’ll be working with both the artistic planning team and also the orchestral management team as my role is the link between the two. So I’ll be involved in running the rehearsals and concerts, also looking after the soloists and conductors but also to advise the artistic team on any practical aspects from an orchestral management point of view.”
“The timing couldn’t be better as I finish my two month internship with the Southbank Sinfonia in London on Friday, and then I start my new job in Liverpool on Monday!”
Collette got her first taste of orchestral management while a student at Bangor University’s School of Music. During this time she became the stage manager for the University Orchestra and the Music Society where she was also the chairperson. Collette also became involved with Ensemble Cymru while at university, first as a volunteer and later winning an internship with the Ensemble as part of her Masters scholarship, as Collette explains: “Because of my interest in orchestral management, Ensemble Cymru offered me the opportunity to assist at its concerts. I began by helping with the stage and event management of the Ensemble’s Music at Bangor series, and then moved on to working on the tours including the national Living Waters tour in 2011 and the Peter and the Wolf tour earlier this year. The experience I’ve gained through Ensemble Cymru has been invaluable and it’s meant I’ve been able to get my first step on the ladder in what can be a very challenging industry to break into.”
“All of us are thrilled at the richly deserved success of two members of the Ensemble Cymru family”
Ensemble Cymru’s Artistic Director, Peryn Clement-Evans was quick to congratulate both Llinos and Collette on their recent successes as he said: “All of us are thrilled at the richly deserved success of two members of the Ensemble Cymru family, Llinos Owen and Collette Astley-Jones. It has been hugely rewarding to see Llinos’s career as a bassoonist go from strength to strength since she started with us as a 6th former at Chethams School of Music many years ago. Ensemble Cymru is delighted that Llinos will continue to be associated with the Ensemble as its principal bassoon. And Collette, since coming to us several years ago while a student at Bangor University, has always demonstrated a real passion to become an orchestral manager; only recently she did an amazing job managing the orchestra for the Ensemble’s Peter and the Wolf tour (March 2014).We wish Collette and Llinos the very best in their exciting new roles.”
