In this episode of Things Musicians Don't Talk About, Becca sits down with Chloé van Soeterstède in her dressing room at the Royal College of Music. Chloé shares her personal experiences of working as a musician alongside pregnancy and then motherhood. She walks us through her journey - from figuring out with her manager when might be the best time to get pregnant, to performing while visibly pregnant and giving birth naturally with the aid of mental preparation. Chloé also opens up about challenges like pumping breastmilk between rehearsals on tour and traveling internationally with a newborn ..read more

Another chatty episode for you lovely lot! This was recorded for our last Voices radio slot in February 2023. Hattie and Becca chat about queerness in classical music, exploring our opinions on the films Tár and Maestro, and how we feel power dynamics and hero-worship were portrayed in them. As we've seen over the past few decade or so, teacher-student relationships can be such a dangerous environment if those positions of authority are abused, and so we take a further look into what exactly it is about them that musicians don't talk about and why. We always love to hear from our listeners, a ..read more

This week we come to you (unintentionally) from the Royal Opera House! We speak with composer, theatre-maker, and journalist Zygmund de Somogyi about growing up with Autism Spectrum Disorder, not fitting in to the classical music world, discovering the world of composing, their experiences of imposter syndrome and feeling disconnected from the world around them. Zyggy is now studying opera composition and discusses how they fell into opera and what it's like to work as an opera composer in the current climate. Thank you to Zyggy for their brilliant honesty and commitment to talk about the thin ..read more

TW: sexual assault we do discuss an experience of sexual assault/harassment about halfway through the episode so feel free to skip through / give this one a miss <3 We recorded this episode as part of our Voices Radio residency after the hazy summer of 2023. We took a break from the podcast for a couple of months and reflect on our individual experiences of said break. But just because *we were on a break*, doesn't mean our little brains weren't pondering the music biz. What about critics commenting on musicians' bodies and the deeply-engrained societal fatphobia? How do you even write abo ..read more

A very Happy New Year from us at TMDTA! To kick off 2024, we have an episode recorded waaaaay back last year with the joyous James Partridge. We speak to him about his very unique career, bringing 'primary school bangers' to the masses and what life is like as a social media sensation. Why do these primary school hymns unlock 100% FEELS in us and what does James think about music education? Find out here on Things Musicians Don't Talk About. Follow James on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbpartridge/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesbpartridge Website: https://www.jamesbpartrid ..read more

Trigger warning: eating disorders and mental illness Part 2: We return to Rosie's story to hear about both the rock bottom and how she moved onwards and upwards past it. We would recommend listening to part 1 if you haven't already (released only a couple of days ago!) as this'll make a lot more sense with the rest of Rosie's story. We feel so incredibly honoured and grateful to Rosie for her time and vulnerability with us, and are so excited to see where Rosie goes in life with her brilliant self-awareness, musicality and strength. Transcript for this episode Rosie's Instagram: @rosiebenne ..read more

Trigger warning: eating disorders and mental illness Part 1: We are extremely grateful to guitarist Rosie Bennet for letting us into the nooks and crannies of her life story. We talk about Rosie's musical training and her travels all over the world, and the subsequent dark periods in her life that culminated in a breakdown during her years at music college. The way in which Rosie speaks about her life and her music is so poetic and an absolute joy to listen to, despite the depth and heaviness of her journey. Transcript of this episode Part 2 will be released this Friday, in which we ta ..read more

Oh hey there again and thanks for joining us for episode 39! I could listen to Vic talk all day, honestly. Today, we present to you our chat about life as a freelance musician parent and Vic's experiences of pregnancy discrimination - a very real but seldom talked about topic. Vic herself is an amazing trumpet player who frequently appears on TV as well as performing to a live audience. She's performed at the BBC Music Awards, Strictly Come Dancing, Britains Got Talent and This Morning, as well as performing with artists such as Rod Stewart, Charlotte Church, John Cale and Robin S. Victoria h ..read more

Today we are thrilled to release our conversation with violinist and co-founder of the Manchester Collective, Rakhi Singh. Speaking with Rakhi was so joyful and restorative. We discuss her life within the Manchester Collective, how they continue to push boundaries and what ‘daring collaborations’ mean. We go on to talk about chamber music and the ways in which we can feel restricted in the definition we have created within classical music. Rakhi suggests a more integrative and whole approach to music education, asking why playing pieces that we actually enjoy can so often not be our top priori ..read more

Wow, what a conversation we had with Jocelyn. We discuss the London Chamber Orchestra's recent-ish decision to drop their dress code, but before we get into that we talk about her life before being appointed the Managing Director of LCO, and now the CEO of Three Worlds Group. Freelance life is a struggle at the best of times, and we are so so grateful to Jocelyn for speaking so powerfully about her experiences and thoughts on the subject. This felt like such an important and energising conversation, particularly as our first in-person interview (all the way down in the depths of South London ..read more