Here at Associated Studios, we run regular Musical Theatre Masterclasses with professionals from the industry. Previously, we have worked with Alice Fearn (Wicked, Shrek, Les Miserables) and Danielle Tarento (Producer and Casting Director) among many others. On Sunday 17th February, we were thrilled to run a Masterclass with the incomparable, Sondheim genius, Gareth Valentine. Gareth is an established musical composer who has worked on a variety of productions. As Musical Supervisor, his theatre credits include Kiss Me Kate – Chichester Festival Theatre; Crazy For You – Open Air Theatre and Novello Theatre, Into the Woods– Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, The Kind and I – Royal Albert Hall, Merrily We Roll Along and Company – Donmar Warehouse; to name but a few.
12 lucky performers were given the opportunity to perform and work with Gareth. As Associated Studios, we are always striving to ensure our training and Masterclasses are accessible to all walks of life and understand that sometimes, not everyone can afford to pay out £40 for every Masterclass.
We were delighted to be joined by the Stephen Sondheim Society. For those of you who don’t know, the Stephen Sondheim Society is a UK-based charity that studies and celebrate the work of the composer/lyricist. It was our great honour that the SSS offered to pay for a lucky individual to take part in the Masterclass with Gareth Valentine. We received many applications from some very talented individuals but were thrilled to offer the bursary to 18-year-old Connor Quinn who sang and took on the challenge of performing “Being Alive” from Company.
“It was amazing,” said Conor afterwards. “I chose ‘Being Alive’ because it’s a great tenor song, and I enjoyed seeing Company recently. I learned today that for Sondheim, it’s all about the words, and I hope I was able to find the subtlety in what he wanted to achieve. I learnt a lot!”
For full article, please visit The Stephen Sondheim Society website:
https://www.sondheimsociety.com/single-post/2019/02/18/Gareth-Valentines-Sondheim-Masterclass
