Sabbatical questions…
2008 award winner Paul Medd in conversation with Alison McGillivray, Autumn 2009
Paul, you returned from your New York sabbatical in June 2009, after taking a year out from your job as violinist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to study with Daniel Phillips. What were your hopes for the sabbatical before you began?
That’s a funny question to answer now! The underlying drive for the sabbatical was to deal with nerves and stage fright and to better my playing – I always felt I was capable of more and sitting in an orchestra isn’t always the best way of improving! Looking at it now a more general drive was obvious – escape! Change, space to breath, freedom to explore myself, develop who I am and what kind of musician I want to be…
What was the programme of study like?
On paper, the programme looked very easy – the basic weekly schedule consisted of 6 hours of orchestra, an hour’s lesson -usually more, repertory (performance) class and chamber music. In reality it was incredibly tough, being the leader of the orchestra required a lot of work, I had my own individual practise to do and the music for my quartet needed looking at too! I also had to coach chamber groups and give private lessons as well as many other extra curricular activities. To be honest I didn’t stop and I wouldn’t have changed a thing!
And tell me a bit about how you spent your free time? Are you still in touch with the people you met?
Free time was rare! But you work hard so you play hard! New York was the perfect playground for me as the scope for enjoyment, fun, education and amazement was vast. An average night out would sadly involve fabulous food, an opera or orchestra concert and finish off in a basement jazz bar ‘til 3 or so-it was just awful!! In a city like New York life is all around and walking down any street or riding the subway was a joy. You didn’t have to plan a night out as it just happened and evolved – you could be passing a bar, café, art gallery – even basketball courts – and you would get involved in something new. I made friends constantly and I miss them all. I phone many of them regularly and keep in contact with most via emails. It’s great – I never have to book a hotel room in NYC again!
It’s a big thing to do – uproot yourself from your life, work and routines for a year. What were the biggest changes? Were some adjustments easier than others?
Leaving home was hard at times and, at the beginning especially, the urge to come back was strong. The hardest things were adjusting to a new country (yes the U.S. has the language similarity, but that’s it!), being so far from home and familiar things was difficult – Yorkshire puds were missed! Not having the comfortable routine of a full time job was oddly missed too. Of course being without close friends and family was heart wrenching but regular (expensive) phone calls helped.
The moment of coming back to your ‘old’ life in Glasgow – tell me about the week you returned.
Awful, plain and simple! My last duty in New York was a concert on the Saturday night, I flew back to Glasgow on the Sunday evening, arrived on the Monday morning and started work 2 hours later! The week was a relatively easy one in the RSNO’s eyes (playing 3 concerts a day for nursery school children!) but the physical and mental shock of being “back” was horrendous. I’d looked forward to the big return for weeks but the adjustment was very difficult – 5 months on and I still don’t feel right!
How easy has it been to integrate what you learnt in New York into your current musical life?
Technical “violiny” things have been petty simple – it’s just a case of remembering what you’ve been taught! Keeping the enthusiasm going has been hard – people tend not to like or accept change and the “new improved” Paul Medd with a new-found joy for music, with opinions and a slight NYC attitude has been hard for some people to swallow – making myself heard when I already have a reputation is difficult. I’m doing loads of practise, plenty of auditions and even have a recital planned for the New Year. The momentum’s still there thankfully.
What are your plans for the future?
I haven’t a clue! I know something big is coming though. Maybe a new job, a change of city or even country-again; I would move back to New York at the drop of a hat! I’m constantly developing so at the moment I believe anything is possible.
Finally, any advice for other people considering a sabbatical?
DO IT!! Enjoy every step of the process – from wondering what you want to do to completing your dream. Be flexible and very patient. Your ideas of what you want will probably change. Not only are you going somewhere different but that place is getting you (if that makes sense) : you will gain a great deal from what you’re going to do, but that place will also gain from having you! Be prepared for your return-that’s the hardest bit! Have fun!!
Posted by Paul Medd on November 7th, 2009.
