In these times of budget cuts and financial shortfalls, setting up a new ensemble successfully has never been so difficult. The challenges of attracting funding and sponsorship, generating publicity and creating something that stands out from the crowd artistically can sometimes seem insurmountable.

Yet, as the ABO sponsored research by Tim Baker into audience development "Stop re-inventing the wheel" demonstrates, it is precisely now that the music business needs the freshness of new groups and new approaches to audience development to revitalise the profession and attract a wider audience.

One of the most important aspects of any new orchestra is the artistic vision behind the enterprise, and for sound collective, established by the trombonist and conductor Tom Hammond in 2002, uncompromising musical excellence is the key. "Many orchestral musicians find that they are expected to perform the same pieces year after year with little or no rehearsal, in order to keep costs down and bring the audience in. There is always the sense that there is so much more you could be doing with the music", he explained. sound collective, in essence, was formed as a reaction against this emerging trend of "dumbing down" classical music for an increasingly small and conservative audience.

For example, the orchestra, whose members are drawn from across the British Isles, has at least three times more rehearsal than the normal afternoon rehearsal and evening concert. "This allows us to concentrate on performing exciting programmes, both for the musicians and for the audiences. Our concerts have included works by Nielsen, McCabe, Stravinsky and Britten. In January, for example, we will perform the world premiere of Matthew Taylor"s Third Symphony along with more traditional repertoire, that includes the 'Eroica' Symphony."

Player involvement is fundamental to the groups success, as you'd imagine from a group who's name embraces the idea of the 'collective' spirit. The players are heavily involved on a practical level, from choosing repertoire to arranging rehearsal schedules, and while the basic agenda is set by the conductor, musicians are encouraged to contribute their own ideas within that agenda.

Tom's aim is to "shift the focus of attention away from the man with the white stick and on to the musicians and the music" "Obviously you can't have an Athenian style democracy in an orchestra: there'd be chaos", argues Tom. "But what you can do is to involve the musicians and encourage them to express their own ideas about what works to perform and how they should be played".

Adam Walters, a horn player and founding member of the group, agrees that this idea of democracy underpins the whole idea of Sound Collective - although he is "waiting for the day when one of the second violins turns round and suggests that the horns try to play a passage more legato!". And Tom has always been adamant that the group is not his; rather it belongs to its players. His aim is to "shift the focus of attention away from the man with the white stick and on to the musicians and the music" making the group a true sound collective in which the whole performance is shaped by the musicians themselves.

"I thought it was a splendid show, and a great send-off for the orchestra. I was delighted with the playing of my piece, and indeed throughout the concert there was some quite exceptional work."
John McCabe C.B.E

The benefits of this approach are evident in the quality of the concerts and the enjoyment of the audience. "If a performance is either really good or really bad, the audience always notices", says harpist Helen Radice. "Because the musicians in sound collective are involved and interested in what they are doing, they give a really good performance and the whole experience becomes much more enjoyable for everyone".

Adam Walters agrees. "One thing you notice immediately in rehearsals is the relaxed atmosphere with everyone really wanting to be there. And it's thanks to this enthusiasm that the performances have been so electric".

A fundamental aim of sound collective is to involve the audience in their performances, and great efforts are made to avoid alienating audiences by designing readable programme notes and by inviting composers such as Matthew Taylor and John McCabe come in person to talk to the audience about their work.

To make the music more accessible different audience building techniques are explored, for example displays about the music are set up at the venue for people to browse during the interval and after the concert. This is done to make the music more accessible to an audience that, for the most part, will have little or no musical knowledge. Despite all this, however, Tom refuses to employ cliched adjectives such as "innovative" or "exciting", to describe the group, believing that "being "innovative" and "exciting" is what music making should be about in the first place".

Tom's belief is that by continuing to push the boundaries of quality and variety sound collective will build up a loyal audience willing to trust programming and performance expertise of sound collective and become regular attenders to their concerts. However, it has not been easy. One of the main challenges facing any orchestra today is that of securing adequate funding, and sound collective is no exception.

All the ingredients for attentive readings of appropriate repertoire within sound collective"s grasp. I cannot commend them highly enough. This was a wonderful evening: they deserve to be heard more often than often"
David Alker, Musical Opinion

Thanks to some excellent reviews, sound collective has secured some funding for future concerts, including Arts Council support worth £1500 for performances at Missenden in October 2004. This will be very welcome as until recently the musicians have worked for little or no fee. However the group still has no major sponsor. it's just that with so many other professional commitments, the collective energies that we are able to give to sound collective administration are absorbed by the practical day-to-day running of the orchestra - it's been really difficult to find the time for the paperwork that an Art"s council application involves.

"Although I have great faith in the concept that if you put the art and the music first then other things will follow", Tom Hammond admits that sound collective "needs a sponsor with great foresight who understands and appreciates our artistic ambitions."

"I really believe that sound collective has an awful lot to offer a sponsor and I"m very pleased that the potential of sound collective has been recognised by Trinity College of Music. We"ve formed a close association with Trinity and students from the college will participate in a mentoring scheme with members of sound collective, giving them the opportunity to work with and learn from experienced musicians who understand the realities of the music business. "

In addition, one string player from each section will be chosen by audition to play with sound collective as a "full time" member. The orchestra has already benefited from their links with Trinity College, gaining the use of Blackheath Concert Hall as a rehearsal venue for their concert at St John"s Smith Square in January.

The hope is that, in the fullness of time, the association will lead to an expansion of sound collective with increasing interest in and publicity for the group.

In the meantime, the orchestra has performances in October at the Little Missenden Festival and at the Bishopsgate Institute in London to look forward to, and a chamber ensemble which currently gives between five and six performances a year.

The slightly Transylvanian metaphor Tom used to describe the ethos of sound collective as an "artistic blood bank for creatively drained audiences and musicians", reflected his idiosyncratic approach to music making, and while we obviously have different dietary requirements, his description definitely reflected my feeling of being musically refreshed after attending a recent sound collective concert.

Alice Roser

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Friday 15 October 2004
Little Missenden Church, Little Missenden Festival, Bucks 19.30
Elgar Serenade for Strings
David Matthews Adagio
Matthew Taylor Concerto for Horn and Strings
John Tavener Lament for Phaedra
John Tavener Song of the Angel
Robert Simpson Allegro Deciso
Vaughan-Williams Variants on Dives and Lazarus

Saturday October 16 19.30
The Parish Church of St Mary&St Chad, Brewood,
Elgar Serenade for Strings
David Matthews Adagio for Strings
Giovanni Botessini Reverie and Fantasie on "la sommanbuca" for Double Bass
John Tavener Lament for Phaedra
John Tavener Song of the Angel
Robert Simpson Allegro Deciso
Vaughan-Williams Variants on Dives and Lazarus

Tuesday 19 October 2004
City Music Society, Bishopsgate Institute London EC2 13.05
Serenade for Strings
Matthew Taylor Concerto for Horn and Strings
Vaughan-Williams Variants on Dives and Lazarus

Friday 7 January 2005
St John"s, Smith Square,Westminster 19.30
Matthew Taylor Symphony No.3 (world premiere)
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"

Saturday 10 September 2005
St Peter"s Church, Wallingford, 7.30pm
sound collective chamber ensemble
Programme to include Ravel: Introduction & Allegro; Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp