Kat Hatton

 

My musical journey

 

I grew up in what must be one of the most musical towns in the UK: a small town called Okehampton on the edge of Dartmoor. Two pivotal figures were behind this: Head of Music at the town school, John Holland, and The Wren Trust, led by Paul Wilson and Marilyn Tucker.

John Holland’s reach went well beyond the school: he set up a community choral society and orchestra that was fully inclusive. He arranged all the music himself, which meant he could flex to the instruments available and the standard – I still have copies of the open string parts I first joined on somewhere! He also organised events with visiting orchestras and ensured we had instrumental lessons available to us. It’s thanks to this work that I fell in love with the viola during a performance of Britten’s Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra.

The Wren Trust (now Wren Music) has an equal, if different, impact on my musical life: they are a Community Arts organisation that brought traditional music and activities to life and focused on the inclusivity of music. For them, it was about enjoyment over perfection, and this is an attitude that has stayed with me in my musical journey. I went back to Okehampton as a teenager to do work experience with them, and the joy that they brought through their work with people who thought they “couldn’t sing” or by working with schools from disadvantaged areas was eye-opening.

Alongside these, there were plentiful opportunities: from the East Devon Music Centre where I spent Saturday mornings playing with multiple ensembles, through county music groups, to residential courses – including one for “endangered instruments” which saw a large group of violists and double bassists performing together!

My family relocated when I was 12, meaning my teenage years were spent with the Gloucestershire Music Service. My poor parents drove me to orchestras around the area three times a week for many years! Between this, endless opportunities through school and a thriving local folk music scene, it’s fair to say that my entire life was music as a teenager.

However, like many people who don’t go on to study music at university, I stopped playing regularly when I left home. It’s such a common story: lack of visibility of what’s out there, rehearsal models which don’t fit around early career, and groups full of what seemed at the time like old people meant that music took a back seat, and I didn’t have the time or enthusiasm. It was only when I moved to Reading 15 years ago that I started to get back into playing, but I’ve done that with a vengeance, thanks to the huge number of community orchestras we have!

 

 

As a trustee & parent, how has this influenced music making or vice versa?

 

I’ve been a BMT parent for 7 years now: my son (12) originally learnt violin and recorder before switching to bassoon during lockdown, and my daughter (8) learns viola and trumpet. Being able to play duets with them, and even play in orchestras together with my son, has been an amazing experience for me: I’m delighted that they seem to share my love of music, although I wish I could persuade them that practising is a really good idea.

2 years ago, I joined the Board of Trustees, as they were seeking someone with skills in marketing and strategy. The motivator behind this was simple: while I don’t want a music career, it’s really important to me that the skills that people can develop through music are made available as widely as possible, along with the joy that comes from creating something beautiful with other people.

Being more closely involved with the organisation encouraged me to start lessons again myself to fix the bad habits that started during my downtime: I’ve done this for 2 years, and it’s been really helpful. I can tell that I am a better technical player now than I was before doing this – I’d recommend it to any other adult players.

 

 

The role music plays now

 

These days, music plays a very different role in my life. It’s my “active rest” that gives me a different challenge and a way to switch off from my day job. It’s also a huge part of my social life – when I moved to a new town, it was how I made friends, and a big part of my social life is playing string quartets at friends’ houses.

Being an amateur player has created some amazing opportunities: I’ve played most of the great orchestral solo parts for viola now, performed at local festivals (including an amazing turn at Reading’s Are You Listening? Festival with Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra a few years ago where we had the audience dancing!), and put on chamber music concerts with a huge range of repertoire. The pressure is different as an amateur player, and it’s taught me as much about leadership and teamwork as it has about music! Transferable skills to the day job are undeniable.

Of course, it’s a huge balancing act. These days I have to be far more choiceful in terms of which orchestras I play with as time is limited: my husband and I both work full time jobs a distance from our home in Reading, we’re deep in the parent taxi years and somewhere in between all these commitments we have to find time to be together as a family. My biggest piece of advice for those in a similar position is to find the groups that you genuinely enjoy and stay with them. I have my “friendly and sociable” orchestra, my “challenges me to play better” orchestra, and my “does things that no one else does” orchestra. There simply isn’t time to play with the groups that I wasn’t enjoying!

 

 

Why carry on with music

 

I’m a huge advocate of the transferable skills of music-making, particularly in ensembles. Being a string player teaches you so much about teamwork: the importance of working together to produce a consistent sound, understanding what your section are capable of and helping them with any challenges, negotiating with the other section leaders to make changes where you want them, and ultimately that it’s not about personal glory but about being part of something amazing.

There’s also the importance of performance: I’m regularly asked in the day job why I don’t get nervous when presenting, and the answer is that I’ve been performing since such a young age that it’s a natural skill by now. Of course, I do feel the nerves, but I use them to make my performance – or my presentation – better!

And then, of course, there is the social element. As a parent, it’s easy for your social life to revolve around your children, and as an employee, it’s easy to prioritise working late over a relaxing evening. Rehearsals are a commitment that you can’t easily break, which means you have a space carved in the week for *you*. The importance of my Monday evenings with Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra can’t be underestimated: whether that’s for the break from work stress, stepping away from the demands of home life, or just getting a hug from a friend on a bad day.

It’s never too late to get back into community music making. Local orchestras are full of people like me who took time out but have returned to music and now value it so much more.