In our school newsletters we will be hearing from different freelancers and teachers to find out a little bit more about them and their experiences with ENO Engage.
In this edition of our coffee-break interview, we hear from Evie Asio, vocal lead at one of our key partner institutions, Tri-Borough Music Hub!
Hi Evie, thanks so much for chatting with us! Can you tell us about your role at the Triborough Music Hub?
Thank you! My role involves looking after all areas of vocal activity in the Music Hub, from planning our large-scale school singing festivals, to overseeing our choirs, to looking at the various ways we can support our tutors and students in a high quality singing education. My day to day includes visiting schools to deliver vocal activity, as well as working with a number of our vocal ensembles. However there are always exciting opportunities to work on specialist projects with partners, such as the ENO!
I have also been running the TBMH Youth Voice Council for the past 2 years, which has been really fun and a big learning experience for me.
What’s your favorite thing about working with young people?
One thing I love about working with young people is their perspective on life and music. With some of the younger students, they can share some really interesting and smart questions that can make you think!
I also really enjoy seeing the journey of young people growing in their musical skills and confidence. So many young people have an abundance of talent, and that is able to be unlocked more easily when they have a team of supportive adults working alongside them.
You recently worked with the English National Opera leading the Youth Chorus for our latest piece for Finish This… ‘Plant This Seed’: what was your biggest takeaway from that experience?
The whole experience made me really reflect on how collaborative the composition process can be. The resources/scores had a lot of important detail, yet Elif and the team left space for the young people to express themselves and feel reflected in the music. I think that really empowered the young people and brought the best out of them. It made me excited to work more with the young people in this collaborative way.
We know schools are finishing up for the summer break soon. What’s your favourite thing about summer?
Firstly, the sun! My birthday is in the summertime, and it definitely shows because I thrive in summer. In addition, I love that for a lot of people working in education, it’s a great time to slow down, reset, and reflect on how you can build on what you’ve already done. The summer break is when I get most of my arrangements done – and I do love arranging!
Favourite piece of music?
I don’t think I have one favourite piece of music. However at the moment I’m really enjoying this project from Alex Bird and Maddison Cunningham. It is a track-by-track cover of the album ‘Buckingham Nicks’ – a lost album from two of the members who would one day become Fleetwood Mac. The music is truly beautiful, but also it’s such a story of reimagination and innovation. I love the idea that these songs that most people would otherwise never get to hear, can have a new lease of life, and you can tell that they put a lot of effort into keeping the spirit of these songs intact.
If you weren’t doing your current role, what would your dream job be?
That’s a hard one, because this is literally my dream job! However, perhaps in another life I would really enjoy being a full time songwriter, producer and arranger.