This edition is brought to you in association with Distill Union for men's gifts, presents and problem -solving men's accessories. More from them in a bit. Welcome back to the Chatterbox Redux podcast with Nick and Sue and today our special guest is conductor Robert Emery. This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need to know about musical entertainment. Chatterbox, the best interviews with Nick and
Sue. Chatterbox, the best news. And now on Chatterbox UK, we're just lucky enough to welcome back Robert Emory. Robert, hello. How are you, sir? Welcome. I am great. Thank you very much. Nice to be back. It's great to have you back on. It really is. The last time we spoke, we were stuck in the middle of lockdown. and basically raising funds for all the composers and the musicians and people
in orchestras. Basically, anybody with live music, I believe, you're raising funds because they were not earning any money at all and because it was so erratic the way that their earnings have been in the past. And of course, we were covering that for you, which we put out a couple of times actually. Welcome to Get Musicians Working .org. My name is Robert Emery and I'm the founder of this project. We're here today to ask you to help us. Our aim is to support musicians through
the Covid crisis. There are many professional musicians. In fact, 34 % of all professional musicians are considering leaving their jobs because they can no longer afford to be a musician. We're not allowed in the concert halls. We're not allowed to play in the theaters. We're not allowed to make music for you. And therefore, if we can't make music, we can't earn money. And if we can't earn money, we can't feed our
families and put roofs over our heads. So many musicians are seriously struggling through the COVID crisis. Now, I know that we're not trying to cure cancer. I know that we're not trying to save the world from global warming. I know that this in the ground scheme of things is probably not the most important thing in the world. But imagine life without music. It would be very black and white. Imagine not having music in films, not having music in your television programs.
Imagine not going to the concert halls or to see gigs or imagine not going to the theatre. Imagine not going to listen to musicals or to see the ballet or the opera. Imagine life without all of these things. It would be a little uninspirational and very boring. And what we're trying to make sure here is that once this whole pandemic is over, that people can go back to the theatres, they can come back into the concert halls, they
can go back and see gigs. Because we will have a music industry still here, still standing, and we will have professional musicians who have been able to ride out this horrible period of time. And that's where you come in. We ask for your support, just a small amount. We know that everybody's tight at the moment with money and life is very, very difficult. But we are asking for a very small amount from you. And if you
can give it, we would really appreciate it. So on behalf of all the musicians from the UK, thank you. So that's where we were last time and I think we're asking what would you be doing after the after the lockdown? So basically what have you done since the lockdown then we then we'll talk about this this present project So since the lockdown, I guess I've been really trying to to get back performing that's been the challenging
thing, not necessarily challenging for me. I'm happy to hop into a concert hall, but the promoters are finding that the audiences are just not coming back here. The demographic that I perform to a lot is, I guess, people over the age of 45, 50, and the promoters are just finding that they're just not selling as many tickets as they were pre -COVID and therefore they are more hesitant and nervous, totally understandably, to produce
concerts. And if they're nervous to produce concerts and they don't do it, then I don't get on a stage and then I don't get paid. So it's still a challenge today. I would say we're still probably a good 40 % below pre -COVID levels in terms of audience numbers. Okay, so as you basically put it in layman's terms, then the amount of work that you're getting, I assume is also approximately 40 % down as well. Well, it is for performing
work. And so, you know, I guess I'm really lucky in terms of I do lots of other things aside from standing on the stage and waving a stick or playing a piano. So, you know, I produce albums. You know, I've got the Ted's List educational website which keeps me really super busy. So how do you improve your piano technique? Well, I'm really sorry to tell you this. Yes, you predicted it. It's scales. Scales are the most important thing
that you can do. Yes, they are possibly the most boring thing you could do, but they're worth it. What's the reason why? Well, the thing is, scales are in almost any piece of music that you can think of. You might know that as Bar Bar Black Sheep. You almost probably also know it as this. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It's the same as Bar Bar Black Sheep. Have you ever figured that out? Well, now you know. And it's
all a C major scale. And so the thing is, if you can play any of the scales on the piano, it means that any time you get to a piece of music which has a scale element, your muscle memory kicks in immediately. and you can play it and that's one of the reasons why scales are so important. Try really hard to love them. I know when I was young I hated them and one of the biggest regrets of my life is not spending more time doing scales. Arpeggios. What is an
arpeggio? That is an arpeggio and yes they are similar to scales. They're a bit more jumpy and you can put them up the piano and down the piano. Arpeggios are also really important. Do you know this piece? Yes, it's Prokofiev. It's from the Romeo and Juliet Suite. And yes, that is an E minor arpeggio. Yes, it's a piece of music. It sounds beautiful, but this is just an E minor
arpeggio. So the same thing occurs if you practice all your arpeggios and if you get them into your body so you can play them easily whenever you get to a piece of music that has an element of arpeggiation in it, it means you can play it easily. blocked chords. A blocked chord is a chord which is, well, blocked. That is a blocked chord. And what is the difference between a blocked chord and a broken chord? That's a broken chord.
It's literally broken up. So again, if you know all your blocked chords, that means you can play your broken chords. Are these important? Well, yes they are. The Beethoven C sharp Moonlight. It's just a series of broken chords, so if you know that this is a C sharp minor chord and if you know that this is the C sharp minor broken
chord. That means when you get that beautiful sheet of music, which has got Beethoven written on it, and you've never played it before, but you look at it and you go, ah, I recognise this. Yeah. It's the broken chord. And that is why it's very important that you know how to play broken chords and block chords and scales. and arpeggios. So how do you improve your piano technique? Practice. Practice those four things and then all of a sudden you'll be able to play anything.
Then there's all my own projects that I'm sure we'll talk about later on as well and so I'm... I'm very lucky that I keep going and I'm okay, but there are a lot of musicians out there who were still struggling and still finding it difficult to earn a decent buck in the current climate. I'm aware that you've done a great deal towards, well, it's across the board really, as far as you being a conductor goes, or even more than that, because I think you played a very big part
in the Bat Out of Hell musical. I believe basically you had a lot to say as to... how it was presented on the stage. Is that correct? You played a really big part in it? Well, Bad Out of Hell's been going for years now. I forget when we first premiered it. 20... Gosh, when was it? 2018 -ish? 2017? Something like that. So long ago. I don't even remember the date. At the Coliseum. And it's a fantastic show. It's still going strong. It's currently touring around the UK at the moment.
And I think they're just about to reopen in... In Swansea with a new cast and yes a fantastic show and it was a real privilege to work on but I've been I was on it for quite some time now and So I'm doing doing different things, but it's it's a brilliant show brilliant people and something that absolutely everybody should go and see I remember every little thing as if it
happened only yesterday. Anyway, I believe you've got a composing side as well, and so tell us about everything else that you're sort of, your fingers in pies, but what have we got since the bat out of hell, since the lockdown? Lots of different pies. So I think the latest project that I've literally just launched is the music trivia project, and that's a sort of a follow
on from the Classical Connections. YouTube series that I released actually in the very first lockdown and that was filmed a couple of months before we went into the first lockdown. I actually filmed this music trivia series at the exact same time so it was back in January 2020 and it's been sitting on my desk wanting to get out there for the past two years and I've just never found the time to do it but it's been a good time now to release it and it's a super super little series.
It's what I would call a mini series. I think it's got 11 episodes in it and each episode is between 30 and 50 seconds long. I mean, they're real bite -sized episodes and it's about fun. It's about learning new, interesting, strange, unusual, fascinating, stupid, fun facts to do with music and any of the above. So we've got things like, we all sing happy birthday to each other several times a year for different people. Have you ever stopped and thought, Where did
it come from? Who wrote it? I hate to say this, it was called Good Morning to You All, and it was two sisters. Said to be the most famous tune in the world, Happy Birthday was written in the 1890s by schoolteacher Mildred Hill and her sister, Patti. They shrewdly copyrighted the tune. In 1988, the Birch Tree Group sold the rights of the song to Warner Communications for a cool 28 million pounds. Now that's what I call a nice birthday present. And in 1969, it was the first
ever piece to be sung in outer space. No, well, don't worry. I mean, but that's a prime example. But if you know that, then you'd be a very rare person to know that. So, you know, we've got a 30 seconds episode just saying, well, who wrote it? And and how did they become a multi multi multi millionaires from it? And and why do we
sing it today? We're taking a quick break to talk about the things we carry with us every single day and we've all been there fumbling with a bulky wallet or dealing with jumbled mess of keys that sounds like a tambourine in your pocket. Well this show is proud to be brought to you in association with the Distill Union. Since 2011 the Distill Union have been on a mission to simplify your life through a less is more philosophy creating sleek essentials to solve
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to the clutter. The Ferris uses a modular magnetic system to snap your keys and essentials together into one streamlined silent setup. It's customizable, tactile and honestly a joy to use. All products are premium quality and crafted from premium full grain leather. It's durable, sophisticated and actually ages beautifully over time developing a unique character plus they stand behind their work in a three year guarantee. When you choose the Distill Union you're choosing quality over
quantity. and by using our code CBUKRDUX you aren't just getting a better way to carry your gear, you're supporting the show and the planet. As part of the Chatterbox community's commitment to the environment, 1 % of all commissions from your purchases are donated to the Stripe Climate Program to help remove CO2 from the atmosphere. It's a small way to make a big difference while upgrading your daily carry. We've worked with Distill Union to arrange the highest exclusive
discount specifically for you, 20%. Head over to distillunion .com or simply scroll down to the link below in the show notes and just add CBUKRDUX. Other things like when we're watching a concert with an orchestra, we see a conductor there. But who was the very, very first conductor? And how did it come about? And actually, the very, very first conductor managed to kill himself by accident conducting. So what's the story behind
that? So that's episode number three. 1661. Jean -Baptiste Lully was the first conductor to give us the baton. It was a six -foot -long wooden staff that he pounded to the ground in time to the music. Although the large staff was responsible for his death, he injured his foot whilst conducting a piece of music to celebrate the King's recovery from an illness. The wound became infected and he refused amputation. The gangrene spread to his leg. He died two months later. The first
recorded death from a conductor's battle. Episode number four is what does a conductor actually do? Everybody looks at me waving a stick. I'm sure everybody's going, hardly looks great, but... I've got no idea what he actually does, so I dive into that a little bit more. In 1925, Richard Strauss set the rules for a conductor. Ten in total, but five stand out as my favourites. Number one, remember that you're making music not to amuse yourself, but to please your audience.
Number two, never look encouragingly at the brass, except for important cues. Number three, never let the horns or woodwinds out of your sight. If you can hear them at all, they're still too loud. Number four, it isn't important enough that just you can hear the soloist sing the words. It's important the audience can hear them too. Otherwise, they will fall asleep. And number five, don't perspire whilst conducting. Only... the audience should get warm. Um, other strange
things, like, we all listen to the radio. You're probably listening to it right now if you're hearing this. But who did the very, very first radio broadcast? When was it and how did it happen? Hello, pop pickers. Did you know the world's first DJ spun discs in 1906? It was Christmas Eve and Reginald Fersenden made history by broadcasting a recording of Handel's Lago and playing A Holy Night on the violin. His broadcast was heard all the way from Massachusetts to the West Indies.
Who would have thought we've had disc jockeys for over 100 years? Who invented the piano? We see a piano pretty much every day on YouTube or on a concert hall. We listen to it on pretty much every single record you ever listen to. It doesn't matter whether it's classical, pop, indie, rock. It doesn't matter what it is. It's probably got a piano in it. But who invented the piano and when was it invented? The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy
1709. Some early designs included the giraffe piano, which had a long frame that stretched right up to the ceiling, the hexapiano, which had six keyboards, and some early pianos, where the pedal was often pressed by the knees and not by the foot. Incredibly, despite having around 230 strings, it's classed as a percussion instrument, not a string instrument because the strings are struck and not bowed. I never thought I'd enjoy playing a percussion instrument like I enjoy
playing this. So all of these strange unusual things I cover in my music trivia series, which you can find on the website roberthenry .com or on my YouTube channel. And as I say, they're all 30 to 50 seconds, a lot of fun, nothing, nothing fancy, nothing stuffy, just good old fashioned music trivia. I love the idea of that. It just sounds really quite wonderful. Sue, have you got any questions for me? Not at the moment,
no. OK. Just thinking about getting a bigger audience is, of course, there's a lot of reasons why people may be frightened of COVID still, catching it. It could be money's tight, or they're panicking because they hear all these tales of woe on the news and so on. But I think back in the 50s it was. there was a sort of a bit of a problem, especially when rock and roll abides in that, of people sort of attending orchestral
or classical music concerts. And I think it took, Gerold Hoffnung came along and he did his mad way out concerts, you know, conducting with Lord knows what, and there was a road rammer playing
to classical music and things like that. is that something a mad type Hoffnung type concert is that something that you think you could do or is there any future in something madcap like that or is that just a thing in the past in the 50s London's Festival Hall and an interplanetary music festival conductor Gerard Hoffnung Mr. Hoffnung's ability to associate himself personally with every group in his orchestra has never been
more clearly shown. It's also subtle. And that indescribable quality, one might only call it lyrical. These pictures were taken at rehearsal. It doesn't mean that the audience had fled. The eminent artist then presented an operatic divertissement, a miracle of controlled stagecraft. Five operas for the price of one. Even Mr. Hoffnung prefers some silence from his players. Even so, he will
have heard their comment. I think one of the reasons why classical music in itself is suffering and has suffered over the past 50 years in particular 60 years really, is because it hasn't evolved. By definition, classical music is historical music, it's historical things that have been, most of it anyway, of course you get contemporary composers of course, but most of the rep that is performed was written, you know, a couple of hundred years ago. So by definition, it's
historical. So you go, well, how can you evolve that? how you present it to an audience, what you do, what the experience of going to a concert is hasn't really changed in the past 50 or 60 years for classical music. The way that an orchestra is funded and the way that an orchestra performs hasn't really changed substantially in the past 50 or 60 years. And I think it's got to a point now where we are in the industry, we are seeing faster than ever the decline and the drop off
of the audience. And it's a real shame because when I introduce new people, and this is just from a personal perspective, when I introduce new people to classical music, he would turn around and say they don't like classical music. And then I can prove to them, actually, they love classical music, they just don't know it.
I can play to them. music that they've heard on adverts, music that they've heard on television, I can play to them things like the Barry Manilow, Could It Be Magic, which then, you know, take that then... re -released Don Quijote years later. Actually, it's a direct copy from a piece of Chopin, Chopin Prelude. I mean, literally a copy, there is no difference. And as soon as I sit down and play the piano, and I can play that Chopin Prelude, and they hear and they go, oh,
that's, could it be magic? I say, no, it's Chopin. You like classical music, you just don't know it. And it's not your fault you don't know it. It's our fault as professional musicians and content creators for not finding new, innovative, interesting, exciting ways to draw you into this world of classical music. And that's something that we have to get better on. And that's something that personally I... been campaigning for years on, which is exactly why I created the Classical
Connections YouTube series. It's exactly why I created a podcast. It's exactly why I created the blog. It's exactly why I'm creating this music trivia YouTube series now. And it's why I talk to an audience pretty much every single concert I do. Doesn't matter if I'm doing a John Williams or a piece of Gershwin. or a piece of Beethoven, I'll talk to the audience and I'll tell them strange, interesting facts about the
composer or why they wrote the piece. And I'll try and draw that audience in and make them excited by it. And I think we have to do that and we have to do better. And, you know, Little Me isn't going to make a massive, massive difference to the whole of the classical music genre. But if we can get more people doing it, it will help. We're taking a quick break to talk about the things we carry with us every single day. And
we've all been there. fumbling with a bulky wallet or dealing with jumbled mess of keys that sounds like a tambourine in your pocket? Well, this show is proud to be brought to you in association with the Distill Union. Since 2011, the Distill Union have been on a mission to simplify your life through a less is more philosophy, creating sleek essentials to solve everyday problems with serious style. Distill Union doesn't just make accessories, they engineer intuitive tools that
declutter your routine. The Wallet Wallet is a real game changer for anyone tired of pocket bulk. It's a minimalist slim profile wallet that uses innovative magnetic closures to keep your cards in cache incredibly secure while remaining effortlessly accessible. With the Ferris Key Organizer you can say goodbye to the clutter. The Ferris uses a modular magnetic system to snap your keys and essentials together into one streamlined silent setup. It's customizable,
tactile and honestly a joy to use. All products are premium quality and crafted from premium full grain leather. It's durable, sophisticated and actually ages beautifully over time developing a unique character plus they stand behind their work in a three -year guarantee. When you choose the Distill Union, you're choosing quality over quantity. And by using our code CBUKRDUX, you aren't just getting a better way to carry your gear, you're supporting the show and the planet.
As part of the Chatterbox community's commitment to the environment, 1 % of all commissions from your purchases are donated to the Stripe Climate Program to help remove CO2 from the atmosphere. It's a small way to make a big difference while upgrading your daily carry. We've worked with Distill Union to arrange the highest exclusive discounts specifically for you, 20%. Head over to distillunion .com or simply scroll down to the link below in the show notes and just add
CBUKRDUX. I'm pleased to say that it's a bit wider than it was even just a few years ago because I'm a very big film fan and I also do a syndicated show called Movie Madness and I'm just as likely to use a soundtrack from A Clockwork Orange as I am from something that's coming out this week like Matilda. Now, the fact that everybody does like classical music, because everyone's seen a film that they adore, and this soundtrack is purely classical music. And as you say, there's
advertisements as well. I mean, let's look at some brands such as Old Spice. They've used that since the 1970s at least. And everyone recognises it. Old Spice, the classic masculine fragrance. The mark of a man. Whether it be that bit of music to go with Hovis or a bread advert or whatever it may be, they do, and they do recognise it. And you look at things like even James Bond's films, how many classical pieces were actually in The Spy Who Loved Me? Was it three, four?
I don't think so. So that's there and it fits in so wonderfully well. So people do like it, they just don't know they like it. Yeah, exactly. And for instance, I've been doing a lot of John Williams, Hans Zimmer concerts recently. I was in Sheffield conducting one just two days ago. And we always have a sort of a vote at the end of the concert who is the champion of the concert.
Is it John Williams or is it Hans Zimmer? And every single concert I've done, I've done probably 25 of these things so far, every single one of them. John Williams has been the winner and John Williams was a classically trained pianist at
the Juilliard School in America. All of his orchestrations are very classical and he uses a classical symphony orchestra and I say to the audience at the very end of the concert just to give a nod to everybody, if you've loved this and if you love the music of John Williams, come back here, sit here in a month's time when there's a uh a Beethoven five playing on the stage and I guarantee you will love it just as much as you did listening to the Star Wars suite which sounds remarkably
like host um yeah so um and and hopefully if we can get five people from every concert doing that then you know I'll be a happy man Well, you'll be pleased to hear that I have actually done two John Williams nights in the last year. So there you go. And the audiences weren't that bad. But of course, these people thought that they were listening to film themes, but it is there and they do like it. So I do my bit in trying to... promote classical music, I assure
you. And I'll tell you something, my regular listeners on what I would call normal shows as opposed to chat shows or my music shows, they're just as happy with some classical music thrown in. I mean, and I'm not going as obvious as hooks or classics, which was a great thing in its day, because a whole load of people got into classical music. It was a great thing what, yeah, I can't think of his name now, Louis Clark. What Louis Clark's seen, it was a great thing he did then.
But let's go to more recent times. He's got a real philharmonic playing with the Beach Boys and things like that, and that's getting another new audience into it. And those... those various artists with the RPO. That's fantastic. That is really getting more people on board. But on a Friday or Saturday night, Sarah Class, for instance, fits in just as well with the famous songs from whatever decade it might be either side of her. So they do like it. They do listen.
They don't switch off. That's proof they like it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And we just have to carry on pushing. carry on pushing that story out there, that message out there. I've got one question, Wobble. What made you decide to be a conductor? Oh, that's a very good question. It was as... To start with, it was as simple
as money. I grew up just on the outskirts of Birmingham, in a small village, and when I was 16, I got a place at the Royal College of Music in London, and I calculated that I needed, I don't know, 12 ,000 quid a year or something to move to London and go and pay for the RCM,
and I came from a background where... My parents wouldn't have been able to give me any money for that So I thought I needed to raise from my first year 12 ,000 pounds So I thought well the best way to do that instead of going flipping burgers in a local McDonald's will be to try and make money out of the job that I love doing and and produce my own concert series and hopefully not only do I sort of pay myself as a musician to be on the stage but I'm also the producer
so I take the ticket money and I thought about just doing a straight piano concert and I did a couple of those. a couple of tours of those, in fact. But I thought, well, the big bucks will be if I can persuade an orchestra to sit on the stage with me. And I don't pay the orchestra, they're there very kindly because they want to support me as a young, up -and -coming artist. So I persuaded the Birmingham Philharmonic to let me use them for three nights in a row, three
performances. And I thought, well, I don't want
to pay a conductor to... And it was all the sort of the classical hits, so I called the concert like Stravaganza and I thought well I don't want to pay a conductor to come and do that I'm losing money so waving a stick around can't be that hard so so I thought well I'm gonna do it and I never really intended for that to be a sort of a career path I was always the classical pianist I wanted to become a concert pianist and I loved it and it was so much fun I just thought well
you know the the clever thing in music is to make sure you for the perfect analogy make sure you've got more than one string to your bow and I thought if the whole playing the piano Malarkey didn't work as a career I've got conducting to fall back on and then the more I conducted the more I realized actually that's probably more on my street than playing the piano and so I just sort of fell into it naturally in the end but first and foremost it was because I wanted
to raise funds to go to the Royal College and I did and I raised enough money in that week's worth of concerts to last me my full year of my first year of the Royal College of Music and that paid for me to do that. And then I carried on producing and promoting my own concerts from then to pay for the rest of my time at college. So that's exactly why I started waving a stick around. Thank you for sharing that. That's great.
And of course another thing about being a conductor and especially it was probably more in those school back in the days when all albums were on vinyl and you could have host conducted by yourself perhaps and the planets and then behind you there could have been the planets by somebody conducted by somebody else or somebody else all three versions of the planets would sound a bit different because everyone has their own little touch on it it's like somebody covering a pop
song that's their way and they do sound different don't they Robert you know your way of conducting something's different to the next guy yeah totally and it's fascinating people don't realize it that It's unique to that conductor. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think my job as a conductor is to, it's a bit like steering a ship, a very large ship. You're not out there with your hands in the water paddling away to push the ship to the destination you want it to go to. You're there.
controlling everybody else who is doing all of the work as you were to as a captain of a ship to get that ship into the right into the right port so that's that's really the job of a conductor is is steering the ship and trying to persuade everybody on that ship to to go with you and that your route your path your idea whatever it may be is is is the right one and at least the right one for that performance and that's the real job as a conductor. About a conductor,
this might be me being silly. It's not just like pointing the baton, if I remember it is a baton isn't it? The baton like at the drummer, how do they know when to play and what notes to play? Yeah you don't point at all actually, that's a bit of a myth, there's no pointing involved. Well, first of all, they know when to play because they've got the music in front of them and they just follow the music. But if you've got 80, when I was in Sheffield, I think we had 84 players
on the stage. The simple way to try and understand it is you've got 84 people on a stage. Forget about the fact that the musicians are playing. and you want them all to clap once together as one unit. So to make one loud clap. How do you get those 84 people to do it? Well, somebody has to give them one single person has to give them the instruction, which is and go. And they
clap on the word go, for instance. Now, obviously music is audible and you don't want somebody shouting out and go if it's a piece of music because that would be disruptive to the piece of music so instead you lift up your arm to say get ready and then when you bring your arm down that means go and that's how an orchestra starts and then once they are going again how do you then keep the 84 players playing at the same
speed. And if there's a big slowdown or if there's a big speed up, how do you get them all to do it at exactly the same time? And the answer is, well, that's the conductor's job. They're watching the conductor. The conductor is the physical metronome. He or she is the physical timekeeper. of that orchestra. It's got nothing to do with pointing to a player and saying, well, now it's your turn to play. You'd never be able to do that. So they just read their music. You are
the physical timekeeper. And that's the sort of that's the base level of what a conductor does. That's the sort of room 101 version of it. The next level, of course, which is the really important level, is again, if you've got 84 opinions on what a piece of music should sound like. democracy is not a thing when it comes to an orchestra,
it ain't gonna work. So you need to have one person who says this bit is too loud, this bit is too quiet, this bit is too fast, you need to change how you play this, you're being too sloppy here, you're being too untidy here, you're being too romantic here, you need to be neater, you need to be more accurate, you're out of tune, I need more... more passion from you. I need
less passion from you. Whatever it is, you need one person to guide the 84 players to try and again make unity, be unified, make music in one way. So that's the second rung of the tier of what a conductor does. So the first rung is being the human metronome, the human timekeeper. The second one, the second rung of the tier is you are the person who's responsible for how a piece
of music is played. That's fantastic and fascinating because it's left me thinking that without a conductor you could end up with a write -on noise. Not a placeable one. Robert, we'd let you go just a moment, but what's next for Robert Emory, please? Oh, what's next for me? Well, the Get Musicians Working scheme that I was running during Covid, which was the fundraising scheme for all the musicians, that's now come to a halt because hopefully the majority of musicians are starting
to get back to work. And that was part of the Emory Foundation that I had already set up and I had a very clear idea of what the Emory Foundation should be doing for music. We never got there
because Covid happened. So one of my big projects now will be to relaunch the Emory Foundation into what it was supposed to be doing in the first place, which was supporting and championing classical musical instruments in schools and persuading more children to not just play the guitar or not just play the piano, but to pick up a cello or a violin or a trumpet or trombone or French horn. And that's what the Emory Foundation is going to be doing. So I'm going to be spending
a little bit more time on that. That's amazing. And when that is up and running or you're about to kickstart it properly again, do drop me an email and we'll have you back on to talk exclusively about that, Robert. Absolutely, I will. Thank you. Could I ask a question? I will edit this out. No, you won't. You don't know what the question is. Right. I've got asthma and it's got COPD. If you want to play a trumpet, could that affect you playing a trumpet? So it's a silly question.
If you've got problems with breathing. No, I mean, it could help. Oh, okay. I can understand that. For instance, if you've got asthma, one of the things that you want to do is build up the strength of your muscles in and around your diaphragm to help you conquer the asthma. So playing a wind instrument can... help you learn to breathe deeper, breathe longer, breathe better. So playing a wind instrument or brass instrument
with asthma can be a very beneficial thing. Of course, you know, I'm not a doctor and if you've got a severe, severe case of asthma, maybe your doctor said you might say you need to be just sensible and careful about it. But no, a lot of people who have asthma actually find playing a wind instrument can be beneficial. Okay, brilliant. Thank you. Brilliant. I can understand that as
well. Robert, just before we finish, if you could just remind our listeners as to what your mini series is called and how they can find it, please. Sure. The mini series is called Music Trivia with Robert Emery. And that's me, funny enough. And you can find it easiest way on my website, which is robertemery .com. Perfect. That was going to be my next question, is your social media. So you've got the website and I know for a fact people can then click on the various other
social media from your website. Nice and easy. They can indeed. Otherwise I'm on Twitter. I think it's at Rob Emery, R -O -B, and I think all the other socials are Robert Emery official. I should really unify them, but I never have done so. Life's too short. Robert, it's been absolutely fascinating again, and thank you for coming back on Shatterbox, and we look forward to the next time. Yeah, the next time. My pleasure. Thank you for having me. Thanks so much. Thank
you. Thank you, Robert. Bye -bye. Bye. You have been listening to the Chatterbox Relax Podcast with Sue and Nick and today our special guest was Robert Emery. If you're interested in becoming a future guest on the Chatterbox Redux podcast or the radio show Chatterbox UK, you're welcome to submit songs, books or whatever it is you do and send us a CV, synopsis or press release. However, we receive several thousand such press releases every week and it's impossible to reply
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we catch you then. Bye bye. This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need to know about musical entertainment Chatterbox the best interviews with Nick and Sue The best news