“Find what you’re best at and do that”

Holly Cullen-Davies is a pianist, singer, choir leader, environmental campaigner and curator. Holly has been performing regularly since the age of six and working as a freelance musician for over fifteen years.

She studied at the CNR de Lyon, France, The Royal Northern College of Music and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama studying with Kasia Borowiak, Carole Presland, Charles Owen and Martin Roscoe. She set up Live Junction which received an Emerging Excellence Award from Help Musicians UK in 2013 and The Kids’ Concert Company which has been funded by The Arts Council for the last 4 years to take professional concerts in to primary schools.

More recently she set up Concerts Don't Cost The Earth to bring together the two things she is most passionate about: live music and protecting the planet for our next generation. Concerts Don't Cost The Earth supports both musicians and our precious world at the same time. You can find out more about how to support it or get involved here: www.concertsdontcosttheearth.org

Time Line

00.00 - 00.44 Intro

00.45 - 05.13 Introducing Holly Cullen-Davies

05.17 - 07.20 The inspiration behind 'Concerts Don’t Cost The Earth’

07.35 - 09.02 The role music can play in having difficult conversations about the climate

09.05 - 12.45 Holly’s musical journey

12.46 - 16.16 Introducing classical music to unusual spaces

17.12 - 21.46 Holly introduces and plays Chick Corea's Children Song no. 6

21.48 - 24.15 The element of surprise and the juxtaposition of unusual things

25.10 - 26.54 The etymology of ‘concert’

26.55 - 31.37 What fuels Holly’s activism?

32.22 - 34.47 Find what you’re best at and do that: being the change you want to see

34.50 - 36.01 Subsidise the trains campaign - an activist’s song

36.03 - 41.27 Holly introduces and plays Alberto Ginastera's Danza del gaucho matrero (Dance of the outlaw cowboy) from Danzas Argentinas

41.30 - 43.50 How people can organise a ‘Concert Don’t Cost The Earth’ concert

44.00 - 47.34 David introduces ‘pogging’

47.35 - 48.00 Outro

Quotes

“I’ve always loved the intimate concerts… up close… where you can hear the workings of the instrument.” (Holly)

“Concerts Don’t Cost The Earth exist to start conversations about the climate crisis through the power of music.” (Holly)

“What I really got a kick out of was introducing classical music to people that didn’t usually hear it and putting it in spaces where you didn’t usually hear it. I did a lot of gigs early on where I was the classical act in a cabaret of other acts and it kind of blew people away.” (Holly)

“I hate people looking at a programme during a concert. I think that’s a shame for them to be sidetracked. I’m hoping that I’m compelling enough as a pianist that they’re just listening.” (Holly)

I want people to feel the breath, the moment between the pieces and not know what’s coming next.” (Holly)

“Every percentage of a degree is absolutely critical and going over 1.5 or certainly going over 2.0 degrees will have catastrophic runaway effects that could lead to the end of all life on earth.” (Holly)

“When we do risk assessment in other parts of life: medicine, building bridges, flying aeroplanes… we don’t take risks. If the scientists are saying this could be a disaster, we don’t administer that drug, we don’t build that bridge, we don’t fly that aeroplane. And the risk here (climate) is huge. And the answer is we have to stop using fossil fuels… we have to phase them out completely by 2030.” (Holly)

Links

Holly Cullen Davies (Guest)

Web: https://www.concertsdontcosttheearth.org/

Web: http://www.hollycullendavies.com/

Instagram @daviesanddaughters

Instagram @thulamamalondon

David Pearl (Host)

Web: https://www.davidpearl.net

Web: https://wanderfulpodcast.com

Twitter: @davidpearlhere

Instagram: davidpearl_here

Andrew Paine (Producer & Audio Engineer)

Twitter: @ItPainesMe

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