A Joyful Journey - Q&A with Ben Garalnick

Very excitingly, on the 13th June we are joined by the first horn player to ever feature in our secret concert series!

Hannah catches up with Benjamin Garalnick ahead of his debut with us on the 13th June at Brunel Museum. Ben is a good friend of Hannah’s and has previously given us as an insight into his magical instrument in Hannah’s Hidden Gems of the Orchestra.

You can get your tickets for the 13th June - here!

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Welcome Ben!
Tell our readers a bit about yourself.

Hello! I'm Ben, 28 years old with a passion for making live classical music more accessible across all audiences. I'm Mexican and Filipino and a lot of my passion for music has been inspired by both my parent's influences in my childhood.

I studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, skipped a masters and went straight into a job in an orchestra in Beijing, came back during the pandemic and now I've got a nice list of orchestras, concert halls, teaching, and workshopping under my belt. These include but are not limited to: Britten Sinfonia, Chineke!, Southbank Sinfonia, London Contemporary Orchestra, Abbey Road Studios, Mishmash Productions, and Nucleo to name a few!

Why and how did you chose to play the horn?

I was very lucky to be offered free instrumental lessons through a charity scheme by the fantastic Redbridge Music Service. They gave me a French Horn and I just never put it down - thanks Simon!

Being able to break into an industry that so commonly has been reserved for those who could afford it, is something I'm proud of myself for, it's always going to be a grind to keep busy but I live for the challenge.

In your opinion why is the horn SO great?

Across my life I have been reliably told that the French Horn is really, really hard. Like, the hardest instrument in the orchestra hard.

I love playing it because it's this fantastic mix of having to keep up mental focus on technical playing whilst also juggling your musical and expressive intent. When all these things line up with a section of absolutely-on-it Horns, you get such great excerpts as the Waldjagd from Smetena's Ma Vlast, or the climactic tuttis from Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony, or even lighter choices like the opening of Wagner's Opera Tanhauser.

You’ve chosen a real eclectic mix of repertoire for our concert on the 13th June!
Can you tell us a bit about some of the pieces you’ve chosen & why you’ve chosen them?

All the pieces have been chosen because they're great to listen to and accessible to those who don't know the French Horn as a solo instrument.

The Mozart is by far the most famous solo Horn piece ever, not to say that it's ever topped charts but it's well known at least!
Nocturno demonstrates the lyrical nature of the Horn, seen commonly in composers' solos from Beethoven to Shostakovich.
Fat Belly Blues shows off the versatility of the Horn, being both a high and low instrument.
Hunter's Moon is a nod to the history of the Horn from when it was a hunting instrument.
And finally, Pink Panther is to me, what happens when we throw all the rules out and push the Horn to it's absolute limits.

Give us an unusual/fun fact about you!

I have sound-to-colour synaesthesia! It's a "condition" in which I see sounds. Music manifests (in that bit between real-life and your imagination. Like when you daydream with your eyes open) for me as neon lights that move and react to sounds I'm hearing. If you ever see me spaced out on stage, it's likely that I'm just watching the music!
It used to really get in the way when I was studying, but now it works symbiotically with my music making.

Tell us about your upcoming projects

Coming up I'll be working on my favourite production Toot! with Mishmash Productions, a show for KS2 students that's mostly memorised and choreographed which is just so much fun.

I'll also be performing Disney's Lion King at the Royal Albert Hall with Chineke!, and performing with Wilderness Festival's resident orchestra at the festival itself. Should be pretty cool!

I've got plans to create my own production with my Wind Quintet the Bridge Ensemble which in structure should be similar to what I do with Mishmash, but the premise of the show will focus on dance from around the world. Fundraising is new to me but I'm excited to be creating my own work and seeing where it can go.

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I hope this has given you a taste of the wonderful Ben Garalnick. He brings such utter joy and enthusiasm to the stage and is one musician not to miss this season!

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