Musicians of sinfonia ViVA

Mark Smith
Principal Horn

On what makes sinfonia ViVA special...

sinfonia ViVA has to be the friendliest orchestra I have ever worked in. The players take the work very seriously but maintain a warm, relaxed atmosphere with a strong, mutually supportive ethos.

On a typical day with sinfonia ViVA...

Can't think of anything as being typical! The range of activity is very wide, as is the geographical territory covered. Some days involve long journeys before and after a rehearsal and concert (e.g. Ulverston in the Southern Lake District), while on others, I have a fairly brief run up the M1 to Derby for a rehearsal day. The only thing that I can think of as being typical is that our Concert Manager, Matthew, always has the tea urn set up when we arrive and always greets us with a big smile!

On personal fulfillment through involvement with ViVA outreach and education projects...

So many good experiences to choose from! Possibly the most fulfilling was visiting primary schools in Leicester to create performance items with the children for presentation at a concert in the De Montfrort Hall. I was so struck by the children at one school in particular: they were alive with ideas, willing to listen and able to consider each other's suggestions, clearly enjoying working together. Performing and teaching are inseperable aspects of being a musician, both requiring a receptive and engaged audience and I have rarely encountered such a switched on group - at any age range!

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