MUSIC@MALLING

Giles Whitehead is artist in residence at the Music@Malling festival.

“I was born into a musical household; everyone played something. My dad, who was a farmer, had studied at the Guildhall School of Music – not sure how good they are at teaching farming, but he turned out quite well at playing cello. He had an antique cello that had notably fallen off a stagecoach at some point in its life and my dad would occasionally have to glue it back together. He practised in the cowshed, because of the good acoustics and beneficial effects on the wellbeing of the cows.

As a child, string quartets in the farmhouse were common and attending orchestral concerts was a fairly regular event. These concerts were often held in churches, and so Music@Malling feels familiar and provides that warm feeling of going home to memories of childhood.

Despite all those art college lessons of life drawing and trying to get forms and proportions right, I’ve since learned to worry less about such things. When drawing at Music@Malling, I find I often achieve the best results when I let go and allow my fingers to be swept along by the moods and rhythms of the music.”