83 episodes

Hattie Butterworth and Rebecca Toal host a podcast of insight and change in the classical music and arts professions. Delving into the often stigmatised worlds of mental health, injury, discrimination and productivity, classical music issues are spoken and revived. Join Hattie, Rebecca and guests for important conversations, inspiring moments of wisdom and poignant vulnerability.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things Musicians Don't Talk About Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal

    • Music
    • 5.0 • 2 Ratings

Hattie Butterworth and Rebecca Toal host a podcast of insight and change in the classical music and arts professions. Delving into the often stigmatised worlds of mental health, injury, discrimination and productivity, classical music issues are spoken and revived. Join Hattie, Rebecca and guests for important conversations, inspiring moments of wisdom and poignant vulnerability.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    71. Chloé van Soeterstède: conducting through pregnancy & motherhood

    71. Chloé van Soeterstède: conducting through pregnancy & motherhood

    In this episode of Things Musicians Don't Talk About, Becca sits down with Chloé van Soeterstède in her dressing room at the Royal College of Music. Chloé shares her personal experiences of working as a musician alongside pregnancy and then motherhood. She walks us through her journey - from figuring out with her manager when might be the best time to get pregnant, to performing while visibly pregnant and giving birth naturally with the aid of mental preparation. Chloé also opens up about challenges like pumping breastmilk between rehearsals on tour and traveling internationally with a newborn, and making sure to be honest about her capacities through such a huge life transformation. Becca and Chloé emphasise how rare and important it is for musicians to discuss the realities of pregnancy and parenthood, and Chloé’s honest and candid story provides a much-needed glimpse into navigating this challenging but rewarding career stage.
    Follow Chloé on Instagram and witness more of her brilliant honesty!
    Check out her website and on X
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    We always love to hear from our listeners, and if you like the show why not recommend to a friend or leave a review?
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    Things Musicians Don't Talk About is now supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow them on Instagram, X and Facebook.
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    Support TMDTA
    Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta
    Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/things-musicians-dont-talk-about
    Find TMDTA on all the socials at @tmdtapodcast
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    Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal
    Editor: Katy Ehrlich
    Music: Katy Ehrlich

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 48 min
    70. Queerness and power abuse in classical music: Tár & Maestro

    70. Queerness and power abuse in classical music: Tár & Maestro

    Another chatty episode for you lovely lot! This was recorded for our last Voices radio slot in February 2023. Hattie and Becca chat about queerness in classical music, exploring our opinions on the films Tár and Maestro, and how we feel power dynamics and hero-worship were portrayed in them. As we've seen over the past few decade or so, teacher-student relationships can be such a dangerous environment if those positions of authority are abused, and so we take a further look into what exactly it is about them that musicians don't talk about and why.
    We always love to hear from our listeners, and if you like the show why not recommend to a friend or leave a review?
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Things Musicians Don't Talk About is now supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow them on Instagram, X and Facebook.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Support TMDTA
    Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta
    Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/things-musicians-dont-talk-about
    Find TMDTA on all the socials at @tmdtapodcast
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal
    Editor: Rebecca Toal
    Music: Katy Ehrlich


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 28 min
    69. Zygmund de Somogyi: burnout, belonging, and community in composition

    69. Zygmund de Somogyi: burnout, belonging, and community in composition

    This week we come to you (unintentionally) from the Royal Opera House! We speak with composer, theatre-maker, and journalist Zygmund de Somogyi about growing up with Autism Spectrum Disorder, not fitting in to the classical music world, discovering the world of composing, their experiences of imposter syndrome and feeling disconnected from the world around them. Zyggy is now studying opera composition and discusses how they fell into opera and what it's like to work as an opera composer in the current climate. Thank you to Zyggy for their brilliant honesty and commitment to talk about the things musicians don't talk about.
    Follow Zyggy on:
    Website
    Email (enquires)
    Email (press)
    Instagram
    X
    Youtube
    Soundcloud
    Join us on Things Musicians Don't Talk About for more honest chats about life as musicians. We always love to hear from our listeners, and if you like the show why not recommend to a friend or leave a review?
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Things Musicians Don't Talk About is now supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow them on Instagram, X and Facebook.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Support TMDTA
    Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta
    Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/things-musicians-dont-talk-about
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal
    Editor: Patrick Emeribe
    Music: Katy Ehrlich

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 49 min
    68. Callas, fatphobia and surviving sexual assault

    68. Callas, fatphobia and surviving sexual assault

    TW: sexual assault we do discuss an experience of sexual assault/harassment about halfway through the episode so feel free to skip through / give this one a miss 3
    We recorded this episode as part of our Voices Radio residency after the hazy summer of 2023. We took a break from the podcast for a couple of months and reflect on our individual experiences of said break. But just because *we were on a break*, doesn't mean our little brains weren't pondering the music biz. What about critics commenting on musicians' bodies and the deeply-engrained societal fatphobia? How do you even write about Maria Callas without talking about her mental health? What about summer depression as a freelancer? What about the expected exhaustion that comes hand-in-hand with youth orchestras and academies? How about sexual assault and the difficult situation that puts the victim in when the perpetrator is a colleague?
    Join us on Things Musicians Don't Talk About for more honest chats about life as musicians. We always love to hear from our listeners, and if you like the show why not recommend to a friend or leave a review?
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Things Musicians Don't Talk About is now supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow them on Instagram, X and Facebook.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Support TMDTA
    Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta
    Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/things-musicians-dont-talk-about
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Recorded in September 2023 for Voices Radio
    Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal
    Editor: Rebecca Toal
    Music: Katy Ehrlich

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 55 min
    67. James Partridge: childhood nostalgia

    67. James Partridge: childhood nostalgia

    A very Happy New Year from us at TMDTA! To kick off 2024, we have an episode recorded waaaaay back last year with the joyous James Partridge. We speak to him about his very unique career, bringing 'primary school bangers' to the masses and what life is like as a social media sensation. Why do these primary school hymns unlock 100% FEELS in us and what does James think about music education? Find out here on Things Musicians Don't Talk About.
    Follow James on:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbpartridge/
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesbpartridge
    Website: https://www.jamesbpartridge.com/
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Things Musicians Don't Talk About is now supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow them on Instagram, X and Facebook.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Support TMDTA
    Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon for £3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta
    Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/things-musicians-dont-talk-about
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Editor: Rebecca Toal
    Music: Katy Ehrlich

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 57 min
    66. Jess Hands: when music soothes

    66. Jess Hands: when music soothes

    On our Voices Radio slot this month, Becca interviewed DJ Jess Hands about her experiences with mental illness and how making music has been a healing distraction from her struggles. We hear her honest account of what it's like to go through mental health crises, bipolar disorder and to get to grips with simultaneously working as a DJ.
    Jessica's bio:
    "My name is Jessica Hands, DJ name Jess Hands, a lover for all things bass and wonky sounds. I have bi polar type 1 and BPD, I am here to share my experience to help myself but, also to let me people know its ok to be open and can really help, music has been so healing for me, but of course brings it’s own worries, thank you for the space to share my story and if anyone wants to reach out for advice of course I’m happy to listen and help. ❤️"
    Jessica's instagram
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Things Musicians Don't Talk About is now supported by the Royal Society of Musicians!
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Support TMDTA
    Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon for £3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta
    Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/things-musicians-dont-talk-about
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Follow the Royal Society of Musicians:
    Instagram: @rsmgb
    Twitter: @RSMusicians
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/royalsocietyofmusicians
    Editor: Rebecca Toal & @noumanedits
    Music: Katy Ehrlich

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 59 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
2 Ratings

2 Ratings

Andy Reiner ,

Things Musicians SHOULD Talk About!

I loved hearing Hattie's perspective - her honesty about mental health for musicians and willingness to be vulnerable is refreshing and rings true. While her guests have great things to say, I especially enjoyed the reflective episode 7 sandwiched between interviews. The audio quality is excellent which adds to the experience.

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