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Read this newspaper article about a musician and answer the multiple choice questions by circling the best answer, A, B, C or D.
SALLY BEAMISH - COMPOSER
What do you do if you get robbed? Take up composing? In
the case of Sally Beamish, definitely. The thief has never been
caught and her viola and video-player have never been recovered.
The robbery took place in London, where she was very
active as a freelance player. Six months earlier, she had composed
music for a set of six poems by Irina Ratushinskaya. This
strengthened Beamish in her belief in herself as a composer. The
shock of the theft of the invaluable 1747 Gabriella viola, which
was not even her own but on loan, finally set the seal on her
decision to leave the urban stress of London and head for the
country of her husband, Scotland, and begin a new life.
Sally Beamish was born in 1956 into a musical family.
She could write musical notes before she could write the letters of
the alphabet. At the age of seven, she wrote an opera, or 'opra' as
she called it then, based on a story she had read. Her grandmother
taught her to sight-read music at the piano, but it was her mother
who encouraged (and later discouraged) her interest in the violin,
leading Sally, at fifteen, to take up the viola. Living in North
London, she mucked in with a precocious band of chamber music
players, as one of those useful musicians that could turn their hand
proficiently to the violin, viola or piano.
At the Royal Northern College of Music, the Principal
recommended that she attend the musical composition course given
by Anthony Gilbert. Gilbert suggested that, as an already
experienced composer, she should go her own way. But this was
not easy for her. Her work bore no relation to what was then
fashionable. I didn't have the confidence to realise that what I was
doing was just as valid.'
Beamish stopped composing. She became a busy viola
player. She now recognises this period as a very unhappy one
when, despite her talent as a Performer, she had nothing special to
say. A chance encounter with the Scottish composer, Martin Dalby,
proved to be a turning point for her. Looking at the music she had
written, he encouraged her to believe once again that she could be a
composer. However, it was not until two years later that she
received her first professional commission. Her panic was so great
that when she came to attend the final rehearsal of Dances and
Nocturnes, she took out her pen and made an attempt, resisted by
the performers, to cut out several bars of music, out of fear that her
music would not be regarded as professional. Later, Beamish
entered a work for a competition. She didn't win but afterwards she
met the composer, Oliver Knussen, who remembered the work. She
acknowledges the invaluable help Knussen gave her, discussing her
compositions and crises of confidence. Her composition No, I Am
Not Afraid, received its first performance six months before her
viola was stolen. Shortly after the robbery, she heard that the Arts
Council had awarded her a grant of £2,500 to give her time to
compose more music. It bought one year's child care for her
five-month-old baby, allowed her to write Commedia and to make
the move with her husband to Scotland. Commedia is a striking
work and met with ecstatic reviews. Beamish's move to Scotland
seems to have been an unmitigated success. With her husband, she
has founded the Chamber Group of Scotland. She speaks glowingly
of the liveliness and energy of a gathering of composers and
players. A second child and the lack of a publisher for her music
have failed to stop the flow of compositions. She feels no sense of
disadvantage as a woman. Instead, she appears positively to relish
the discipline of having to compose fast during the few hours a day
when the babysitter is present, while praising the limitless patience
and support of her husband. Beamish appears serenely happy. Last
month alone, ten performances of her work took place.
So what next? Beamish's thirty-two works have been
mostly for chamber music groups. A new violin concerto will be
premiered next year but her real ambition is to write an opera. No
one has commissioned it. Perhaps an offer from the viola thief
might be appropriate.
1 What was the effect of the robbery on Sally Beamish?
A It made her start composing.
B It made her work harder.
C It caused her to stop playing viola music.
D It confirmed a certain course of action.
2 What is unusual about her early childhood?
A She had difficulties with spelling.
B She could play the piano at a very young age.
C She could write music at a very young age.
D She read a lot of books.
3 Anthony Gilbert told her that
A the Principal had recommended his classes.
B her work was good but unfashionable.
C she should stop composing.
D she didn't need to attend his classes.
4 What was the problem at the final rehearsal?
A The performers didn't want to play it.
B She wanted to make last-minute changes.
C The work was not professional enough.
D It had not won a competition.
5 How does Sally Beamish cope with her present domestic circumstances?
A She does not have time to find a publisher.
B She needs more support from her husband.
C She gets help from other composers.
D She doesn't find them a problem.
6 In her career as a composer, what has been Sally Beamish's main problem?
A Lack of confidence in herself.
B The stress of living in London.
C Not getting enough commissions for her music.
D Lack of time to compose
HINTS FOR SUCCESS
Read the text first to get a general understanding. The information in the text is very detailed and often
contains opinions, reasons or ideas which are very similar to one another. You need a reasonable
understanding of the text before you look at the questions. If you look at the questions first, you may
choose an answer because you think it looks right or is the most likely answer. This doesn´t always work!
After reading the text, highlight the key words in the question and the four possible answers. The
questions and answers are written in a very precise way. Only one answer can be correct; the other
answers contain ideas or vocabulary which make them wrong.
KEY
1. D
2. C
3. D
4. B
5. D
6. A
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