Margaret Archibald joined the London Mozart Players in 1984
Where else do you teach/play?
Over the years I've done lots of period instrument playing with the Hanover Band, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Monteverdi Orchestra, London Classical Players, English Concert, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Academy of Ancient Music and other smaller ad hoc groups. The bulk of this work has been on original instruments or on instruments copied from those of Mozart's time, typically with only five keys, but I've also done a lot of 19th century repertoire on clarinets with 12 or 13 keys and even done some period Gilbert and Sullivan! My son's father made me a pair of two-key clarinets, copied from the kind of instrument played during Handel's lifetime, so that I could play a Gluck opera in Athens at A415, but I now mostly use these instruments just to show children at schools' concerts how far the clarinet has come in the last three centuries. My modern clarinet playing includes a small amount of recital work, particularly at Little Benslow Hills in Hitchin, a centre for amateur music making where I coach once or twice a year on residential courses. My other much-loved coaching activity is with the Kent Youth Orchestra where I have been the clarinet section coach since 1974, I think, and it gives me pause to realise that some of my colleagues in the LMP remember me from a time when they played in the KCYO! I teach privately at home, and every so often I host a clarinet day at home where my pupils come to rehearse and then perform to friends and family. Sometimes I have to end a late afternoon lesson promptly so that I can rush off to the West End to play as a dep. in the pit for Phantom of the Opera, so life is nothing if not varied.
Where were you born?
Muswell Hill.
How old were you when you started playing, and why did you take up the clarinet?
I started learning the clarinet when I was 11, having heard several musicians perform at my primary school, including an oboist and a clarinettist. This memorable concert convinced me that I wanted to learn the oboe, and so when I got to my secondary school my parents asked if I could be taught it; sadly, there was no oboe teacher and so I was offered the chance to learn the clarinet instead, thus having a narrow escape from having to spend the rest of my life scraping my own double reeds – single reeds are enough of a hassle.
What has been your most fun/interesting musical experience so far?
The words ‘challenging’ and ‘rewarding’ spring to mind more than ‘fun’, although many of my experiences have been very interesting, from the devastating shock of first working on wards at St Lawrence's mental hospital back in 1990 before it was demolished, to the glamour of crossing the Atlantic as a musician on the QE2, not to mention the experience of being on board when the ship's computers went down, leaving us stranded in mid-Atlantic just after someone had announced that the icebergs were a long way south this year!
Who have you enjoyed working with the most and why?
If I were to pick just one colleague out of the dozens of wonderful people with whom I've worked, it would insult all the others. Certainly I've found that my work in the education sector has brought me very close to some of my orchestral colleagues, and there is nothing like having your back to the wall in a difficult situation with just one other colleague to support you to bring you close together.
Do you play any other instruments?
I trained as a first study singer and second study pianist at music college, keeping the clarinet up ‘on the side’ until it became evident that I was not destined to become the next Joan Sutherland and that I did play the clarinet rather better than I sang. I acquired a piano teaching diploma while an undergraduate student at Guildhall, and I still busk for my clarinet pupils who've learnt to live with the wrong notes in their accompaniments. My singing studies introduced me to my wonderful singing teacher, the late Erich Vietheer, who became a mentor for my clarinet playing.
Do you have any hobbies you manage to fit into your spare time?
I cook a lot, clean the house only seldom and enjoy the burgeoning wildlife in what could once have been described as a garden.
Where is your favourite holiday destination?
My back garden! I travel so much when working, usually driving myself, but sometimes messing about queueing at airports or getting frustrated waiting for trains that don't turn up on time, that my favourite holiday these days is to switch on the answerphone, pretend I'm abroad, and open my own back door.
What's your favourite sound?
Apart from silence, the songs of the robin and the blackbird in my back garden.
What would you be if you weren't a musician?
When I was little I fancied being a bus conductress, because I thought it would be fun to spend all day running up and down the stairs and punching holes in the tickets on that machine they had hanging round their necks. After this I wanted to be an actress, and then for a very long time I wanted to be the next Joan Sutherland, but finally I discovered that orchestral playing and the clarinet were at the very core of everything I wanted to be. Now, if I were to find I was unable to play any longer, which is something every musician has to face sooner or later, I would like to work with people, using the experience I've gained running the education and community work for the LMP. However, I will always be ‘a musician’, because even if I am not actively earning my living from music it is not something I can just decide to give up one day.
