Classical Circuit Podcast Episode 20 — Guy Johnston

Host Ella Lee chats with Guy Johnston about nature versus nurture in the context of developing musicians

Launched this year, Ella Lee’s classical music podcast, “Classical Circuit” explores the intricacies of the classical music industry, and all that comes with working in it. Hailing from across the profession, the podcast guests discuss their careers and personal opinions.

“Classical Circuit” is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. We had a chance to talk to Ella about her inspiration behind creating this podcast in this exclusive interview.

British cellist Guy Johnston has had an exciting and varied career since winning the BBC Young Musician competition in the year 2000. He has performed with many leading orchestras worldwide and collaborated with a host of illustrious conductors including the late Sir Andrew Davis, Sakari Oramo, and Yuri Simonov. A passionate chamber musician, Guy is the founding Artistic Director of the Hatfield House Music Festival, which takes place annually, and performs regularly at prestigious venues and festivals across Europe; he is also a prolific recording artist, with much of his discography championing contemporary British composers. Alongside his work as a performer, Guy is an inspiring teacher: he is a visiting Professor of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music and recently moved back to the UK after six years at New York's Eastman School of Music as Associate Professor of Cello.

In this episode, we talk about nature versus nurture in the context of developing musicians, and how Guy has discovered certain parallels with teaching since becoming a father. He also reflects very honestly on his BBC Young Musician win aged just 18 (and the whirlwind aftermath) and tells the heartwarming story of taking his Tecchler cello on a journey from Cambridge to Rome.