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• Simon Hewitt Jones, Violinist

  English concert violinist. Asking essential questions about what's happening to music and the arts, and the role of the violin in contemporary world culture.

• Contact Me: T: +44 (0) 20 7060 0607 E: shj [at] courtlanemusic [dot] com W: www.courtlanemusic.com Instant: Message My iPhone

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But I hate being told what to do by older people, because it’s often rubbish! Seniority does not always guarantee wisdom… Especially if it is dated experience, closed to change. If my blog ever turns into a satisfied, one dimensional view of the world, then please tell me to wake up!
The best ways I find […]

There was a lot of attention in England recently to the sensational Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela.
(A video from their BBC Proms performance is here.)
A wonderful editorial in The Week magazine points out that the energy, pride, teamwork, long-worked-for skill and sense of belonging, though profound, is perhaps not the only reason for […]

David & I took some of the ‘Virtuoso Violin’ show to Classic FM’s new home in Leicester Square in central London, to celebrate the launch of the Classic FM Music Makers charity. At the launch, presented by breakfast presenter Simon Bates, we played a selection of music including Paganini (of course!), and the Duchess of […]

I thought I’d come home, post some videos of the Bethlehem concert, then maybe post a kind of ‘conclusion’ post about the process of cultural ‘engagement’. But things don’t really work out like that. You can’t just move on. Besides, I can’t upload the videos for another week or so because of a YouTube problem.
I […]

We visited Ramallah for the first time today, for a workshop on Mozart’s Requiem at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. The Ramallah Campus sits at the foot a hill in a peaceful area just outside the downtown area. As you approach, the gentle sounds of an Oud float down over the […]

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The Wailing Wall & Dome Of The Rock, earlier this afternoon

I’ve just arrived in East Jerusalem with the Choir of London, where we’re based for the next two weeks during the Palestine Mozart Festivals. We’re going to be giving loads of chamber music (and then orchestral) concerts, firstly in Jerusalem, but also in […]

Why? Well, it’s all about the relationship of creativity and post-industrialism.
Throughout the globe, there’s a hierarchy in education. At the top, Maths and Languages (and sometimes Sciences). After that, Humanities. And at the bottom of the scale of priority, the Arts.
Over here in the UK, there’s been a lot of intelligent comment about the death […]