Lydia hoping to get arts centre back into the swing of things

She’s back at the Colchester Arts Centre following a sold-out night of swing and jazz last year, which she hopes will now be an annual event.

With professional dance acts, cocktail bar and vintage dress code, as well as Lydia singing throughout the night, backed by the popular Sweeting Swing Band, she’s back at the Church Street venue later this month.

Once again the night will feature Lydia with the Sweeting Swing Band but this time it will also include a performance by Lydia’s new vocal trio, Threebop, who are about to start making a name for themselves on the London jazz scene.

Along with the music, there will be dance demonstrations and performances, and a cocktail bar run by top professionals from London.

“The event last year was initially to raise money for my then upcoming masters at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London,” she says, “and now that I am on the course, I still need that. But I also decided because of the success of that evening it should be for more than my continued studies. Since living in London, I have become painfully aware of the horrendous homeless problem that there is in this country, so I have decided to support the local charity Emmaus Colchester with the proceeds of the evening.”

Born and brought up in Colchester, Lydia studied at the Colchester County High School for Girls before going to Bristol University to study music.

Even from an early age, Lydia was interested in music, starting to play the piano at the age of seven, before moving on to the clarinet and saxophone.

“I taught myself the saxophone,” she smiles. “I was asked to go up to Edinburgh to be a part of the band when Mad Hatter performed the 25th Annual Spelling Bee there. They needed someone to play the saxophone so I told Robert Gathercole (the show’s musical director) I could do that.”

And so she did.

Before that Lydia had been involved with the Colchester Operatic Society performing in their production of Sweeney Todd and then the society’s junior edition, CO2, in shows such as Guys and Dolls and Oklahoma.

“I loved being in all those shows but going to Edinburgh with Mad Hatter was a bit special,” Lydia adds. “It was a bit like going on a school trip. We were on a tiny budget so we all camped indoors in a local Scout Hut. It was so much fun.”

As well as having a riot, learning the saxophone was very useful when she got to university.

"It's quite a prestigious thing to get the soloist slot in the university's Big Band," she explains, "but when I didn't get it I thought the next best thing would be to play with them so I asked whether they needed anyone to play saxophone and that's how I got in."

By the time she had got to her third year the soloist spot was her's and she was performing extensively with the University of Bristol Jazz Orchestra, small jazz ensembles as well as funk/soul function bands.

"With the Big Band," she continues, "They would mix up all kinds of different musical genres so we would be doing Frank Sinatra but also pop and disco as well. My favourite was our version of Happy by Pharrell Williams.

"We did loads of functions in and around Bristol but we also went on a tour of Lake Geneva, which was pretty stunning."

Now at Guildhall, where she is taking a part-time two year masters in jazz performance (singing), she’s begun to involve herself in the massive London jazz scene.

Lydia says: “I discovered jazz very late in my musical development and instantly felt like I finally fitted in. It felt so natural. Then when I went to university there were suddenly so many young people who were already amazing jazz musicians and I was totally inspired. I spent the next four years making it my passion and following that on at Guildhall.

“It was a total shock to get offers from three conservatoires, let alone Guildhall, so I’m incredibly grateful to be there now."

Being in London has also given Lydia even more chances to perform live.

"I've just started up with a band called Hot Shoes," she tells me. "They're a swing band made-up mainly of Royal Welsh College graduates, one of which is doing a masters at Guildhall. I'm one of their two singers so we take it in turns to do concerts, which at the moment are nearly every weekend. It's such a joy singing with them because they're all great musicians. You don't have to worry about the music, you just get up there and sing.

"I've also just put together a vocal jazz trio, which we're calling Threebop. It's me and two other jazz students at Guildhall called Rosina Bullen and Zara Tobias.

"I absolutely love singing in harmonies and that's pretty much what we do in a kind of Andrews Sisters, Puppini Sisters kind of way. We've got some stuff lined-up in London but our first ever debut performance will be at the Colchester Arts Centre so I'm really looking forward to that."

And let's not forget Lydia's other singing role which is with Colchester's very own Sweeting Swing Band.

"I've been singing with the band for about a year and a half now," she reveals, "they play quite a lot, which is great for me because it means I can tie it in with a visit home.

"I'm delighted they agreed to do the arts centre concert last and that they're back again for this one.

"I’d love to make the Swing Spectacular into an annual event because I think Colchester needs to celebrate jazz and swing more, especially among young people, and my night is sure to do that.”

The Swing Spectacular

Colchester Arts Centre,

Church Street, Colchester.

May 13. Doors 7.30pm.

£17.50, discounts for groups of ten or more. 01206 500900.

www.colchesterartscentre.com