A London orchestra has recruited a former gold-medal-winning fencer to help its young performers handle the pressure of concert performances.
The Southbank Sinfonia has recruited Claire Bennett, who won an individual bronze medal and captained the English team to gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Fencing Games. She missed out on a place in Team GB at the 2012 Olympics.
Now retired from the sport, Ms Bennett, below, believes her experiences have translated well.
She said: “Musicians are constantly striving for the perfect recital, athletes the perfect race — ultimately the perfect performance.
It’s about challenging yourself to do something really difficult, that requires a lot of skill, both physically and mentally, and overcoming challenges along the way.”
The orchestra offers 33 fellowships to musicians from around the world. Its artistic development manager Marcus Norman contacted consultancy Sport and Beyond, which matched the orchestra with Ms Bennett.
She said: “Sharing my story, dealing with not making it to the London Olympics in 2012, resonated because they have to deal with auditions all the time.”
Flautist Jack Welch, who represented Wales in fencing as a teenager, said: “Live music is very exciting but can also be very stressful.
We should be thinking more like athletes, particularly about injury. In sport you would take a break — we tend to push on and play with some pain.”
