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Toby Deller

@tobydeller.bsky.social
188 followers 228 following 125 posts

Freelance viola player in London. Also sometime writer and PhD in French literature.

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Reposted by Toby Deller
Alternative Classical @alterclassical.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The Myth of “Bouncing Back” After Having a Baby in the Classical Music World
alternativeclassical.co.uk
“Bouncing Back” After Having a Baby in the Classical Music World — Alternative Classical
Tamsin Waley-Cohen discusses the myth of “bouncing back” after having a baby.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Maybe they are using a non-urgent emergency to see how the alarm works, as a kind of test ahead of a future urgent one. Anyway, fwiw I got no message on my Nokia dumbphone :-)
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Chris Barrett @mrchrisbarrett.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
- I'm trying to find out if I like spreadable, spicy sausage. - Nduja? - Give me a chance - I'm not even dressed.
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Chris Barrett @mrchrisbarrett.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
New blog post - A longish look at Benjamin Britten's Nocturnal after John Dowland for Guitar. heathcoatstreet.blogspot.com/2026/07/come...
heathcoatstreet.blogspot.com
Come, Heavy Sleep - Benjamin Britten's Nocturnal after John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70
BRITTEN AND DOWLAND At a time when some composers were trying to sever links with the past, Benjamin Britten was keen to stress his connecti...
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Coincidence: on a whim the other day, I started reading Megan Hunter's Days of Light, whose setting is inspired by the Vanessa Bell/Duncan Grant situation at Charleston. Today I found myself playing at a wedding at the adjacent property in Firle and, presumably, the church which features in the book
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Well then, Linda Ronstadt is 80 today. We kind of forget about her these days, or do we not? What a singer, and what a song! www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9qs...
youtube.com
Different Drum
YouTube video by Stone Poneys - Topic
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Alternative Classical @alterclassical.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Against ‘Hustle’: The Radical Reclaiming of Music’s Rest and Play www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/features/aga...
alternativeclassical.co.uk
Against ‘Hustle’: The Radical Reclaiming of Music’s Rest and Play — Alternative Classical
Pianist Cordelia Williams discusses the the radical reclaiming of music’s rest and play.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
And if there is British success at Wimbledon do we get un jour Fery, eh? www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
England to get bank holiday if team win World Cup, Starmer expected to announce
Prime minister understood to be poised to give England a day off should the nation’s team bring home the trophy for first time since 1966
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Reposted by Toby Deller
dankettercello @danielketter.com · 07/07/2026
This technique is just constantly jaw dropping, jester hats notwithstanding youtu.be/BKcTn-FGTKM
youtu.be
a cello ricochet bowing exploration
YouTube video by Rushad Eggleston
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
The first time I heard Sonny Rollins was via this 1980s true crime series (presented by Ludovic Kennedy), for which he played the theme. Honest, his name's in the credits! I was only just getting into jazz but even then it seemed incongruous somehow. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw7C...
youtube.com
Indelible Evidence S01E04 Gunlore
YouTube video by a498447
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
I wonder who becomes greatest living musician, now that Sonny Rollins has died.
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Emma Butterworth Music @emmabmusic.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
If you're a mother and you work in any area of the music industry, do join us in Bristol this Friday @ @bristolbeacon.bsky.social for a very relaxed sharing/networking/meetup! Please share 🙏
Mothers in Music upcoming meet-ups
Babies welcome!
Friday 22nd May 10.30-12.30pm at Bristol Beacon
Friday 10 July 10.30-12.30pm at St George's Bristol
Friday 25th Sep 10.30-12.30pm at Bristol Beacon
Friday 13th Nov 10.30-12.30pm at Bristol Beacon

@mothersinmusicuk
RSVP to info@mamacoaching.org
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Penultimate go tonight at playing Strauss's Salome with @regentsopera.bsky.social at York Hall. I reckon the reduced orchestration (one viola!) imparts an angsty expressionism well suited to the bleak onstage action. www.ticketsource.com/regents-opera
ticketsource.com
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Neil Fisher @neilfisher81.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
I know why Regents Opera performs in the original language - because that's how you tempt young singers who want to get a role under the belt - but a spiky English translation would have given this already striking Salome an extra boost. linkly.link/2gNHF
linkly.link
Salome review — blood, vomit and some sensational singing
Strauss’s gory opera goes full Tarantino in Mark Ravenhill’s no-holds-barred staging for Regent’s Opera at York Hall in London
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Enjoying a day off from fairly intense orchestra rehearsals for @regentsopera.bsky.social production of Salome, directed by Mark Ravenhill. But I'll soon be heading (ho ho) to York Hall in Bethnal Green as we prepare for Friday's opening night. 6 shows between then and 23 April.
ticketsource.com
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
When Zappa meets Ives meets... Jackanory? Spent yesterday rehearsing this piece of far-outery by Sean Noonan for its world premiere performance on Monday 30 March. At Milton Court, London; tickets still available!
gsmd.ac.uk
The Drummer of Tedworth: A Concerto for Speaking Drummer by Sean Noonan
A concerto for anyone who’s ever doubted existence… and laughed anyway.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
If only he had had one to hand! (From Nicola Barker, Reversed Forecast)
Page from paperback with text reading "Her lips, a cupid's bow; her lashes, so long that he could have plucked them and used them to string a viola".
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Tomorrow's concert: Ruth Gipps oboe concerto (ft Nicola Hands) and Avril Coleridge-Taylor Sussex Landscape, lovely stuff. Also Malcolm Arnold 7th Symphony. With St Paul's Sinfonia at St Margaret's church SE13 5DL. www.stpaulssinfonia.com/2025-26/
stpaulssinfonia.com
2025-26 - St Paul's Sinfonia
We look forward to welcoming you! Tickets Tickets for all 2025-26 concerts are priced at £20 full price and £15 concessions. Tickets are available in advance from Eventbrite by following the ‘Buy Tick...
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Made a rare trip to the cinema today, to see Mascha Schilinski's Sound of Falling. More films like this!
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Chris Barrett @mrchrisbarrett.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ding.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
This is such a beautiful essay with such a beautiful first sentence - such a beautiful first three words, even. Nobody writes it better.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Superb idea for an opera right here...
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Georgia Louise Luckhurst @georgialouluck.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
looking to speak to freelancers in the arts, culture, and heritage sectors for a story - if that's you, drop me a message! #journorequest
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Did you hear Karthi Gnanasegaram's shoutout for Doreen Carwithen on the Today programme sports report this morning (at 2'28")? www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Today - 27/01/2026 - BBC Sounds
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Just back from a trip to see my parents, where I seem to have unearthed a fourth stanza of This Be The Verse: As for us the die is cast: We're fuck-ups along with all the rest. There's no way forward in the past Just love your neighbour and try your best #larkin
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Abscond to Marseille and sit in restaurants ready to translate the menu for English-speaking visitors. (This kind of happened a couple of times when I was there on holiday.) The restaurants would pay me in meals and perhaps characterful if temporary lodgings. (This didn't.)
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Chris Barrett @mrchrisbarrett.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Taking people for a walk. I know the directions, and also where all the best cafes and pubs are. And where the toilets are. We can talk about whatever they want.
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Chris Barrett @mrchrisbarrett.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Halloween reminder that Beethoven's Ghost Trio doesn't have a WoO no., but Schumann's Ghost Variations does.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
There was a king named Ozymandias Whose visage was once Marlon Brandious Now his statuesque legs Were but truncated pegs With nothing beyond his sad sandy ass
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Joanna Wyld @joannawyld.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
My brother @andrewwyld.bsky.social's song on the subject (I played the synthy bits, it was always so fun to perform this at gigs too) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttfZ...
youtube.com
Post Office Tower
YouTube video by faketeak
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Slightly diminish a book: Mr Dalloway
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Alternative Classical @alterclassical.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Good news - we've just created a new arts funding hub, which provides links to funding pots in the UK that are currently open for applications 🎉 Hope it's useful! www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/classical-mu...
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Gareth Ceredig @garethceredig.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Northern Ballet, having recently ditched their live orchestra, now crowing about offering a "rare opportunity" to conduct a ballet. Must have own Spotify Premium account.
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Perfect timing by the EFL to arrange the Coventry vs Hull match on Larkin’s birthday. The classic Larkin derby, nature vs nurture.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
I don't believe in ghosts, but then again, what if the things I don't believe in aren't ghosts?
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Anna Joubert @anna-joubert.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
www.gramophone.co.uk/opera-now/fe...
gramophone.co.uk
Preview | Jane Eyre at the Arcola Theatre
This summer, John Joubert’s final opera is fully staged for the first time. Director Eleanor Burke tells us how memory, music, and sustainability converge in a radical reimagining of Brontë’s classic ...
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
There should be a hire bike style scheme for music stands. Or Airbnb style: anyone not using theirs can rent it out to anyone in the area who needs one.
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
My favourite tempo marking in music is 'tempo giusto', ie basically 'the right speed'. I wish there were also a similar marking for dynamics: g, say, instead of mf or pp, etc
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Quite an itinerant, varied month with my viola, that. Yesterday in Kent, a one-of-a-kind programme at Stour Music. Previously: Saint-Saens with New Sussex Opera in Worthing and Winchester; recording with Southern Sinfonia in Christchurch; UK premiere of Dan Forrest’s Creation for Vox Anima in Ely...
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
People in classical music: I’m interested in documenting AI, LLM, ChatGPT etc. use in the workplace - looking at images and texts in particular. If you have any examples, do send them my way x
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I Fagiolini @ifagiolini.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
I'm still looking for a tenor for the MA in Solo-Voice Ensemble Singing at the U of York this September. A year's course, coaching every week from me and top quality singing lessons (not from me...) Please be in touch if you're interested - and do pass on. Current lot (2 groups) pictured.
MA SVES group at University of York - 2024-5 cohort
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Not in my name, Toby Carvery, not in my name! www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Felling of ancient London oak tree by Toby Carvery owner reported to police
Whitewebbs Park oak cut down by contractors working for firm that runs nearby restaurant
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Since Fanny was older than Felix, is there any reason why, to avoid confusion between the two, we shouldn't refer to her as Mendelssohn major and her brother as Mendelssohn minor? Does anyone in fact do this?
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Just off to the bank to pay in a cheque. Gasp, right? It has been quite some time since I was paid that way, and I'm wondering if I should phone in advance so they can get together a ceremonial welcoming party.
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Reposted by Toby Deller
Emily Herring @emilyherring.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
I wrote about why I hate AI "art" www.theneweuropean.co.uk/emily-herrin...
theneweuropean.co.uk
AI art lacks real creativity
Using artificial intelligence to generate images that mimic artworks robs humanity of one of the most meaningful experiences of all
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Pierre #Boulez centenary birthday menu: Tomato sans maitre Pea, sirloin, pea Cabbagesquisse Eclair (multiples)
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Toby Deller @tobydeller.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Does the existence of the Toblerone imply also the existence of the Toblerino, indeed also of the Tobleroncello?
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Hugh Morris @hwfmorris.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
A report on an orchestra that vanished for @londonermag.bsky.social www.the-londoner.co.uk/london-chamb...
the-londoner.co.uk
A London orchestra played music for 100 years. Then it vanished
A tale of angry musicians, unpaid bills and a mystery about what really went wrong
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Regents Opera @regentsopera.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Hey! HEY!! Don't tell anyone but we just released more £30 tickets for our opening show #DasRheingold this Sunday at #Yorkhalla (Bethnal Green, London) there will also be a small number of £25 rush tickets on the day, but we're very nearly full don't miss it! Www.ticketsource.co.uk/regents-opera
ticketsource.co.uk
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