MUSICIANS OFFSTAGE
Red Priest's cellist Angela East answers the
questions you've always wanted to ask!

1. If you weren’t a performing musician, what would you be?
This would have required a completely different upbringing. My parents decided that I would be a musician when I was born, so they encouraged me to practise rather than work at school and wanted me to go to music college rather than university. My best subject at school was maths but I am sure I would not have become an accountant!

2. What are your hobbies?
At the moment I am training to be a teacher of the Alexander Technique, which fits in nicely with Red Priest activities. (This is about body use – if you’re not familiar with it, it’s difficult to explain in words but there are lots of books about it). I am also very interested in psychology.
I have three children and two grandchildren and a large house to look after and I play five instruments (all somehow related to the cello)

3. What is in your CD player right now?
A CD of David Greenberg, with whom we are playing on the tour, entitled ’Tunes Until Dawn’. It is of traditional fiddle & piano music from Cape Breton.

4. What’s your favorite TV show, book or movie and why?
I hardly watch TV but like makeover programmes of all kinds and films.
Most of the books I read are about some aspect of psychology. There are certain actors that I like and I tend to follow their films: Anthony Hopkins, Robin Williams, Johnny Depp

5. Where are you from?
Born in New Malden, Surrey which is a home county i.e. next to London.
Now I live in South London but have also lived in Berkshire (another home county West of London) and East Sussex (on the South coast where the others live now)

6. What’s your favorite food?
Curry of course (same for most people in the UK) but I have a favourite routine which includes muesli for breakfast with fruit and fruit juice, salad for lunch and must have vegetables in the evening meal.

7. What kind of car do you drive?
Volvo Estate. The only car that holds five cellos, chair, lighting, suitcases etc. and fingers crossed, they are supposed to last for ever.
If it doesn’t I don’t know what to do because I can’t afford another one.

8. How did you choose your instrument?
Which one? The baroque cello was sold to me by a colleague who thought it was an old box.

9. What was your favorite non–music course in high school or college?
We don’t operate like that in the UK. College was all music. Nothing was favourite at school, especially not music. Maths was a relief because it was the one thing I could do.

10. Do you have a favorite professor, teacher, or mentor?
Has to be F M Alexander of the Alexander Technique mentioned above.

11. What’s your favorite time of the year or time of the day, and why?
Favourite time of year is the summer as long as the sun is out because I like to keep warm and like to go outside when it is warm. Favourite time of day is mid–morning. Not so early that I am half asleep and early enough to be active without feeling tired.