Gabriel Longbotham Concert Review
Gabriel Longbotham’s Liz Lawrence Award Winner’s Concert
On July 29th, The Cause Venue in Chippenham played host to this year’s Liz Lawrence Award winner’s concert - a highly anticipated event in WRM’s calendar every year. It’s quite possible that auditionees for the award, held annually in Spring, are blissfully unaware of what’s required of them if they win. Wiltshire Rural Music host a handful of talented 17/18 year olds in our Horsfall Room as part of the audition process. Usually accompanied by their parents, the nervous teens shuffle in, play their heart and soul out to a small panel, followed by an informal chat and are ushered home to wait a week or two for the result. Once the winner is announced, the lucky recipient is presented with a £1,000 cheque to assist them in their studies ... and then the planning really begins.
In Gabriel’s case, it must have felt a lifetime between receiving his money in the summer of 2022 and performing a highly anticipated show to a hushed audience almost a year later. The span in time mirrored his growth - from a Year 13 school boy to a young man deep in the throes of his Musical studies at University in Manchester. Gabriel, from Devizes, attended St Augustine’s School in Trowbridge and excelled in music throughout his time there, achieving Grade 8 as well as the ARSM diploma in Piano, and up to Grade 6 on organ. His audition in April 2022 presented his talent on piano with confidence and vigour, a stark contrast to his demeanour when stepping away from his instrument. Modest and softly spoken, Gabriel was awarded the coveted prize not just because of his undeniable talent, but his poise and honestly when presenting himself to the judges.
And then... off he went to Manchester to start the student life away from Wiltshire, away from family and to embark on his new adventure. But not without crashing back to life every so often with Wiltshire Rural Music on his tail to squeeze decisions out of him regarding his concert, be it the venue, the programme and even the date! An important part of the award is to give the winner autonomy over their own event, with WRM’s support along the way we aim to put the planning in the lap of the artist which is a responsibility that weighs heavy on young shoulders, but is ultimately rewarding and deeply satisfying. And Gabriel’s self-devised musical programme reflected his personality superbly.
A gig of two halves
Gabriel entered the stage after an introduction from WRM chair Peggy Snell. A wry smile and brief hello would fool anyone into thinking his performance would be understated, but he swept into Debussy’s mesmeric Estampes: Pagodes with grace and flare, seamlessly passing onto Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 with pure romanticism. The battered grand piano at The Cause settling nicely into what must have been its first classical outing in decades. Shortly after Beethoven wrapped up, with a twinkle in his eye, Gabriel apologised for forgetting to play the organ which was listed first in the programme. This omission raised a smile in the audience as he transferred himself to the mighty instrument towering over the stage to bop along to C.S Lang’s Tuba Tune, both hands and feet playing the part to a tee. After some emotionally heart wrenching Chopin and Schubert back on the piano, Madeleine Longbotham, Gabriel’s sister, joined him on stage to perform a flute rendition of Cafe 1930 by Piazzolla, keeping the talent in the family with unrivalled ability.
Highlights of the show
The second half took a u-turn most wouldn’t have preempted. The programme modestly suggested Gabriel was going to play some self-penned tunes and you’d be forgiven for thinking they would have been piano-led. But, with new found confidence after a half-time chat with his friends in the crowd, on he came, doffing a pink cowboy hat and acoustic guitar. What followed were five acoustic songs, delivered by Gabriel’s effortlessly cool and calm vocal style that even Ben Folds would envy. He punctuated intros with the occasional whistle, strumming the guitar sympathetically whilst vocalising his impressively mature lyric writing, tackling subjects as benign as ‘self awareness’ and as precarious as ‘the church’ with nuance potentially beyond his 19 years. Before ending the whole show back at the piano, he left the stage to Madeleine who delivered a sublime solo piece by Eugene Bozza entitled Image, which gave her free reign to plunge to the depths and peaks of her flute’s range in twittering arpeggios and flurries. How the Longbotham family kept their nerve throughout their incredible childrens’ performances is anyone’s guess. Nerves of steel comes to mind! Gabriel ended his set at the piano with Randy Newman’s She Chose Me, a sweet love song written by a man in his late 70s about his wife of 40 years... performed by a young man of 19... thus summing up the level of maturity Gabriel Longbotham brings to the stage - less panache, more poise, letting the talent speak for itself. We chose him... and he’ll go far.
