Musician and broadcaster Linton Stephens is a renowned bassoonist and interim Artistic Director with Chineke! Orchestra, Europe's first professional orchestra to be made up of majority Black and ethnically diverse musicians.
They celebrate their 10th anniversary this year with a National Concert Hall performance, presented as part of the NCH's newly announced 2025 Classical Season for Autumn/Winter.
The much anticipated event features a stellar line-up of guest artists including renowned siblings, cellist Sheku and pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and American violinist Tai Murray in her NCH debut.
We asked Lynton for his choice cultural picks...
FILM
My favourite film has to be Leon. The acting from all the leads in that film is absolutely terrific. The storyline is an entertaining but unsettling one in many ways, and viewed through today's lense, raises many questions. I also think that discomfort is deliberate though. But I think what I love about it the most is that we never got to see how that story continues. We're in an age of sequels, prequels and requels. With Leon we're very much left with a question mark of what may happen to the young protagonist - knowing there's any number of paths she may choose after what she goes through in the film. And that's where imagination kicks in.
MUSIC
I made a very bold decision a month ago. I decided that Ravel was my favourite composer. I'm often asked that question and my brain floods with a wealth of great names. But the more I've thought about it the more I'm convinced that Ravel is the one for me. To listen to it's extraordinary and to play it's equally satisfying. He was a master of the orchestral palette like no other.
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Outside of classical I'm a huge fan of chilled female vocals. Sugababes have always done it for me along with artists like JONES, India Arie, Andreya Triana, Lianne La Havas and Oh Land.
BOOK
This is an easy one. Nothing has made an impact on me like To Kill a Mockingbird. I think Harper Lee is an absolute master of descriptive language. To tell the story through the eyes of someone young and impressionable. Unfiltered and innocent. I also love the sequel Go Set a Watchman, not necessarily because of the story, but when compared with the first book it's a sobering narrative of the reality of growing up. Seeing people/parents (even people you admired) as they really are. Human, flaws and all. It's something I think we all experience.
THEATRE
My boyfriend and I went to watch Sheridan Smith in Shirley Valentine last year. I've never laughed so much. And the way Smith, in a one-woman show, held the audience engaged was masterly. Willy Russell is someone whose work has made a significant impact on me in my life. First experiencing his work in a school play, Our Day Out, back in Bebington High School. I was cast as the tearaway who has the comedy line about his father getting mad at him cos he won't give him a ciggie (fake fag and all). Then Russell came up again, my first time experiencing a West End Musical at 16 when I saw Blood Brothers. Growing up in Merseyside lots of the themes and places were familiar.
TV
So I read recently that rewatching the same series is like a mindful thing and we do it to settle ourselves. It relieves stress. And I'm particularly guilty of this. I'm terrible with anything new. The anxiety of not knowing melts my head so I'll always google ahead. My go-to though is RuPaul's Drag Race. I couldn't get on board with it when I first watched, probably due to my internalised homophobia. But as the years have gone on and I've become more comfortable with myself it's fair to say now that I'm pretty much addicted. Also loved I May Destroy You by Michael Cole. Just a genius take on so many complex modern issues.
GIG
The last gig I went to was a Chineke! Concert. A collaboration with George The Poet at the Southbank which was absolutely amazing to watch. I never usually get that privilege as I'm mostly always on stage. Big shout out to our Violinist Laura Ayoub who played the Max Richter: Vivaldi Recomposed incredibly! Upcoming, well its probably this season launch here in Dublin and I couldn't be more excited.
ART
One of my favourite exhibitions that I ever saw was at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London of famous garments that included dresses worn by Harry Styles and Billy Porter. We also saw an incredible exhibit in Paris. I think it was a McQueen exhibit and it was massively flamboyant. I'm also in love with the art of a guy I discovered on insta though, Ken Kurojiro. I've bought a few of his (cheaper) pieces. The colours are so intense and brilliant.
RADIO
Shameless self-promo but when I first joined BBC as a presenter, I hosted a show called Classical Fix. I'd send my guests (including the likes of Siobhan McSweeney and Alison Spittle, amongst others) a playlist of six pieces and then they'd come into the studio and we'd just talk about how it made us feel. I gave them a bit of background and we'd have a bit of a chat. Sometimes it was incredibly emotional and sometimes I was laughing my head off. It was such a privilege to share music with people in that way. I had so many people tell me that it was a really great way to dip your toe into classical music if you're a newbie. And there's well over 100 episodes available.
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TECH
Okay, don't come for me, but I'm discovering just how useful chat GPT can be recently...
THE NEXT BIG THING...
There's a composer in the early stages of their career who we've commissioned to write a fanfare for our tenth anniversary concert in November, Nneka Cummins. I first met them when I was studying at the Royal Northern College of Music. I helped host a summer school and they were in the first cohort; they must've been about 12 at the time. Years later it's amazing to see them flourish as a musician and artist. Their sound is so unique. It's quite hard to describe - but it's really like nothing I've heard before. I'm excited that we're able to give them this opportunity and even more excited to see where they go.
Linton Stephens and Chineke! Orchestra can be heard at the National Concert Hall on 30th of September as part of the NCH’s newly announced Classical Season 2025, for a 10th anniversary celebration with cellist Sheku and pianist Isata Kanneh Mason and violinist Tai Murray. Full details of this (and all concerts in the season) can be found here.
