Interviews

People of Note
On 31 January 2021, I was invited to appear on Classic 1027's People of Note with Richard Cock:

PLAYLIST
1. Psalm 121 and Psalm 122 by Herbert Howells – Choir of King’s College, Cambridge (Stephen Cleobury)
2. Piano Concerto No. 2 (first movement) by Shostakovich – Leonard Bernstein (soloist and conductor), New York Philharmonic
3. Lux Aurumque ("Light and Gold") by Eric Whitacre – Polyphony (Stephen Layton)
4. Carillon by Herbert Murrill – Andrew Lucas (St Paul’s Cathedral, London)
5. In vino veritas by Paul Gibson – VOX Cape Town (John Woodland)
6. The Riddle Song from "Fancies" by John Rutter – Cambridge Singers, City of London Sinfonia (John Rutter)
7. By the Sleepy Lagoon by Eric Coates – Cape Town Proms Orchestra (Richard Cock, live recording from 2017)
8. Is My Team Ploughing? by George Butterworth – Bryn Terfel and Malcolm Martineau  
9. Oxygen from "Inscape" – Isochronous (Vocals: Richard Brokensha)
10. Song for Athene by Sir John Tavener – The Choir of the Temple Church, The Holst Singers (Stephen Layton)
11. Codex from "The King of Limbs" – Radiohead              
12. The Ring Goes South from "The Lord of the Rings" by Howard Shore – London Philharmonic Orchestra (Howard Shore)
13. The Fairy Garden from the Mother Goose Suite by Ravel – Katia and Marielle Labèque              
14. Moon River arranged by Jacob Collier – Jacob Collier

Fine Music Radio's Opus
In December 2020, I was interviewed by Vanessa Levenstein for Opus, Fine Music Radio's monthly newsletter for members:

With a beaker in one hand and a baton in the other, scientist, conductor and FMR presenter John Woodland is FMR’s very own Alexander Borodin. What is the magic formula behind this man of many talents?

What came first, your love of music or science?
They are twin passions! My parents generously supported my early piano lessons and also tolerated my insistence on having a “laboratory” in my bedroom. These interests both matured towards the end of high school, leading me to pursue a science degree at the University of Cape Town. It was around this time (2006) that I presented my first programmes on FMR.
 
You played the organ, an unusual choice of instrument; did it lead to your appreciation of choral music?
Funnily enough, it was the other way around! Singing in the Bishops Chapel Choir, which was frequently accompanied by the fine organ housed there, encouraged my interest in the King of Instruments. So much wonderful repertoire has been written for the organ, and there is little to match the thrill of having an orchestra under one’s fingertips! It is the instrument on which I feel most comfortable, and combining its various stops and pistons is not unlike preparing a concoction in the chemical laboratory.
 
How did VOX Cape Town come into being?
My interest in choral music was nurtured by Mark Mitchell at Bishops and subsequently by Margie Barlow in the UCT Choir, which I later had the privilege of leading for three years. But deciding that I still had much to learn from singing in a choir, I joined the St George’s Singers under the direction of another musical mentor, Barry Smith. When Barry retired in 2015, I was encouraged to start my own choral group. Later that year, VOX Cape Town was born.

​Earlier this year, we celebrated our fifth anniversary (not quite the way we had initially hoped!) which provided a special opportunity to reflect on our musical community and the many immersive experiences that we have hosted. I am immensely grateful to my singers for their passionate commitment to VOX and our audiences for enthusiastically supporting the work we do. It was wonderful to hear from so many of our "fans" during our Five Years of VOX birthday broadcast on FMR in July.

​Do you play music while you work in the laboratory?
Sadly not; wearing headphones is, unfortunately, regarded as a health and safety hazard! That said, I have often wondered whether certain styles of music might improve productivity in the lab. Perhaps FMR’s combination of classics and jazz would be the perfect mix…?
 
The disciplines of science and music are seemingly very different, but is there a common ground?
That is a question that often crosses my mind. We tend to dichotomise the arts and the sciences, which I think is a pity. Both are highly skilled enterprises, requiring countless hours of devoted, focused work. Science and music are hard taskmasters, with thrilling highs and dismal lows. Both disciplines reward creativity, provided that one can justify one’s decisions. Both are profoundly linked to the past – we are always “standing on the shoulders of giants”, whether those are the scientists or the musicians who have come before.
 
Science attempts to understand the natural world through observation and experiment, generating knowledge for the benefit of all. Music is a universal medium of expression, through which one can experience beauty, bliss, comfort or catharsis – it, too, has something important to tell us about the world and our shared humanity. As Borodin must have reflected over a century ago, it is a privilege to see the world from a molecular and a musical perspective – and to harness their powers to make a tangible, lasting impact.