Mike Alexander
Mike Alexander, from Nottingham, Section Leader 2nd violin, studied at the Royal Academy of Music, joined the Ulster Orchestra in 1975.
Earliest musical memory?
My earliest musical memory was when I was 6 years old and my uncle gave me a vinyl disc with the Sorcerer's Apprentice on it and that made an immediate impression on me.
When did you know that you wanted to be a professional musican?
I started playing the violin when I was 8 years old and went through the school system of school orchestra and youth orchestra. It was during my time in the youth orchestra, when I was 15 years old, that I knew I wanted to a professional musician.
What do other members of your family do?
My father was not musical at all, in fact, he was a baker! My sister now owns an art gallery.
Do you perform in any other groups?
I perform in a number of other groups: The Alexander String Quartet www.alexanderstringquartet.co.uk and I run a group with viola player Ashley Mason called the Holywood Sinfonietta which put on a number of concerts each year.
What are you most looking forward to this season?
I throughly enjoyed the opening concert of our new season 07-08 in St Anne’s Cathedral. A truly uplifting Beethoven Symphony No.9 resounded in the acoustic of the Cathedral- fabulous. I am also looking forward to the final concert of the season, not because it is the end of the season but because we are performing Prokofiev’s Symphony No.5 which is one of my all time favourite symphonies.
Having been with the Ulster Orchestra over 30 years now, what is your fondest memory?
There have been so many fantastic memories with the Ulster Orchestra but the one that really stands out is the concert that we performed with Tod Handley in the Musikverein in Vienna in which the orchestra lifted its performace to a phenomonal level.
What’s in your cd player right now?
I own an iPod which has at least two solid days worth of music on it. I have an eclectic mix of music tastes that range from Bach to Pink Floyd and from Jazz to Fairport Convention, which is a folk-rock ensemble.
What is your favourite Ulster Orchestra recording?
There are so many, but La Peri and the Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas with Pascal Tortelier conducting is fantastic.
What would you be if not a musician?
I worked in the family business when I was growing up on Saturdays and school holidays and so I would most likely have ended up as a baker, like my father.