SPOTLIGHT ON… Shanna Hart, SWO Membership Officer, who juggles being a musician alongside a full-time career in Publishing

Shanna, tell us about your life in music

I am Organist at St Botolph without Aldgate, London, and Assistant Organist at Selwyn College, Cambridge. I also work as a freelance organist for services, concerts and recitals, and as a teacher: among other things, supervising Counterpoint and Fugue for Cambridge University. I teach piano and organ privately, and do a few other musical bits and pieces.

That sounds plenty for one person! Yet I understand you also work for the Royal Society of Chemistry?

Yes, I have a full-time post in their Publishing Department, supporting their digital publishing systems.

Do you view that full-time post merely as financial security, or is balancing publishing work and music important to you?

Both strands of my career are equally important to me, and both are fulfilling in their own right. It’s often a relief to go back to my publishing job after high-pressure performances, and likewise, teaching or playing for a service in the evening is a good way to stop thinking about work. I don’t ever intend to be in a position where I’m not working in both music and publishing.

What was your tertiary study, and where?

I read Music and then History and Philosophy of Science, all while working as organ scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.

Your student years must have been incredibly demanding. What was your ambition at that time, and what did you learn through juggling different strands?

I think most organ scholars find the schedule demanding at times, especially when starting out, but if anything, I found the structure of regular services and rehearsals to be a helpful framework around which to organise work and practice. At first, I was lucky in that my organ scholarship was mostly relevant to my music, but I found I missed having different disciplines in which to focus. Hence the change to History and Philosophy of Science, and my split career today.

You sound incredibly busy! How do you find time to practise?

I enjoy practising, so it’s never a chore to make the time. I mostly practise in the evenings, after work and teaching/services, and find there is always time for up to four hours’ practice (or more) if needed in busy periods. When I’m being organised, I try and write practice schedules too, to try to stay efficient with time.

Take us back to the beginning. What prompted you to start learning the organ?

I started playing the organ relatively early, at the age of ten. I already played the piano (though only to about Grade 3 standard), and my family was quite involved with our village church, where I was given a chance to have a go on the organ in the church and then just never gave it up. I certainly never thought at that stage I’d be doing it professionally.

The Director of Music there very kindly took me on as an organ student, despite my inexperience, for a few months before I went away to school. The next couple of organ teachers I had were women, and in those early years I didn’t know any other young organists, so I was mostly unaware of any gender imbalance. It was only when I started attending RCO courses that I became aware of it.

It sounds as though encountering a male-dominated organ world at that stage must have been a shock. How did you deal with it?

I definitely noticed it, but I wasn’t particularly affected – I don’t think it had any impact either way, for better or worse! I think I was very fortunate in that I didn’t witness any of the barriers that some of my colleagues did.

Do you think it's easier for young women organists today than when you were training?

Perhaps. Greater visibility through social media means the organ is more accessible as an instrument now, I think, and not so much seen as an instrument unsuitable for girls, which certainly helps. The growing number of cathedral and collegiate choirs accepting girls must also contribute to a levelling of opportunities, especially at the higher level. But as with anything, experiences vary widely, and instances of unequal treatment certainly still occur, despite clear progress.

Why did you join SWO, and what direction would you like it to take?

One of the committee approached me several years ago and I was immediately enthusiastic. It’s important to me to be able to support SWO’s work and it’s wonderful to be part such a wide-reaching community.

I’d love to see SWO continue with its outreach work, introducing the organ particularly to girls who might not otherwise have the opportunity to encounter it as an option.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Readers: please help realise Shanna’s hopes by attending, or recruiting for, SWO’s ‘Play like a Girl’ day on 5th September.

Thank you for taking on the role of SWO Membership Officer. What does it involve?

Every time someone joins SWO I’m sent the membership form from the website, which then goes into a spreadsheet. It’s been wonderful to see how the list has grown over the last few years, with over 650 members from across the world.

I imagine you have no time for interests and pursuits outside of music and publishing?

Oh yes, I do, I spend a lot of time doing photography, particularly astrophotography (convenient because it happens at night), and wildlife photography. Both are quite time consuming – I’ve spent many, many hours waiting for animals that haven’t appeared! – but very rewarding. I’m also on the committee for my local nature reserve group.

What would you tell your 15-year-old self if you could relive your career?

To sort out my keyboard technique sooner rather than later! I spent hours a day playing the piano and organ as a child, but not very much time learning and practising properly. Later in my training I realised my deficiencies and addressed them, but it would have been much more profitable to have listened to my teachers when I was young!

I think you are the busiest person I have ever interviewed, Shanna! Do you have any tips on time-management?

I definitely feel lucky that I can fit in all the things that I want to do. I tend to find work expands to fill the available space, and that the busier things are, the more that gets done (though it’s important to know one’s limit of course). Compartmentalising (in time, in place and in the mind) is also helpful for mitigating any feelings of busyness; I’m fortunate that that is partly organised for me by having regular working hours around which to navigate other responsibilities.

I also find using practice schedules to be an invaluable tool for keeping on top of all the music that needs learning, both short- and long-term, as well as keeping up with techniques and keyboard skills, rather than constantly fixating on tomorrow’s music (something I have also been guilty of!).

Shanna, thank you for providing a model for packing a great many activities into just one life, and thank you for all you do for SWO.