‘The concerts are serious but also fun’
When cellist Clare O’Connell staged the first Behind the Mirror concert in Berkhamsted in 2011, she had little idea it would grow into one of the town’s most enduring cultural success stories. Here, we find out more about her and her music.
Fifteen years since the first concerts, Clare O’Connell’s Behind the Mirror series has presented an extraordinary 107 concerts, introducing audiences to imaginative programmes, newly commissioned works and world-class musicians. Yet for Clare, success has never been measured simply by numbers.
‘The fact that the series has generated a loyal audience for the past 15 years and paid for itself thanks to continuing support from ticket buyers is a huge testament to its success,’ she says.
Running entirely through ticket sales, Behind the Mirror has become a community as much as a concert series. In a town where arts funding is difficult to secure because of Berkhamsted’s relative affluence, Clare believes local audiences play a vital role.
‘My audience is a vital part of the whole ecosystem,’ she explains. ‘Because of the lack of interest in funding bodies to support this affluent area, it’s up to the people who live here to invest in the arts by turning up, and when they do I’m incredibly grateful.’
Each programme is carefully crafted to offer something unique. Alongside masterpieces of the classical repertoire, Clare regularly commissions new music, creates her own arrangements and invites audiences to experience concerts built around stories, literature and ideas rather than traditional recital formats.
Music has shaped Clare’s life from the start. Her mother bought a piano when she was just three after noticing she could already sing in tune. Piano lessons followed at four, before she discovered the cello at nine.
Her childhood soundtrack ranged from Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Shostakovich to The Beatles, Prince and David Bowie. Hours spent listening to records while painting in her bedroom nurtured an eclectic musical curiosity that continues to influence her programming today.
Although music was always her passion, Clare initially studied Ancient and Modern History at Oxford University before deciding to pursue performance professionally. She later trained at the Royal College of Music with renowned cellists Anna Shuttleworth and Alexander Baillie before continuing her studies in Bremen, Germany.
Since then, she has built a career combining performing, recording and teaching. Her own children, she says, have grown up completely unfazed by having a professional musician as their mother.
‘They’re musical, but it’s completely normal to them.’
The originality of Behind the Mirror has helped it stand apart. Rather than presenting conventional chamber music concerts, Clare weaves together music, literature and storytelling to create immersive experiences.
One memorable performance paired Janáček’s string quartets with the Tolstoy story and love letters that inspired them. Other concerts have celebrated tango through the music of Astor Piazzolla or explored love through the writing of Turgenev and Katherine Mansfield.
Perhaps her favourite remains Moomin Midwinter, where Scandinavian music for clarinet, cello and accordion was interwoven with Tove Jansson’s story, read by actor Mark Bonnar.
‘It seems childish,’ she says, ‘but the writing is so profound and funny. Some people told me it was their favourite concert ever.’
Underlying every programme is Clare’s belief that art offers something increasingly precious in modern life.
‘I believe art, creation and making space to listen are vital for our health and wellbeing – now more than ever in this age of screens, social media and AI.’
That philosophy lies at the heart of her upcoming autumn concerts, which pair late Beethoven string quartets with works by John Cage and contemporary British composer Edmund Finnis. Designed as uninterrupted musical journeys, they invite audiences into what Clare describes as ‘a rare state of deep listening’.
For her, Behind the Mirror has always been about more than performance.
‘I wanted the concerts to be a place of fantasy,’ she says. ‘Somewhere people could lose themselves, forget the daily grind and be inspired by something higher. The concerts are serious, but they’re also fun.’
Upcoming concerts
Sunday 11 October, 4pm
MUSIC & SILENCE:
John Cage – String Quartet in Four Parts – Beethoven String Quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor Op.131.
Sunday 22 November, 4pm
DEVOTIONS:
Edmund Finnis – Devotions – Beethoven String Quartet no. 15 in A minor Op.132
Both at Berkhamsted Town Hall.