Alex potter

Where were you born?

In the UK

Where do you live?

Germany, near Hamburg

Why did you start playing music?

My parents loved music and singing and from a young age, singing was part of my being.

What is your favourite instrument?

Baroque organ, oboe, harp.

What music did you listen to as a child? 

Bach, Handel. Then things like Green Day and Nirvana as a teenager         

What was your first record?

First I remember listening to was my mum’s tape of the Orchestra of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Playing the Bach Orchestral Suites

What musical period would you like to live in?    

I would like to live now, because we have modern medicine but I would be really curious to visit Leipzig in the 1720s to hear what Bach’s music actually sounded like.   Also get really drunk and sing some naughty catches with Henry Purcell.    

Where do you prefer to listen to music?  

In rehearsal or on stage, listening to wonderful colleagues make magic.

Where can we find you when you are not making music?

Probably in the kitchen cooking, out on a bike or walking in the countryside.

Where did you study? 

Oxford University and the Schola Cantorum Basel.

What awards have you received?  

Countertenor Will Ferrel lookalike award 2022.     

Who is your favourite composer?

I love the music of most composers I perform but for music I will almost certainly never sing myself: Rameau

Which composer would you like the public to rediscover?

Cipriani Potter (no relation), because we need more Potter in the public eye.     

What is your first recording?

A live video recording (December 1985) of me in a dressing gown, playing a shepherd. In the school Nativity Play singing “the Angel Gabriel from Heaven came.”

What is your favourite recording? (Passacaglia, with you) 

Bach Cantatas 35 and 169 (PAS1092)

What is your favourite Passacaille recording? (Passacaille, other artist) 

Leuven Chansonnier

Sollazzo Ensemble

Who do you dream of recording with? (realistic or not) 

The Bee Gees. A Baroque version of “Stayin alive.”

Which piece have you never recorded but would like to? 

John Cage 4’33.      

What do you do before a concert?

Go for a walk, read a book, try to switch off my phone to get into the zone.    

What do you do after a concert?

Unwind with nice colleagues together with nice food and drink.         

What would you do if you were not a musician?         

Drive an artisan pizza van with a wood oven. Food and music have much in common:

We give our all to create the best we can but produce something transient, which disappears.

Yet we (hopefully) give people experiences and memories they can treasure for the rest of their lives.