RSM People: Toby Thatcher

While much of the support RSM provides is for treatments that bring musicians back to
full health, just as much of the support goes towards managing long-term health issues, as is the case for Australian-British conductor Toby Thatcher. Find out how RSM has been able to help fund the consistent attention his health demands.

Toby Thatcher has already covered a lot of ground in his career, starting out as an oboist in Australia,continuing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in the UK, making the transition to conducting while living between both countries, and adding several endeavours as artistic director to his oeuvre, all by his mid-thirties. But where did it all start and why the change in direction to conducting?

“I initially made the choice to continue my studies as an instrumentalist, not as a conductor. But I have always been interested in how to interpret the way composers have put down their work, in how work can be performed, and in the personality of leadership” he explains.

“Whilst studying, I realised that as an orchestral instrumentalist I had free & constant access to the many prestigious conductors who came to work with us at the Academy. However, the closest the conducting students could get was the back of the hall, and they had to ask permission for additional contact. It made a lot of sense to me to make use of that free access and learn more about the orchestra from the inside.

Alongside freelance conducting Toby has also developed his own projects, working as Director of Zeitgeist, an online multimedia gallery space which commissions & records work by emerging and under-represented artists, as well as his new ensemble, the Nineteenth Circle, a group of Classical and Romantic-specialists and performers who are committed to diversifying the voice within classical music programming. That commitment of time meant that something had to give, which in the end was the oboe.

“While I did conduct and play concurrently for a time, I think the moment I changed to being ‘a conductor’ exclusively was six months after I graduated. I was invited to a big international
conducting competition in Germany, the first one I had ever done, and I ended up as a finalist. Shortly after I was invited by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to be their Assistant Conductor at the Sydney Opera House, at which point I committed to living in London and working in Sydney; quite the commute!”

But did he miss playing?

“There are things I miss, for sure. I have always really enjoyed being amongst the action alongside my fellow musicians and immersed in the process of music-making. But as an oboist in an orchestra, my opportunity to change anything about the way things operated was minimal. So, I definitely appreciate now that I have a greater ability to suggest and advocate for change.”

One thing that hasn’t changed throughout all of Toby’s professional progress has been the ongoing musculoskeletal issues and migraines he suffers.

“The ocular migraines I get are crippling and impact my ability to do anything. If I’m telling someone “I’m sorry, I can’t do x or y because I have a migraine”, you can sometimes see in their response that they’re thinking “just take some painkillers, it’s a headache”. The reality is that I often don’t get headaches; I experience a loss of sensation in my fingers, my arms, my face, and severe tunnel vision. In the worst cases, I lose short term memory; my partner thought I had had a stroke the first time it happened when she was with me! On another occasion I was in the middle of a rehearsal when one struck, so I pulled myself out of the environment and I knew I had to tell someone or call emergency services, but when I got out my phone, none of the names in my contact list meant anything to me.

“So, they are complicated things and I’m constantly trying to find ways to both manage them, as well as the fear and anxiety that I could get one at any moment. I’m thankful that, touch-wood, they aren’t as frequent as they are for some people.

“I also have a variety of hereditary musculoskeletal issues; namely kyphosis, a curvature of the spine; and Scheuermann’s Disease, which causes me real problems. The vertebrae in my spine are significantly less malleable than most people’s, so it means I am round-shouldered and fixed in that position. These give me chronic and severe neck pain and tension, and a reduction in motion and flexibility – a barrier when it comes to expressing and directing with gestures from the podium. Because most of my tension ends up within my nervous system in the base of my neck, if left unattended it severely impacts my vision, concentration and balance.”

So, what can be done to treat these musculoskeletal issues and the migraines, which even specialists struggle to find the cause for? Could something as commonplace and seemingly straightforward as Pilates be the answer, not only to alleviate the symptoms, but also to give Toby the confidence that he could make professional commitments without reservation?

“There is no one answer or panacea. But I’ve found that a solid mental health and mindfulness practice paired with physical therapy, sport, massage and yoga has helped my ability to manage symptoms. I’ve found a real fondness for Pilates which feels like a beautiful combination of mindful, thoughtful practice with movement. As a fast-moving active person, who struggles to sit still and think still, it’s been a revelation. For my kind of problems, it seems to really work.”

But, of course, to get to this point where Toby has found a fruitful way of managing his problems, takes a lot of time, and in many cases, money. This is where support was needed, and why he turned to RSM for help, along with Help Musicians UK.

“With the musculoskeletal stuff, the only thing that really gives me any relief is regularity of activity. But doing pilates once a week is prohibitively expensive, let alone including physiotherapy and swimming on top of that, which is what my body needs as a baseline.

“Thanks to recent appointments with the National Migraine Centre, I’ve been exploring a medication that I’m pleased to report appears to have significantly reduced the number of migraines I get over a long period.

“I’ve always had the feeling that my body has been holding me back. The support I’ve received from RSM and Help Musicians has helped to reduce that feeling as I’ve been able to explore these routes to long term sustainable health, and seek specialists when symptoms escalate. Doing the work to get into the best possible state, making progress, although I don’t know what my best possible state is yet, is incredibly motivating.”

Do you or a fellow music professional you know need support? Contact RSM today on 020 7629 6137 or [email protected]

To follow Toby’s work, visit his website, or follow Zeitgeist and 19th Circle