My name is Maggie Urquhart, and I have been playing the double bass in the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century since 1984. As well as my work with the orchestra, I perform as a freelancer with other orchestras and chamber music ensembles across Europe, teach at the conservatoires in Amsterdam and The Hague, and am working on a PhD at Leiden University on the role of the violone in the music of J.S. Bach.
In my childhood, music was everywhere. I sang in the church choir and started playing the double bass at the age of 11 because the school orchestra was missing that instrument. My mother arranged for me to have an old French double bass with gut strings, and I was taught by an 85-year-old teacher. After a few weeks, he decided it was time to retire, and I started to teach younger children to play the double bass. I haven’t put the instrument down since.
Nevertheless, I first completed a bachelor’s degree at art college before going on to study music. I had a great passion for drawing and painting. But after that year, I realised that the life of a visual artist is very lonely, so I decided to pursue music after all. I came to The Hague at a time when there was no degree programme for double bass yet. Together with my teacher Anthony Woodrow, we effectively invented the course ourselves.
I was soon given the opportunity to play chamber music with the pioneers of that era, such as Sigiswald Kuijken, Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Brüggen, Bob van Asperen, Jos van Immerseel and Lucy van Dael. Rehearsals and concerts were very different back then compared to now. Everyone chain-smoked (the cigarettes were tucked into the scrolls of the instruments whilst playing) and, at the same time, had heated arguments about the interpretation of newly discovered sources. You had to be confident and know your facts!
When the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century began performing works for larger ensembles, I was allowed to join the orchestra alongside my teacher. I was immediately hooked and have been ever since. Working with Frans and his orchestra was different from any other orchestra. It’s hard to put into words what made it so special. But Frans knew how to inspire us, in a way that moved everyone and that everyone understood. He didn’t like authority, was approachable to everyone and loved having strong characters around him. To me, that still characterises the orchestra!
Music defines my life and I don’t have much time for other things. But I absolutely love being out in nature and gardening. If I had more time, I’d become a climate activist!
