It's a love story: new album by Music alumnus and wife
Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd. Image: Harold Levine
ANU School of Music alumnus and classical guitarist Rupert Boyd first met cellist Laura Metcalf backstage at a concert they were both performing at.
“I recall trying to speak with her without much success at all,” Rupert says. He attributes his unluckiness to the fact that Laura was about to go onstage.
That was 2009 and in New York, where Rupert has been based for the past 13 years. They continued to bump into each other at other concerts over the years, and finally had their first date in 2012.
“We started playing music together quite early in our courtship, mostly for fun,” Boyd says.
“We enjoyed it so much that we put together a full programme and gave our first concerts together as a duo in 2013.”
They’ve since celebrated the release of their debut album as a duo, Boyd Meets Girl, which is a collection of their favourite pieces they’ve performed together.
“Cello and guitar is not a particularly common ensemble,” he says.
“There is not a vast expanse of repertoire written for the instrument, so we have made a number of arrangements of works that we feel work well for our combination.”
The album features compositions from the baroque through to modern day. It includes a work arranged especially for Rupert and Laura by Australian composer, Ross Edwards, and ends with their performance of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature”.
A year after they married, Rupert and Laura recorded their album at Sono Luminus studios, located in a nearly century-old former Emmanuel Episcopal church. The album is on the Sono Luminus label, which boasts two Grammy Awards and multiple nominations.
“Recording an album can be a stressful situation, and fortunately we made it through the process and out the other end still married!” Rupert says.
The pair will be touring Australia to promote Boyd Meets Girl, which is out now. They’ll be performing in every state and territory starting 25 August. For more details, visit Rupert Boyd’s website.