Blog
Masterworks: a player's perspective from the audience
How lovely to be able to bask in the glory of being part of the SCO, without actually having to do the hard work. On Monday night I went along to hear my colleagues play MacMillan’s Tryst, presented by Paul Rissmann. [This title word is defined rather prosaically in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘appointed meeting’, and, to clear up some confusion in my mind at least, can apparently be pronounced with a long or a short ‘y’.] Nothing prosaic about the piece or performance though, and now, as I write, they are all off presenting and performing the work to schools around Scotland.
Some may well wonder what a performer is doing at work, albeit in the audience, on her night off – but it is not often you get the chance to hear such interesting music so clearly and well presented. And why should the schools be the only ones to benefit from this enlightening experience? This work was new to me, and thanks to Rissmann, Jim Lowe and the SCO, it is now infinitely more accessible to me than had I not attended and had my ears opened by the team on stage.
We will all be playing this piece later in the season, and now, thanks to the Masterworks project being opened up to the non-school-aged public, it is one work I no longer feel daunted by, but can look forward to enjoying. Thanks for doing the hard work for us SCO – think I’ll just put the kettle on...
Masterworks 09
We'll we've just wrapped up 2 hectic weeks of Masterworks Player visits to schools all over Scotland. We've been to 38 schools, have seen 890 pupils and delivered 47 sessions - whew! SCO players Peter Franks, Adrian Bornet, Lorna McLaren, Alison Green, Alison Mitchell, Harry Johnstone and Aisling O'Dea have travelled from Doon Academy in Dalmellington right up to Fraserburgh Academy visiting the schools in pairs. They've been giving these pupils an insight into James MacMillan's Tryst through instrument demonstrations, delving into the history of the work, and also getting the pupils up on their feet exploring the rythmical complexity of McMillan's composition techniques. Using a Resource Pack prepared by Paul Rissmann for the teachers, the players worked with the pupils on practical Creative Activities, encouraging improvisation and creativity. Now everyone's up to speed on the background of Tryst, they're all ready to come along to see the full SCO led by James Lowe in action with Paul Rissmann presenting in Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Edinburgh next week. For quite a high number of these pupils it will the very first time they've seen an orchestra live, so it's very exciting for us to be taking live orchestral music to so many pupils all over Scotland. And don't forget that anyone can come along to see what Masterworks is all about next Monday night - tickets are still available for the public performance at the Queen's Hall.
The ultimate fireworks music
Handel would have been proud on Sunday; the SCO brought the Edinburgh International Festival to a close with a fabulously zingy performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks, Zadok the Priest, the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and the Hallelujah Chorus.
The SCO Chorus were mick-ed up like pop stars although I'm sure proper pop stars don't normally wear as many layers of clothing, even for outdoor gigs! The Orchestra had their clothes pegs to hold their sheet music in place, in case the wind whisked it all away!
What a great night. Here's to the Edinburgh International Festival 2009 and long live the Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert!
-- Lauren, SCO Marketing
Save money with an SCO concert subscription and get a free concert, £5 CD voucher and many other benefits.
Become an SCO Patron, join the 250 Society, take advantage of sponsorship opportunities or our Corporate Members scheme.
