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Scrapers & Tooters Edinburgh
Last weekend was a very busy weekend for SCO Education. Scrapers & Tooters returned to Edinburgh with 63 enthusiastic amateur musicians from across the country. Dedicated scrapers travelled from as far a field as Nairn and Jedburgh. We were lucky to have David Watkin, SCO principal cellist, conducting an adventurous programme for the weekend. Since it was Valentine's weekend, we had to play something with a love theme, we chose the Love Scene from Berlioz's Romeo & Juliet. A very hard piece, but the orchestra managed to play most of the tricky passages! Also in the programme was Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, a great favourite of the SCO.
A fantastic team of SCO musicians were on hand all weekend to take sectionals and help with all those tricky bits. With a few hours of sectionals each day, there was more than enough time to master those difficult passages. On valentine's day one tutor even got bunch of flowers from an admirer!
The only thing to keep this huge orchestra going for the weekend was copius amounts of tea and biscuits. We take our tea very seriously here at SCO Education! An estimated 337 cups of tea were drunk and 422 biscuits eaten over the weekend. I put this amount down to the huge number of accidentals in the Berlioz!
The weekend was rounded off with an informal concert to family and friends to show off everyone's hard work over the weekend. The orchestra received very enthusiastic applause from a supportive audience.
Thanks to all the tutors and David for their hard work over the weekend. Well done to everyone who struggled through those horrible key signatures and counted their many bars rest!
Scrapers visits Glasgow in March, we'll see many of you there.....
Berlioz Bus
Dr Michael Downes, Director of Music at the University of St Andrews shares the thoughts of some of the passengers aboard the SCO's Berlioz Bus to Edinburgh last week.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra's five visits each year to St Andrews are always strongly supported, but the relatively modest size of the Younger Hall inevitably means that there are many attractive programmes that the Orchestra is unable to bring to Fife, particularly those involving the SCO Chorus or large numbers of soloists.
The SCO and the University of St Andrews recently teamed up to provide an innovative response to this, by offering St Andrews concert-goers the chance to pick up a bus from the Younger Hall to attend the Orchestra's Edinburgh performance of Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ, conducted by Robin Ticciati with soloists Karen Cargill, Yann Beuron, Ronan Collett and Matthew Rose and the SCO Chorus prepared by its new Chorusmaster Gregory Batsleer. The initiative was warmly welcomed by regular members of SCO's St Andrews audience.
Kerry Tavakoli, who teaches English Language Teaching for the University, said that the Berlioz Bus was "a wonderful idea, because it made it so easy for St Andrews people to go to the Usher Hall to hear music they were keen to hear but may not have been able to without the bus. It is the perfect solution for those who love good music and appreciate the SCO."
Graeme Scott, a former member of the University's Court commented on how well organised the arrangements were: "We arrived in good time for a snack and David Cairns' fascinating pre-concert talk, and returned well before the coach turned into a pumpkin!"
The Orchestra's superb performance in the refurbished Usher Hall was warmly appreciated by everyone present: Judy Gillespie wrote to the SCO and said: "I wasn't the only one with a stray tear to be wiped at the end. I hope all the soloists, chorus and musicians, chorus master and conductor could feel the audience's concentration."
Everyone on the bus hoped that this was an experiment that would be repeated, allowing St Andrews music-lovers still more opportunity to benefit from the SCO's unique relationship with the University as its Orchestra in Residence.
Ariadne on Chandos
Not a bad recording studio? © Su-a Lee
The final recording session felt somewhat emotional. The end of a musical voyage. Nobody really seemed to want it to end...we had all been so intent on getting the recording to feel right, that when it came to that final take when we realised that there was nothing further to correct, it felt like a slightly premature, yet fond, farewell.
Last minute preparations. © Su-a Lee
The music itself is largely to blame for these feelings, as it is truly sublime and such a joy to play. Not to mention that most of us didn't previously know the opera very well and loved getting to know it. Plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat at all times! We also have Sir Richard Armstrong to thank, as he knew the score inside out and guided us through it with expertise and obvious affection.
Producer Brian Pidgeon gives Sir Richard some conducting tips! © Su-a Lee
The team from the Chandos record label was also a joy to work with....extremely efficient and brilliantly acute on the playbacks. They also proved themselves to have a healthy dose of humour, by gently teasing the violas with a small practical joke on the final playback. On more than one occasion, the opera, became referred to as "Ariadne on Chandos" rather than the official "Ariadne auf Naxos", often by the singers substituting their lines!
Bradley and Ruth compete highest position on the violin © Su-a Lee
There is never a dull moment in the violin section © Su-a Lee
Despite the obvious joy surrounding the project, there is no doubt that we all missed Sir Charles tremendously, who, as I mentioned in the earlier blogs, had very reluctantly felt obliged to pull out of the recordings due to ill-health. A personal message from him was passed around the whole orchestra. We were all greatly moved.
Maxi, Nikita and Alison certainly enjoyed themselves! © Su-a Lee
But all things considered, we were very lucky. A top-notch, fabulous cast of singers, singing an amazing Strauss opera, conducted by the superb Sir Richard Armstrong, with a wonderful recording company. All we need now, is for you, the public, to buy it when it's released this autumn!
Producer Brian, feeling jubliant at the end of the recording sessions, and the Control Room! © Su-a Lee
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