The revelation that Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma* and other world acclaimed musicians were not actually playing the music that was heard during an outdoors concert for President Obama raised a few eyebrows in RTO circles. Although these first class performers (Perlman and Ma, not members of the RTO) had a perfectly reasonable explanation – the sub zero temperatures in Washington that day would have damaged their extremely delicate and precious ‘primary’** instruments – some in Edinburgh felt a little smug. For while the Scottish orchestra cannot claim to be in the same league musically as Perlman and co, they have never – repeat never – pre-recorded a performance and then mimed on the night. Certain elements of certain sections (not mentioning any names!) do mime certain passages of music within the context of a live concert. This is completely different from what Perlman and Ma did.
On the subject of violas, one of the RTO’s longest serving players, trombonist Quinton Stewart, has decided to retire and there is therefore a rare vacancy in the brass section. What might this have to do with violas? Well, it was agreed during the last RTO rehearsal that if a suitable replacement for Quinton is not found quickly, an existing RTO musician will be put forward for re-training. And the fairly unanimous decision was that it should be a viola, for two reasons: 1) there are no medics in the viola section and it was felt that brass should now open its ranks to those outside the medical profession, and 2) the trombone offers an RTO violist a fresh challenge with a new approach and this may be all it takes to release any musical potential so far inhibited by the current instrument. At the next RTO rehearsal, there will be a lucky dip among the violas, the winner of which will move immediately to brass, unless a last minute application is received from elsewhere.
Other recent changes to the orchestra’s make-up include the introduction of guest percussionist Gary, filling in temporarily for Neil Smith on drums. The RTO was very fortunate to secure the services of Gary as a drummer, particularly as he is a professional dancer and the RTO doesn’t attract many professional artistes.
And so to New York, where ticket sales for April 1 are nudging towards the 700 mark. This is extremely encouraging, as is the news that another really terrible ensemble is germinating in North America, accidentally inspired by a clip of the RTO spotted on YouTube. David from Inuvik, above the Arctic Circle in the western part of Canada, has emailed to say: ‘We are a small community band that is just starting up with a number of people learning new instruments…Inuvik is about 3000 people and it’s presently -36C here.’
That is cold! The RTO sends the Inuvik Really Terrible Band its warmest wishes and suggests secondary instruments only (indoors and out).
* Yo-Yo Ma is the brother of Dr Yeou-Cheng Ma who runs the Children’s Orchestra Society of New York, a charity supported by the RTO.
** RTO players who have both primary and secondary instruments are advised to bring the latter to New York, just in case the orchestra receives any impromptu requests to perform outside.
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
RTObama! Purpose over discord!
As the world watched President Barack Obama’s historic inauguration and listened, hushed, as he ushered in a new era of responsibility, a tingle went down many spines, not least here in Edinburgh, home of the RTO. Though it might seem strange that the best ever President would have anything to say to the worst ever orchestra, there were moments when he spoke directly to the musically disadvantaged of Scotland’s capital, no doubt about it. Who else could President Obama have been referring to when he declared: ‘The challenges are real. They are serious and many. But know this America – they will be met.’
These exact words – or something uncannily similar – have been drummed into the musicians of the RTO week after week, as they embark on their first US tour. The Chairman may lack the basso profundo of the 44th President, he may not pull quite the same crowds, but in full flow he, too, can reduce grown men and women to tears.
The challenges facing the RTO are indeed real, serious and many but they will be met. The feeling here is that America already knows this, as evidenced in advance ticket sales for the New York debut concert on April 1st. At the last count, a staggering 600 seats had been sold which, with 70 days still to go, is a sure sign that Americans have chosen purpose over discord (‘harsh confused mingling of sounds’), and hope over fear (or should that be reason?)
Further proof that hope springs eternal lies in the formation of the Really Terrible Orchestra of Westchester, the third Stateside band to spring up in the RTO’s wake and be welcomed into the League of Terrible Orchestras (LOTOs). To mark the post-inauguration rekindling of the special relationship between ordinary Britons and Americans, the RTO Chairman wishes it to be known that the RTO is willing to share best practice (for those that do) with the LOTOs.
In particular, he is keen to highlight the self-promotion scheme, so far peculiar to the RTO, which has done much to improve mobility, especially from the second violins to the firsts (see player biogs), and promote access.
There is also a tandem self-selection scheme whereby people can ‘select’ themselves for different sections of the orchestra, which helps explain the presence of clarinettists among the violins, cellists with chin rests, and so on. There is a little used de-selection scheme, too, which only Sir Richard, the musical director, can invoke: players exhibiting undue skill on one instrument can be asked to transfer to another, preferably from a different family - viola to tuba, for instance, though de-selection has certainly never been required in RTO violas!
For all the latest RTO news in the countdown to April 1 watch this space!
These exact words – or something uncannily similar – have been drummed into the musicians of the RTO week after week, as they embark on their first US tour. The Chairman may lack the basso profundo of the 44th President, he may not pull quite the same crowds, but in full flow he, too, can reduce grown men and women to tears.
The challenges facing the RTO are indeed real, serious and many but they will be met. The feeling here is that America already knows this, as evidenced in advance ticket sales for the New York debut concert on April 1st. At the last count, a staggering 600 seats had been sold which, with 70 days still to go, is a sure sign that Americans have chosen purpose over discord (‘harsh confused mingling of sounds’), and hope over fear (or should that be reason?)
Further proof that hope springs eternal lies in the formation of the Really Terrible Orchestra of Westchester, the third Stateside band to spring up in the RTO’s wake and be welcomed into the League of Terrible Orchestras (LOTOs). To mark the post-inauguration rekindling of the special relationship between ordinary Britons and Americans, the RTO Chairman wishes it to be known that the RTO is willing to share best practice (for those that do) with the LOTOs.
In particular, he is keen to highlight the self-promotion scheme, so far peculiar to the RTO, which has done much to improve mobility, especially from the second violins to the firsts (see player biogs), and promote access.
There is also a tandem self-selection scheme whereby people can ‘select’ themselves for different sections of the orchestra, which helps explain the presence of clarinettists among the violins, cellists with chin rests, and so on. There is a little used de-selection scheme, too, which only Sir Richard, the musical director, can invoke: players exhibiting undue skill on one instrument can be asked to transfer to another, preferably from a different family - viola to tuba, for instance, though de-selection has certainly never been required in RTO violas!
For all the latest RTO news in the countdown to April 1 watch this space!
Saturday, 10 January 2009
New Year, New York!
In this, the year of the RTO’s American debut, players have embarked on a rigorous rehearsal schedule in preparation for the big day (April 1!). We meet next week, for the first time since December 6, in what promises to be a lively session, especially if the musical director feels able to make an announcement regarding the New York programme.
Pippa Lockhart, first trumpet and musical secretary, will be filling in for the Chairman of the New York Committee, Zandra Macpherson (who is exploring future concert opportunities in New Zealand), and hopefully providing an update on ticket sales. All eyes and ears of the orchestra will be on you, Pippa!
The work of the committee has continued over the holiday period – in fact, has intensified – with a number of notable changes in strategy worth mentioning. Most significant is the rearrangement of committee meetings from Tuesday afternoons at Zandra’s to Monday afternoons at Pippa’s. This suits Pippa, though not necessarily all the other committee members. It has been suggested that shifting the meetings to St George’s School for Girls on Wednesday nights, half an hour before RTO rehearsals begin, would not only be more convenient for some of us but would also save on emissions, very much an RTO objective. But as several committee members cannot make the earlier time of 7pm, a practical solution has been put forward by Sir Richard, the musical director. Rather than having the meetings before the rehearsal, it might be more productive, said Sir Richard, to have them during the rehearsal (while sight reading, say, or playing scales) and this way add to the skill sets of everyone present. This is something that will be discussed, no doubt, on Wednesday.
Another slight change in plan concerns the hiring of instruments in New York. The committee’s director of instrument hire, Susie Stevenson (the RTO Chairman’s wife), believes she has found an excellent musical instruments store in New York but advises that because of the great demand for instruments in that city, some RTO musicians may not get exactly the instrument they have requested. For example, while there are plenty of double basses, there may not be enough horns to go round on the day. Violins, too, are obviously very popular and likely to run out. Of course, this is a worst case scenario and possibly everyone will get their first choice of instrument, but Susie just says we should be prepared to be flexible on this matter and take what we get.
There now follows a statement from the Chairman, Peter Stevenson: ‘A happy New Year to family, friends and fans of the RTO, without whom New York would not be possible. And a very big thank you to the committee, whose tireless efforts will go unrewarded.’
* For those who still haven’t bought their tickets for the RTO’s New York Town Hall appearance don’t delay – there are only 80 shopping days left!
* For all the latest RTO news in the countdown to April 1 watch this space!
Pippa Lockhart, first trumpet and musical secretary, will be filling in for the Chairman of the New York Committee, Zandra Macpherson (who is exploring future concert opportunities in New Zealand), and hopefully providing an update on ticket sales. All eyes and ears of the orchestra will be on you, Pippa!
The work of the committee has continued over the holiday period – in fact, has intensified – with a number of notable changes in strategy worth mentioning. Most significant is the rearrangement of committee meetings from Tuesday afternoons at Zandra’s to Monday afternoons at Pippa’s. This suits Pippa, though not necessarily all the other committee members. It has been suggested that shifting the meetings to St George’s School for Girls on Wednesday nights, half an hour before RTO rehearsals begin, would not only be more convenient for some of us but would also save on emissions, very much an RTO objective. But as several committee members cannot make the earlier time of 7pm, a practical solution has been put forward by Sir Richard, the musical director. Rather than having the meetings before the rehearsal, it might be more productive, said Sir Richard, to have them during the rehearsal (while sight reading, say, or playing scales) and this way add to the skill sets of everyone present. This is something that will be discussed, no doubt, on Wednesday.
Another slight change in plan concerns the hiring of instruments in New York. The committee’s director of instrument hire, Susie Stevenson (the RTO Chairman’s wife), believes she has found an excellent musical instruments store in New York but advises that because of the great demand for instruments in that city, some RTO musicians may not get exactly the instrument they have requested. For example, while there are plenty of double basses, there may not be enough horns to go round on the day. Violins, too, are obviously very popular and likely to run out. Of course, this is a worst case scenario and possibly everyone will get their first choice of instrument, but Susie just says we should be prepared to be flexible on this matter and take what we get.
There now follows a statement from the Chairman, Peter Stevenson: ‘A happy New Year to family, friends and fans of the RTO, without whom New York would not be possible. And a very big thank you to the committee, whose tireless efforts will go unrewarded.’
* For those who still haven’t bought their tickets for the RTO’s New York Town Hall appearance don’t delay – there are only 80 shopping days left!
* For all the latest RTO news in the countdown to April 1 watch this space!
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