It’s not often that members of the RTO get asked to perform on television, so when the call came last week – from the Andrew Marr politics show no less – there was great excitement in the ranks. With studio space tight, a representative sample of the orchestra was selected, which meant disappointment for some, but there were no hard feelings. This was a great RTO moment of which everyone could be proud.
Lead by contrabassoonist Alexander McCall Smith, a celebrity the world over (bigger even than Marr himself), the tiny troupe made an early start in front of the cameras, fortified by nothing more than BBC coffee. It is rare for musicians of this calibre to face their public in such a pristine state, and even more unusual for their public, who are accustomed to at least a couple of glasses of wine
With a light dusting of Lancome and no further preamble, the Really Terrible Seven took their places for the warm up. It went rather well. The brass were a little rubbery but there was nothing more challenging than a B flat. As for the strings, they coasted it, perhaps on account of there being no violas in the mix.
Everyone then relaxed and enjoyed the show. What could possibly go wrong? Live television might be daunting for some people but not for the amateur pros of the RTO. Time flew, politicians were wheeled on and off, McCall Smith was hauled back to brighten the tone, and the countdown began.
Five minutes, four…. Ian Rankin, another studio guest, sauntered over. ‘You’ve got to be more terrible,’ he said.
‘Never!’ cried RTO Chairman Peter Stevenson who has made it his life’s ambition to progress to Grade Five clarinet. ‘We will do our best.’
Suddenly, the lights were dazzling, the Seven were hurried to their chairs and Sir Richard, lurking behind the cameras, raised his arm.
‘…it’s called a Lazy Waltz,’ said Marr giving the cue. And that’s when it all went a bit off. Martha nearly knocked over her cello, something she’s never attempted before, and the wind and brass blew it basically. The two violins were fine though.
Afterwards, in the recovery room, the producer said it was great, really er great - she’d only had to cut about four and a half of the five RTO minutes.
For those interested, the results will hopefully appear on this website soon. Truly dedicated fans, however, could always check out the really terrible thing and head to New York. But be quick. At the last count, an unbelievable 930 tickets had been sold for the band’s American debut in the Town Hall. Looks like it’s going to be a sell-out folks!
Monday 16 March 2009
Sunday 1 March 2009
Brief encounter
It was with great excitement that the RTO welcomed the appointment of a new Culture Minister in Scotland. Mike Russell has moved from patrolling the glens as Wildlife Crime Minister to attending the rarefied salons of the beau monde, and is the tenth politician to hold the much coveted arts brief. This suggests that the culture portfolio is not quite the cushy number it sounds, but Mike is more than up to the task.
On assuming control he made a speech to the nation’s arts lovers, immediately finding favour with his in-depth knowledge of their first names and his joined up approach to words.
And he certainly went down well with members of the RTO when he said: ‘Creativity is not the preserve of the gifted few.’ In fact, he could have gone further. In Scotland today it probably helps the career trajectory of the artiste if he or she is without gifts altogether. A new national awards scheme has generously given several thousands of pounds to a mixed bag of cultural endeavours which appear to positively embrace the giftless.
If only the RTO had known in advance of the ‘Inspire’ programme it could have competed alongside the Shetland Islanders who have been handed £165,000 to combine a light show with the traditional art of lace knitting, or the Highlanders who have received £475,000 to produce a submerged dance spectacular with performers in Wellington boots
This all sits very well with the RTO, obviously, which is by definition terrible, and the Chairman is confident he could have put forward a suitably amusing proposal (RTO violas, say, playing Telemann’s Concerto for Viola) to whet the appetites of the Inspire funding committee had he been forewarned of its creative interpretation of creativity.
On the subject of committees, the return to Edinburgh of Zandra Macpherson, who has been wintering in New Zealand, was celebrated by the New York Organising Select Committee. The meeting scheduled for last week at Pippa’s (who has stood in so admirably for Zandra) will now be held this week at Zandra’s, which gives everyone that bit longer to recover.
On the agenda will be the pros and cons of staging an outside broadcast in Times Square in the event that the Town Hall is sold out. Since 800 tickets (give or take 300, depending on who is counting) have been sold, leaving 700 still to shift, the Times Square scenario is a hypothetical one for now, but we shall keep you posted. Watch this space!
* Following a summit in Washington DC between Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the RTO can confirm that the latter will (possibly) be present as one of our VIP guests on April 1st. In what must have been a very busy chat, Mr Salmond nevertheless found a moment to bring up the RTO’s imminent tour and its effect on Stateside music groups. ‘The Secretary of State was clearly impressed by the idea of a small country making a large contribution to a global issue,’ he said.
On assuming control he made a speech to the nation’s arts lovers, immediately finding favour with his in-depth knowledge of their first names and his joined up approach to words.
And he certainly went down well with members of the RTO when he said: ‘Creativity is not the preserve of the gifted few.’ In fact, he could have gone further. In Scotland today it probably helps the career trajectory of the artiste if he or she is without gifts altogether. A new national awards scheme has generously given several thousands of pounds to a mixed bag of cultural endeavours which appear to positively embrace the giftless.
If only the RTO had known in advance of the ‘Inspire’ programme it could have competed alongside the Shetland Islanders who have been handed £165,000 to combine a light show with the traditional art of lace knitting, or the Highlanders who have received £475,000 to produce a submerged dance spectacular with performers in Wellington boots
This all sits very well with the RTO, obviously, which is by definition terrible, and the Chairman is confident he could have put forward a suitably amusing proposal (RTO violas, say, playing Telemann’s Concerto for Viola) to whet the appetites of the Inspire funding committee had he been forewarned of its creative interpretation of creativity.
On the subject of committees, the return to Edinburgh of Zandra Macpherson, who has been wintering in New Zealand, was celebrated by the New York Organising Select Committee. The meeting scheduled for last week at Pippa’s (who has stood in so admirably for Zandra) will now be held this week at Zandra’s, which gives everyone that bit longer to recover.
On the agenda will be the pros and cons of staging an outside broadcast in Times Square in the event that the Town Hall is sold out. Since 800 tickets (give or take 300, depending on who is counting) have been sold, leaving 700 still to shift, the Times Square scenario is a hypothetical one for now, but we shall keep you posted. Watch this space!
* Following a summit in Washington DC between Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the RTO can confirm that the latter will (possibly) be present as one of our VIP guests on April 1st. In what must have been a very busy chat, Mr Salmond nevertheless found a moment to bring up the RTO’s imminent tour and its effect on Stateside music groups. ‘The Secretary of State was clearly impressed by the idea of a small country making a large contribution to a global issue,’ he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
