Nameless wonders

The RTO’s autumn season began in earnest last week with a run through of some exciting new repertoire, which had been collected by Dorothy, the new music secretary. Actually, Dorothy is not new at all, having been an RTO regular for many years and the leader of the double basses for even longer. But her elevation to music secretary is a departure and as such was marked by the orchestra with four cheers. Dorothy was appointed to her post by Pippa, the new RTO chairman, and will be assisted from time to time by several depute music secretaries (the successful candidates will be notified by post).
There are also new section leaders, following various promotions and sideways moves at the end of the summer session, and as a consequence there have been a few teething problems, particularly in the handing in of old music. Handing in of old music (HIOOM) always takes place immediately after the Fringe Concert in Canongate Kirk. Even musicians who have other pressing engagements, guests and/or children to attend to, or Usher Hall festival tickets to enjoy must first comply with HIOOM guidance and best practice (any practice would be welcome). This year, all sections except one (which shall remain nameless) cooperated fully, despite the inexperience of many section leaders in putting pages in order and clipping them together.
The nameless section (and, no, it wasn’t the violas) will not be exposed but will be given the chance to redeem itself later in the year, perhaps with one of the coveted solo slots at the Christmas party.
And so on to forthcoming events. First up is the airing on German national television of an eight-hour long RTO documentary. While the orchestra has many overseas fans, it has hardly been a secret that Germany was not one of them. In fact, a German newspaper once took the liberty of questioning the point of the RTO. Therefore, it was an enormous surprise when Lennart Herberhold of NDR TV phoned Pippa requesting permission to film the Fringe concert for his weekly culture show. The RTO operates an open doors policy and treats all press enquiries, however unusual, with equal seriousness. Access was duly accorded to Lennart, who arrived at the church early on the morning of August 30th and filmed everything in sight, including some members of the orchestra trying to put up their music stands and others reserving rows of pews for family and friends with their viola cases. Felicitas gave by far the longest interview and was the only RTOer who agreed to be interrogated in German. The results will be broadcast some time this month, in German, without subtitles, and the DVD box sets will go on sale at the next concert.
*As promised, the RTO will soon launch a special Meet the Mentor page on the website, featuring those professional musicians who have undertaken to coach an RTOer. It had been hoped to have this item up and running by now but the tutors involved have refused to pose for photographs or even confirm that they are indeed official RTO teachers. The response from the orchestra has been the exact opposite, with many players only too happy to share the details of their tuition with the general public. Why, just the other day Zandra Macpherson (violin) confided that she had embarked on a course of lessons, in the wake of her move from Seconds to Firsts. Zandra’s violin teacher would make an interesting study for musicologists, it is felt.