Scottish Ensemble Residencies: The View from a Young Artist Part 2

Talented violinists and SE Young Artists Katrina Lee and Wen Wang continue our residency blog as the Ensemble travels to Dundee for another 4-day residency. 

After our first main concert in Inverness, everyone clambered onto the coach with bottles and nibbles! What a fantastic way to spend the time travelling to Dundee and to celebrate after the first ‘From Russia with Love’ concert!

The first day in Dundee was a visit to the Dundee high school and my first experience of coaching a high school string orchestra and quartet! Watching the first group with Laura, Bas and Diane was so interesting! With Laura directing, the whole ensemble was listening to her fun ways of experimenting, such as holding the bow a bit higher and other suggestions. Next was our group, which I was feeling rather nervous about it but with Rakhi leading the session, she again like Laura had the attention of the group and really was great with getting them to try using different bow lengths to achieve the style. I definitely learned a lot from just observing them about how to lead and coach these young adults!

The evening session was coaching the string players that would be joining us for our last concert in Dundee in the Caird Hall. The Scottish Ensemble would be joined by players from different schools and orchestras for the first piece in the concert by Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile. Jon led this session to create the beautiful, sweet, soft cushion of sound that he wanted from the players. The session finished by 7.30pm and as it was quite early, we decided to have some food and catch a film at Dundee Contemporary Arts. We had to quickly order some burgers and scoff them down as the film was shortly starting! The film was Jon’s recommendation, the new Woody Allen film Blue Jasmine. After being a bit dubious about it, I ended up thoroughly enjoying it! The night finished with a few drinks with the rest of the Ensemble joining us after their coaching session had ended.

SE coaching session with young musicians

Our second day in Dundee was the evening tea dance in the Marryat Hall which was absolutely the perfect location for a tea dance.  This time the Tea Dance was in the evening which mean instead of tea and cake there would be fizz and canapés, (which the Ensemble members got very excited about too)! Our afternoon rehearsal in the hall was a good way to refresh our memories from the previous tea dance we had done in Inverness and the suggestion to open up the curtains on the stage and opposite side of the hall to reveal two HUGE mirrors created a very dramatic and glamorous effect.

The Tea Dance was great fun again and a wonderful evening for all who attended. The only dance that nobody dared to come forward to the floor was the Paso Doble…Perhaps Jenny and Thorben from the SE office can learn it for next year and take to the dance floor with flourish to show them how it’s done?!
Katrina Lee 

After lots of beautiful tea dance music last night, everyone kept singing the tune from ‘Moonlight’ and talking about how they enjoyed the music and the wonderful audience at the Tea Dance.

The next day we went to Bharatiya Ashram (Dudhope Centre) the next day, although the very windy weather made it difficult for us to get there! We performed jazz and light Latin music for a friendly, enthusiastic audience. After the performance, we had some nice tea and biscuits with the audience in the community centre. We had a good chat, and they told us that we should come on a Sunday next time, as there is very nice Chinese buffet every week! Later, we went to McManus Gallery and performed ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’, arranged for three violins and bass. We also performed one of my favourite pieces, Czardas, which was well loved by the audience.

A performance in the grand surroundings of the McManus Gallery

On the last day of the tour, we had our main concert in Dundee Caird Hall. My highlight was Tchaikovsky’s Andante Cantabile, which we performed with around 80 young and amateur musicians. The young players were all string players from schools in Dundee and I was very impressed by them. They were hard-working and they had improved greatly during the course of the day. We rehearsed alone in the afternoon and then joined the children later for a half hour rehearsal in the Caird Hall.

A packed stage at the Caird Hall during the rehearsal

Our concert programme was Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile, Shostakovich String Quartet No.2 and Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings. The acoustic of the beautiful Caird Hall was just brilliant. Playing with the Scottish Ensemble was a great experience for me and it was very inspiring.

Dundee’s Caird Hall and newly renovated city square
Wen Wang

Scottish Ensemble Residencies: The View from a Young Artist

The Scottish Ensemble Young Artist Scheme gives some of the brightest young string players the opportunity to perform alongside SE and benefit from coaching and mentoring. Viola player and SE Young Artist Morag Robertson – a recent graduate from St Mary’s Music School and now at the Royal College of Music – blogs from our 2013 Inverness Residency.

September had come and it was time for another Scottish Ensemble residency, this time back in the beautiful city of Inverness. This was the third set of residencies I have joined the Ensemble in as a Young Artist so I had an idea of what to expect but, as ever, the management team had a couple of fresh projects up their sleeves.

After a pleasant train journey up from Glasgow, we arrived in Inverness in the early afternoon with time to check-in to the hotel, grab some lunch and head across the river to Eden Court where our afternoon of rehearsals were to take place. We were rehearsing for the following evening’s event ‘SE Sessions’ which would show off the Ensemble in new ways with solo and small group performances in an informal environment. The afternoon ended with a run-through of the programme and it was great fun hearing everyone play in this setting as the Ensemble spends so much time playing all together, but very rarely to each other. Although some people said to play in front of your peers felt a little like an audition!

In the evening, the Ensemble split off into two groups. Some of us went to rehearse for the afternoon sextet concert which would take place the following morning whilst the rest of the players remained at Eden Court to take a coaching session with the Highland Council Strings.

The next morning was an early start for some with a sextet rehearsal before the afternoon performance. The programme was Haydn’s charming String Quartet Op.33 No.2, “The Joke” and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence  for which Eden Court proved to be a beautiful setting. The concert went very well and it was a fantastic experience for me as an SE Young Artist to play alongside such brilliant musicians.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Ensemble were scattered in small groups around the city to visit and perform chamber music in care homes and community centres.

SE musicians perform for residents at Southside Nursing Home, Inverness

Later on we all met at Hootananny, a pub and live-music venue in Inverness, where there was a bit of excitement around what was to unfold in our evening event, SE Sessions. Group by group we took to the stage and performed to a slightly more rowdy audience than we were used to. Highlight performances included Jon and Andy’s ‘Clapping Music’ by Steve Reich, Naomi and Ali’s ‘Four hands, one cello’ and a tag team style rendition of Mendelssohn’s Octet, cleverly named ‘Tagtet’!

SE cellos Ali and Naomi with ‘Four hands, one cello’

More fun was planned for the following day with a Flashmob at the Eastgate Shopping Centre where the Ensemble was joined by some young players of the Highland Council Strings for a surprise performance. Gliding down an escalator, we played Pachelbel’s Canon and ended with a performance of the last movement from Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite.

SE musicians bravely keep playing as they descend the escalator

Having already checked out of our hotel that morning, and some time before the next event, some of us were in desperate need of somewhere to rest. It had been a busy few days!

SE violin, Sophie, takes a nap before our next performance

The afternoon followed with another of the Ensemble’s glamorous Tea Dances. A mixture of the beautifully set Town Hall, music brilliantly arranged by Jamie Manson (Di’s husband), a last minute investment for a set of maracas (allowing Thorben, Chief Exec., to make his cameo appearance as a percussionist) and some very impressive and enthusiastic dancing made it a very special occasion.

.Thorben (in a suit and tie) with maracas

Unfortunate timing of the Inverness Marathon, which would take place the next day, meant all the hotels in Inverness were booked up so we had to interrupt our residency in Inverness for the night and travel to a bed and breakfast in Nairn. After a filling curry and a bit of hanging around for a delayed coach, we made it to Nairn where for many of us a much needed sleep was in order.

The final day of our residency had sadly arrived but what a glorious way to start the day with a stroll along the beach in Nairn.

A beautiful morning on Nairn beach 

SE Young Artists (from left to right) Morag Robertson, Katrina Lee and Wen Wang

Feeling somewhat more refreshed, we got onto the coach back to Inverness and with some time to fill before our rehearsal for the concert that evening, a few of us went to cheer on the marathon runners. Naomi showed particular skill in encouraging the runners to keep going!

The final performance of our 4-day residency in Inverness was the main-season concert at Eden Court. It was an all-Russian programme titled ‘From Russia With Love’ and included Tchaikovsky’s Andante Cantabile from the first string quartet, Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 2 and Two Pieces for Octet, and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. On stage there was an exciting buzz and the audience were very enthusiastic. It was a fantastic end to our four-day stay in Inverness. We finished the concert with Jamie Manson’s arrangement the James Bond theme ‘From Russia with Love’ as an encore.

As soon as the concert came to an end, we quickly made our way to the coach for a late night journey down to Dundee. With surplus supplies of drinks and snacks on the way, we made it to the hotel in the early hours of the morning. One residency completed another one just about to begin.

SE Young Artists Katrina Lee and Wen Wang continue the residency blogging from Dundee. To be posted soon. 

Scottish Ensemble 2013 Aberdeen Residency

SE double bass, Diane Clark, took some time out of our action-packed Aberdeen Residency  to record some of her highlights…

Day 1
The train pulls into a sunny and warm Aberdeen. Hurrah! Lashings of ginger beer for me as I head straight to Pret a Manger. We check in and head off to the Lemon Tree venue, our base for the next five days.

When we arrive the smell of stale beer is strangely comforting, less so the sticky floor! The hard work of our first day of rehearsals in Glasgow has paid off and we seem to be in good shape, unlike poor our leader Jon who has put his back out and has to top himself up with painkillers every couple of hours. It’s time to get that tour physio! We stop at five and have the luxury of a two-hour break which I spend with Liza (violin) at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant. One Shetland salmon and crab spaghettini later we head back to start our first coaching session with Grampian Youth Orchestra.

Xander (violin) takes the rehearsal in great style – the makings of a future conductor? And we launch into Tchaikovsky’s 4^th Symphony. I haven’t played this piece since I was in youth orchestra over …erm… 20(!) years ago so it’s a bit of a shock for the first five minutes but then all those sectionals I sat through years ago pay off and soon my fingers are moving from memory. The kids sound great and soon get to grips with the music for our pop up concert which includes one of my favourites – Pachelbel’s Canon. I never tire of it. Four notes ALL in first position. Tick. And so to bed and a lie-in, an even bigger tick.

Day 2
It’s a slow start to the day with most people spending the morning practicing in their hotel rooms. Thankfully they seem well insulated.

We split into three groups in the afternoon playing at various community centres and care homes. Our group consists of myself and four violins, which turns out to be great fun as we romp our way through some Piazzolla. The violins whizz up and down their instruments like true Latinos while I’m stumped by a tune all in harmonics at the end of my fingerboard. Thorben helpfully says I sound like a distressed seal. With that in mind I clap my hands and find a darkened room for some private practice.

Soon we arrive at Newton Dee Community Centre and receive the warmest reception I’ve experienced yet. They start clapping BEFORE we’ve even got on stage. Very encouraging. If only they’d start chanting it would feel like the O2 Arena.

In high spirits we head back for our evening rehearsal. Notes, notes and mores notes.

A well deserved pint at Brew Dog and a cheese platter help end the day. I dream about seals….happy ones.

Day 3
My day begins in the empty shell of a Jane Norman store. This is not a result of too many Punk IPA’s but because it’s time for the Flash Mob rehearsal with the various local youth orchestras. The violins and violas have to practise walking whilst playing Pachelbel’s Canon. No mean feat or should that be “feet”? groan, while the basses and cellos get the easier job of sitting in Costa.

The idea is to sit casually in the shopping centre drinking coffee and eating cake (not a problem) till we hear the dulcet tones of approaching violins at which point we are to whip out our instruments and join in, hopefully to rapturous applause from a surprised public. All goes smoothly, phew.

That done there is just time for food and a lie down before our evening event- Shostakovich Undressed. We are to play the Chamber Symphony while three burlesque dancers perform on stage. Unsurprisingly the ladies of SE have been agonising about what to wear for weeks so we’re rather unimpressed at Tristan’s (violin) suggestion contribution of “rolling his sleeves up” to get in the mood. We needn’t have worried though as the boys come up trumps for the show and look fantastic!

Sound installations followed by some black and white film of Stalin’s Russia with a dance interpretation alongside take the event into the night. It is rounded off with some DJs laying down beats to Shozza. Some of us head to Brew Dog for a quick drink then bed. Tomorrow is going to need every grey cell we have left.

Day 4
Today is the final event in our Aberdeen residency. It’s been such a busy and varied schedule that I feel we’ve been here for far more than just four days. It’s Cathy’s birthday today so she receives the obligatory atonal rendition of “Happy Birthday” at the start of the rehearsal. There are a pile of presents under her chair and a flaming cake arrives just as we play the last bars of Shostakovich’s second string quartet.

Fortified with tea and cake, I start setting up my bass with a pick-up for the sound check with Clachan Yell who we’re joining later in a post-concert ceilidh. That done, there’s just time for some last minute practise before myself and Laura have to attend a civic reception. By now we are getting slightly anxious about fitting in a meal before the concert. As a musician much of your day revolves around food as you never know quite when you’ll eat again. So it is with great relief that we spy some trays of finger food in a corner of the reception room.

Some self control is needed though. I try to mingle less with the canapés and more with our guests but I soon find myself inhaling a tray of mini cottage pies and spinach tartlets….Speeches done, I need to get horizontal and checkout the tennis score.

7.30pm arrives all too quickly. Our evening concert starts with a repeat of the Flash Mob we did in the Bon Accord the day before. The kids perform really well and afterwards take a seat in the hall to listen to the rest of the concert. Jon’s solos are heartbreakingly beautiful (don’t blush) and perfectly supported by the rest of the strings. It’s a privilege to sit amidst their sound. I can listen to more of the concert than you’d imagine. Less notes are an advantage of being a bass player. I leave the stage feeling exhausted, a bit relieved, aching but moreover extremely proud to be part of such a lovely group.

Beers are handed out as we clamber onto the larger stage and get folky. I mostly play D and A which is fine by me as it means I can dance and play at the same time.

The crowd soon start to rev up as do we, flinging each other around in a never ending Orcadian Strip the Willow. Ceilidhs should be on the NHS they’re so good for you! We keep going till just before midnight when thankfully the doors are opened and the sweat of a mixed sauna escapes into the night. People flood out onto Union Street and go their separate ways.

Fusion Bar. Mojitos. Bed. Night, night Aiberdeen it’s been grand.