SCO News | October 2016

news

INSPIRING AND CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE OF ALL AGES

www.sco.org.uk | Issue 65 | October 2016

Bringing you closer to the sound world of Mozart’s time in these Classical masterpieces

Mozart’s Last Symphonies Also inside: Würzburg Weekend | Gavin Reid | Three New Players

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CONTENTS

Issue 65 | October 2016

4 16

8

12

Regulars

COVER

3 Foreword 4 SCO news 9 60 second interview 10 Recent Recordings 18 Your Orchestra, Your Say

12 Mozart’s Last Symphonies Bringing you closer to the sound world of Mozart’s time in these Classical masterpieces

by Svend Brown

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Others 11 Introducing... Three New Players!

We are delighted to welcome three new string players to the SCO team

4 Royal Terrace Edinburgh EH7 5AB telephone: 0131 557 6800 email: info@sco.org.uk www.sco.org.uk

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The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is a charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039 Company registration No. SC75079

16 Getting Started Our new Chief Executive Gavin Reid’s first few weeks at the SCO

Core funded by

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Foreword Welcome again to SCO News It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to the latest edition of SCO News, the first opportunity I have had to say hello to you directly since I took up my new appointment as Chief Executive at the end of August.

It has been a delightfully busy time getting to know the Orchestra and staff, while I have also had the enjoyment of meeting some of you at our recent summer touring concerts. More about that later in the newsletter.

In this issue, we bring you terrific news about our new string players, Philip, Marcus and Felix who will be joining us for the start of our new season. I am sure you will enjoy hearing them play in the Orchestra in the coming months.

Amongst a whole host of composers, our new Season includes a range of works by Mozart and we are extremely grateful to Baillie Gifford for their continuing support through their sponsorship of our opening concerts, Mozart’s Last Symphonies. We were of course all delighted to see our Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati back on the podium for Berlioz’s Romeo

Gavin Reid

and Juliette at the Edinburgh International Festival. Robin is continuing on his journey of recovery since his back injury earlier this year and we look forward to seeing him again at the start of the new Season. He has however, just been advised to withdraw from the second week of the Season in order to help ensure he makes a full and speedy recovery. It goes without saying that we fully support Robin and while we are disappointed that he won’t be with us to conduct Strauss’ Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, by far the most important thing is his health and continued recuperation. I am delighted to be able to tell you that Thierry Fischer, a long-standing friend of the SCO, with whom many of you will be very familiar, will conduct in Robin’s place.

I would like to say a particular hello to all our new and returning subscribers for the 2016/17 Season. You, our audience, are

absolutely vital to the Orchestra’s performances and I am thrilled to know that not only do we have such incredibly loyal support from so many people but we are also increasing that support every year.

I know that many of you chose to subscribe online for the first time this year. We are very grateful for all the feedback we have received so far, and we are using it to make the process as easy as possible for you for next year.

Finally, I should like to take this opportunity to thank my predecessor Roy McEwan, not only for everything he gave to the SCO over an astonishing 23 years, but also for being so helpful and supportive to me in recent weeks as I started on my journey with this exceptional orchestra.

I very much look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at our upcoming concerts.

With very best wishes to you all.

Gavin Reid Chief Executive

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SCO NEWS A wonderful weekend in Würzburg ––––––

by Stewart Roy, SCO Patron –––––– On Friday 3 June, 38 intrepid supporters of the SCO (just how intrepid will become clearer later) gathered at Edinburgh Airport to fly to Germany to hear the Orchestra perform in the Mozartfest in Würzburg.

After arriving in Stuttgart we travelled by coach to Würzburg via Rothenburg, where our trip down the Romantic Road began. After a stop for lunch in Rothenburg (the location for the outdoor shots in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and a guided walk round the picturesque town centre, we continued on our way to Würzburg.

On the Saturday morning, a number of us enjoyed a guided walking tour of the old town centre, finishing with a visit to the Residenz, where the concert was to take place that evening. The Residenz was built between 1720 and 1744, and is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It is famous for a splendid Baroque staircase, and its centrepiece is the Kaisersaal, where the concert was held.

Summer Palace at Veitshöchheim

There were two festivals in town that weekend, the Mozartfest in which the SCO was participating, the other being a festival of wine, celebrating the local Frankenwein in its distinctive bottle, the ‘Bocksbeutel’. Since our afternoon was free, several of us decided to taste what was on offer in the ‘Weinfest’, on the central Marktplatz.

The purpose of the trip, indeed the highpoint, was the concert given in the evening by the SCO. This included Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20 and his Symphony No 39. The soloist was Kit Armstrong.

His performance combined an impressive sensitivity with outstanding virtuoso technique, moving from an elegiac slow second movement to Mozart’s

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overlooks Würzburg from its vantage point on the hill to the south of the River Main, or to take the trip down river to Veitshöchheim to visit the magnificent Rococo Court Garden of the Prince Bishops’ Summer Palace.

exuberant sense of fun in the final third movement. Judging by the reaction of members of the German audience, some of whom had travelled a considerable distance to hear the SCO play, they found the Orchestra on top form, its contribution to the Mozart Festival programme adding greatly to its reputation beyond Scotland. The concert

was followed by a superb reception in the Residenz Weinkeller, hosted by the festival organisers, where we were joined by members of the Orchestra.

The Sunday we had to ourselves, with more concerts for those who wished. Others chose to climb up to the Festung Marienberg, a fortress which

On Monday we travelled by coach to Augsburg, stopping for a guided walk round Dinkelsbühl, then Nordlingen for lunch and finally via Donauworth. The weekend was completed on the Tuesday by the morning spent in Augsburg, a guided walk round the centre of Munich in the afternoon, then finally to Munich airport for the flight back to Edinburgh. Which is where our resilience and intrepidity were put to the test. The flight which was scheduled to depart at 9.45pm was cancelled about half an hour before midnight, and we finally left at 10.30am the following morning!

On behalf of the group, I would wish to record our appreciation of the way we were looked after by Barry Ferguson and Adam James, the two SCO representatives on the trip.

–––––– Würzburg Patrons’ Trip 3-7 June 2016

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SCO ReConnect led by Dr Jane Bentley, a specialist in music in care settings, with Alison Green (bassoon) and Nicola Boag (Viola)

SCO ReConnect ––––––

by Kirsteen Davidson Kelly, Director of SCO Connect –––––– For the last three years, SCO Connect has been conducting interactive music workshops on dementia wards in Edinburgh, in collaboration with the Institute for Music in Human and Social Development (IMHSD) at the University of Edinburgh and with NHS Lothian. These workshops have been extremely well received, with positive feedback from caregivers, occupational

therapists and relatives. In addition, the SCO musicians have found the improvisatory, interactive workshops extremely rewarding, both personally and musically, and a growing group of SCO musicians have dedicated their time and energy both to the ReConnect workshops and to undertaking additional training to enhance their skills and experience in working in dementia settings. Building on this success, the Chief Scientist Office has awarded research funds to Dr Katie Overy, Dr Graeme Wilson and

Dr Sheila Rodgers, University of Edinburgh, to conduct a pilot study into the feasibility of running full-scale research into the potential benefits of interactive music workshops to people living with dementia.

It was the first time I’d seen my mum smile in two years Patient’s son

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For us it has been difficult to find something to which she would respond. Music seems to give her something. It’s great to see her engaging again.

Patient’s relative The aim of the pilot study is to evaluate eligibility, recruitment and retainment rates, which will inform the design of possible future research.

The pilot study is currently running on a dementia ward in Edinburgh and led by Dr Jane Bentley, a specialist in music in

care settings. The musicians taking part this year are Alison Green (bassoon), Donald Gillan (cello), Aisling O’Dea (violin), Peter Franks (trumpet), William Stafford (clarinet), Nicola Boag (viola) and Lawrence Gill (clarinet).

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SCO ReConnect is generously supported by the Queensberry House Trust.

If you would like to find out more about ReConnect, contact Anna Hainsworth, SCO Connect Officer (Communications and Outreach), on 0131 478 8342

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THROWBACK ––––– The SCO “Truck” on the Highlands tour in 1986.

We have come a long way since then!

Our new truck at the Kaisersaal in Würzburg

Win £250 ––––––

250 SOCIETY Please join us in congratulating recent winners of our 250 Society draw who each won £250.

May 2016 – Josepth H Wright June 2016 – William Duthie July 2016 – Mary Brady August 2016 – Michael Pell It costs just £5 a month to become a member of the SCO’s 250 Society and be in with a chance of winning a monthly prize of £250. All proceeds go towards helping to fund the work of SCO Connect. To join, simply download the SCO 250 Society membership form at www.sco.org.uk/support-us or contact Adam James on 0131 478 8344.

On the road again…

–––––– This summer we welcomed another shiny member to the SCO – our new truck finally arrived! Specially designed over several months between our Stage Manager Pete Deane and the engineers at Man Trucks to suit the SCO’s needs, it has already taken a trip abroad to Würzburg (see image) where we performed in the Mozartfest in June. It has also been transporting our instruments around Scotland, from the

Highlands to the West Coast and down to the Scottish Borders, as part of our summer touring programme. We purchased the truck with generous support from the Scottish Government.

VIRGIN MONEY SCHOOLS CONCERT

AUGUST 2016 –––––– On the final day of the Edinburgh International Festival, SCO VIBE gave an exuberant performance at the Virgin Money Schools Concert – to an audience of more than 1700 pupils from 31 Edinburgh City Council schools. The music, developed collaboratively by the performers, was inspired by the musical themes of the evening’s Virgin Money Fireworks Concert.

–––––– SCO VIBE is delivered in partnership with Drake Music Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council.

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SECOND INTERVIEW MAXIMILIANO MARTÍN Our new Season presents opportunities for you to take centre stage as a soloist. What are you most looking forward to?

I look forward to every concert in the Season. It is such a privilege to take solo spots so I try to make the most of each occasion. The concert I am most looking forward to is the world premiere of the Cresswell Clarinet Concerto (May 2017). Lyell (Cresswell) and I have been in touch quite a lot over this year.

We have met a few times to discuss the work and go over certain passages, and it is very helpful for the performer to know what the composer has in his mind to be able to attempt it. Lyell has heard me play many times, so he knows my playing very well.

How do you prepare for your solo performances?

One of the important things about solo performances or concertos is to give time for the work to settle and prepare in plenty of time so that when the day comes it is already in your bones. Then you can concentrate more on performing and not just worrying about certain passages.

What is your all-time favourite work for clarinet?

I have many favourites, but probably Mozart, Weber and Nielsen concertos are at the top of my list. Then Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. Brahms’ Sonatas and Quintet are also very special to me. Difficult to point out a single favourite – we have so many!

–––––– Maxi will perform Strauss’ Duet Concertino alongside SCO Principal Bassoon Peter Whelan in Dumfries, Glasgow and Edinburgh on 15-17 December 2016

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Recent Recordings Peter Maxwell Davies: An Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise With Ben Gernon, Conductor and Sean Shibe, Guitar We didn’t plan this new recording as a tribute to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies who sadly passed away in March, but, as Paul Driver in the Sunday Times pointed out, it has “afforded us a fond farewell” and offers a rich musical realisation of Orkney – the composer’s adopted home. The orchestral works on this album are interwoven with five Hill Runes for guitar (Sean Shibe) and an arrangement for the same instrument of Farewell to Stromness. The real discovery for Nicholas Kenyon (writing in the Guardian) is Ebb of Winter, commissioned by the SCO for its

40th Anniversary in 2014. “It is a vivid overture conjuring the wild spaces and often bleak weather of the islands that Max loved, with a wonderful openness and transparency in the orchestration.”

“...played with an irrepressible panache and swinging energy...

It’s all hugely life-inspiring.”

McAlister Matheson Music Newsletter –––––– Available to purchase now from the SCO Merchandise desk at concerts: £12. Also available to download in Studio Master from www.linnrecords.com –––––– Kindly supported by the SCO Sir Charles Mackerras Fund, The Bacher Trust and the Usher Hall, Edinburgh.

Stravinsky: Choral Works –––––– A ten-strong wind and brass ensemble from the SCO linked up with the Choir of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh under the direction of Duncan Ferguson. Joined by vocal soloists Ruby Hughes and Nicholas Mulroy, our ensemble recorded major works by one of the twentieth century’s most influential composers, Igor Stravinsky.

Included on the album is Stravinsky’s Mass in its full version, alongside his ‘completions’ of three Cantiones Sacrae by Gesualdo.

Stravinsky: Choral Works Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral Duncan Ferguson SCO Soloists

–––––– “This disc shows off a choir of distinction... Their fresh, youthful sound lends colour to the studious dourness of Stravinsky’s deliberately monochrome mass” Sunday Times, August 2016 “This logically planned programme is beautifully sung and blessed with outstandingly vivid recorded sound”. Gramophone, October 2016

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Introducing...

Three New Players!

Philip Higham

Marcus Barcham Stevens

We are delighted to welcome three new faces to the front desk of our String section. They make their first official appearances with the Orchestra at our Season Opening in October with Robin Ticciati conducting Mozart’s Last Symphonies.

SCO Chief Executive Gavin Reid comments, “These players each bring vast experience and creativity to their respective roles, all having played with many of the great chamber groups and orchestras across the UK. We are hugely looking forward to them joining the Scottish Chamber Orchestra family as we forge ahead in this new chapter for the SCO.” Philip Higham – Principal Cello Philip returns to his home city of Edinburgh.

As well as being in demand as a soloist with orchestras such as the Philharmonia, Hallé and Royal Northern Sinfonia, he gives solo recitals at Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, and abroad.

Philip has released recordings of the Britten and Bach solo suites to great critical acclaim.

Speaking of his appointment, Philip said, “I am so happy to accept the position of Principal Cello and am very excited about the future with this special orchestra. It always feels like every player is

Felix Tanner

as invested as the next, and that there is a shared commitment to high quality, passionate musicmaking.”

Marcus Barcham Stevens – Principal Second Violin Marcus is a renowned soloist and chamber musician across the UK, having led City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Aurora Orchestra.

He is also a member of the acclaimed Fitzwilliam String Quartet, and has been co-leader of the Britten Sinfonia since 2013.

Marcus commented, “I’m excited about taking up the job with the SCO. The close musical communication and interaction within this great chamber orchestra is what attracted me to the SCO.” Felix Tanner – Sub Principal Viola Felix is also returning to his Edinburgh roots, having studied at St Mary’s Music School shortly before Philip Higham. He has gone on to play for all the notable British orchestras and became a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London in 2012. He has been a member of the Brodowski Quartet since 2007, performing recitals throughout the UK and Europe, including Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

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Our Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati leads the Orchestra in Mozart’s three final symphonies.

These essential but ever-changing cornerstones of the SCO’s repertoire will be played on gut strings, natural horns, natural trumpets and period timpani, bringing you closer to the sound world of Mozart’s time in these Classical masterpieces.

Mozart’s Last Symphonies

by Svend Brown Why listen to three symphonies in one evening? It is a question worth posing because even thinking about doing such a thing is quite a recent phenomenon. Mozart himself would not have proposed it: in his own concerts a single symphony would usually be split up so that the first two and last two movements framed a sequence of other orchestral, chamber or operatic music.

Performances might also be

interrupted by encores, which in those days meant literally that the encored movement was repeated right away. All in all, the notion we now cherish, of the symphony as a cohesive, extended musical experience (with no clapping between the movements – also a relatively recent development) would have surprised Viennese listeners in 1788 when Mozart wrote these three pieces – even if the music itself has such a degree of

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He was at the height of his powers and nothing reflects the astounding fertility of his mind better than the flow of ideas, melodies, colours and inventions they contain

musical integrity as to suggest that the composers wished things were otherwise.

So why do it? The simple answer is that hearing these three pieces together gives us a rare treasure Mozart’s audience never had: to follow him as he brings his staggering powers to bear on the symphonic form in three magnificently complementary ways. These are not just any three pieces plucked from a shelf at random. Mozart wrote them over the summer of 1788, completing them in June, July and August respectively, so they are close siblings. He was at the height of his powers and nothing reflects the astounding fertility of his mind better than the flow of ideas, melodies, colours and inventions they contain.

Also, they make a satisfying cycle: courtly and beguiling No 39; dark and troubled No 40; expansive and spiritual No 41.

A glib summary, but it gives a tiny idea of the absorbing play of brilliance and drama they offer. Also, the stature of the works grows as you progress through them. No 39 is not only the shortest but also the lightest, while No 41 is the longest (around 30% longer than No 39) and arguably the greatest, making it a superb grand finale to the evening. So while there is no historical argument for performing them together, there is plenty of musical sense.

We may well ask why Mozart was writing grand pieces like this at all in 1788. It was a troubled time of West-East war, extreme

weather, immigration crises and financial uncertainty: striking echoes of our own times make 1788 seem rather immediate. The national debt soared by around 1000%, dire economic hardship followed; tens of thousands of refugees fled Westwards to escape the war zone; there was civil strife and riots in the streets of Vienna... War was disastrous for the Viennese music business as many of the key customers – rich patrons who attended concerts, paid for lessons and bought music – fled the city.

Mozart would normally write pieces like these symphonies for his own concerts to be presented in the Casino or Burgtheater.

Perhaps the Emperor would attend giving him the cachet (and resulting in the cash) he so badly needed. In 1788 the

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Emperor was at the Front. Any concerts Mozart may have had in mind never took place, and he was never again to know Vienna at peace, as he died before the war ended in 1791. Perhaps this explains why he wrote no more symphonies in his remaining three years, and why, of these three works, only No 40 seems to have been performed in his lifetime.

One of the marvellous hallmarks of these three pieces is Mozart’s marriage of ‘learned’, profound musical thinking with popular courtly dance tunes and the interplay of human drama that characterises his operas at their most glorious. Cast an eye across his catalogue of works to see what else he was writing and performing in 1788 and you find plenty of all three of these: courtly dances and arias that were bread and butter to him; performances of his operas; and there is also an unusually large number of canons – technical exercises undertaken to hone his skills in counterpoint and harmony. This advanced kind of musical thinking certainly did not make him popular, but it is purest gold to us as it made its way into his major works. No 41 was called ‘avec fugue’ on the title page of its first edition (the name ‘Jupiter’ came later) in recognition of the towering achievement of

the world in 1788 –––––– January January 1 – London: The first edition of The Times is published.

January 18 – Australia: The leading ship in Captain Arthur Phillip’s First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay to colonise Australia.

February February 9 – Austria enters the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) and attacks Moldavia.

June June 7 – France: Day of the Tiles, considered by many to be the beginning of the French Revolution. august August 27 – Edinburgh, Scotland: The trial of Deacon William Brodie for burglary begins. He is sentenced to death by hanging. december December – Scotland: Robert Burns writes his version of the famous Scots poem Auld Lang Syne.

December 14 – two important figures die: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer and son of JS Bach (b. 1714) King Charles III of Spain (b. 1716)

the finale, one of the grandest and greatest movements in all music – and its fugue subject is as simple as can be – just four notes. It is a towering example of Mozart’s musical brilliance, but throughout these three symphonies you will find smaller but no less arresting moments of comparable sublime invention!

–––––– Mozart – The Last Symphonies opens our 2016/17 Season with Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati 5-7 October 2016 Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow –––––– Proudly sponsored by

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Getting Started We see how our new Chief Executive Gavin Reid’s first few weeks have been at the SCO and what he is looking forward to this Season

SCO VIBE perform at the Virgin Money Schools Concert

I am really delighted to have begun working with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and I couldn’t have picked a better day to start. I spent my first morning sitting in glorious sunshine in the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens with 1700 young people from schools across Edinburgh enjoying the terrific SCO VIBE concert. In the evening, I watched and listened to the spectacular annual Virgin Money Fireworks Concert – my very first one and the Orchestra’s 36th!

Edinburgh is, of course, one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the view that welcomes visitors coming out of Waverley Station looking up to the Castle, is quite breathtaking. It is thirty years since I left to study in Manchester and although I have been back to my home town many times visiting family and attending concerts, it is wonderful to be here again every day, enjoying familiar sights, spotting new ones and renewing old acquaintances.

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As everyone who loves the Scottish Chamber Orchestra knows only too well, it is one of the very finest chamber orchestras in the world and one that the whole of Scotland can be extremely proud of. It is also an incredibly flexible and diverse group, able to reach out to communities across the whole country. In the last few weeks I have heard our musicians performing in Callander, Selkirk, Helensburgh and Irvine and that only scratches the surface of the towns and villages they have visited on their recent tours of Scotland. Coupled with their outstanding performances in the Usher Hall as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, this summer the SCO has shown once again just what an extraordinary champion it is for the transformational power of music and a great ambassador for Scotland.

As summer draws to a close, we are all looking forward to the Orchestra’s new season.

This programme of concerts has of course been planned by others, so I can say with all honesty what a wonderful season it is. Mozart is one of my favourite composers and I am therefore particularly looking forward to the opening concert with his extraordinary final

An Orkney Wedding 1-2 December 2016 Edinburgh and Glasgow

Pires plays Mozart Piano Concertos 25-27 January 2017 Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow

three symphonies. It is quite remarkable to think that he wrote these three masterpieces in such a short space of time – just a few months! Later in the season we look forward to the incomparable Maria João Pires playing two of the great piano concertos, followed immediately by Richard Egarr and the SCO Chorus joining the Orchestra for the Coronation Mass. I would dearly love to be able to travel back in time to Vienna in the 1780s and witness the premieres of Mozart’s great masterpieces and to encounter this unique and astonishing genius.

I am also looking forward to our celebration of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Of course, Max had an incredibly close and long-standing friendship with the SCO and I know he is greatly missed by us all. Our concert in December acknowledging the extraordinary contribution he made both to the SCO and musical life in Scotland will be a moving and uplifting occasion.

I look forward to welcoming you at a concert soon as we embark on our 2016/17 Season!

Mozart Coronation Mass 23-26 February 2017 Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen

–––––– Our 2016/17 Season runs from October 2016 until May 2017

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YOUR ORCHESTRA, YOUR SAY...

–––––– We would like to give you the opportunity to comment and have your say. Whether it is via social media or by sending us a letter, we love to hear from you.

–––––– “Musicianship of the highest standard & wonderful to have the SCO in the Borders” Thelma Wrightson – SCO in Selkirk attender

The SCO has reached new heights in performance and range. We are honoured that such a now well-known orchestra should come and play in our village.

David Nichols, SCO in Drumnadrochit attender

Argh - SO GOOD! Inspired programming for fireworks @SCOmusic and @edintfest brilliant Prokofiev, Bernstein and Shostakovich - total joy!

Kate Miguda @KateMmusic

…I imagine that travelling to out-of-the-way places might be looked upon as something of a chore for the orchestra so I would like them to know that they bring enormous pleasure to many people whose lives would otherwise be musically lacking - listening to CDs at home can never quite capture the magic of a live concert. Keep touring!

James, SCO in Helensburgh attender

Culture highlight of weekend was #VMFireworks - great performance by @SCOmusic and fantastic waterfall from Castle. #smalltear @EdIntFest Bryan @edin1981

Delighted to hear that Philip Higham is to be the new Principal Cellist. We’ve heard him over recent years in Kelso (where he mesmerised the audience with Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata), then again in Melrose and also at the East Neuk Festival. Noticed he was leading the cellos in the Berlioz at EIF and hoped he might get the job.

Congratulations to him!

Viv Young, Customer Email

Join the conversation –––––– Sign up for our email newsletter For all our latest news, films, photos, blogs and special offers, visit sco.org.uk/latest Email us Michael Devlin, Customer Communications michael.devlin@sco.org.uk Comment on Facebook facebook.com/scottishchamberorchestra Share your experience on Twitter @SCOmusic Share your experience on Instagram @scottishchamberorchestra #mySCO

THROUGH THE EYES OF...

Alison Green Sub Principal Bassoon Can you describe the format of a typical Reconnect session?

We sing a ‘hello’ song at the start of the session to each patient, using their names, and the session closes with a ‘goodbye’ version of the same song. In between, we play short pieces of repertoire and a mixture of familiar songs and tunes, often going off into an improvisation then coming back to the tune. Patients and carers join in using percussion and singing, and sometimes lead the improvisation – for example we might imitate a rhythm a patient is playing on a shaker or a tambourine.

Why did you want to take part in ReConnect?

I saw it as a challenge and area of work in which I had absolutely no experience.

What has surprised you about the project?

The amount of training we had to do to take part! We spent time listening to health professionals, including Dr Jane Bentley, talk about dementia, how it affects people, and how interactive music-making is being used with dementia patients. Improvisation in the first training sessions was quite daunting as it’s just not what I normally have to do as 2nd bassoon in the Orchestra!

What do you personally get out of doing this kind of work?

I find it really moving to see how the people we work with react to the music we play. Sometimes they sing, remembering words to a song. Sometimes they want to dance, either with us or someone familiar like one of the nurses or occupational therapists. At other times there’s a very small reaction, perhaps a slight movement of their fingers, tapping along, or taking

my hand and moving it in time to the music. Often something which looks very small to the musicians, for example someone tapping a finger or smiling at us as we sing to them, is actually a lot more than it seems. I am not normally required to play without music, but I have gained confidence in my ability to play from memory and to improvise on a tune.

Can you describe any special moments that have happened during this project?

There have been quite a few special moments. I have sung to a lady who was not making eye contact at all to start with, but then she looked up and gave me a beautiful smile. On a few occasions I’ve had someone who doesn’t normally speak join in singing ‘hello, hello, hello’ with me. I remember playing The wee cooper o’ Fife and having people sing the ‘noo, noo, noo’. So many things happen in each session, often fleeting moments that you might not notice yourself, but that people watching can point out.

What do you enjoy about working with your SCO colleagues on this kind of project?

It’s a big challenge for all of us and I think everyone has risen to that challenge in their own way. We’ve had to learn to give each other space to take over a tune or to pass over a motif during improvised moments – we have to keep an eye out for when another player needs a rest or wants to go on longer. We also need to be aware of what’s going on in different parts of the room and not get in the way. Each player taking part in the project brings something different to the mix which means that each session is different from the last. I think we’ve all become more confident in what we can offer and we continue to grow with each session.

Hear us in concert

Diary: Oct-Dec Venues:

Perth St Andrews Ayr

Edinburgh Glasgow Aberdeen

Dumfries

12-14 October 7.30pm

20-21 October 7.30pm

30 October 3pm

LE BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME

BERLIOZ L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST

CHAMBER SUNDAY CONCERT

*Thierry Fischer Conductor

SCO Wind Soloists

EMMANUEL KRIVINE Conductor SCO CHORUS

*Please note this is a change from Robin Ticciati as previously advertised.

3-4 November 7.30pm

9-12 November 7.30pm

16 November 5.30pm

BRUCKNER SYMPHONY NO 4 ‘ROMANTIC’

BEETHOVEN THE ‘PASTORAL’

EARLY EVENING RECITAL

ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor

RICHARD EGARR Conductor

SCO Soloists

24-25 November 7.30pm

1-2 December 7.30pm

4 December 3pm

HANDEL ISRAEL IN EGYPT

AN ORKNEY WEDDING

CHAMBER SUNDAY CONCERT

PETER DIJKSTRA Conductor SCO CHORUS

ALEXANDRE BLOCH Conductor *WILLIAM CONWAY Soloist

SCO Soloists

*Change from previously advertised.

8-9 December 7.30pm

15 December 7.30pm

15-17 December 7.30pm

MOZART PIANO CONCERTOS NOS 20 & 22

MUSIC FOR CHRISTMAS: A CEREMONY OF CAROLS

STRAUSS WIND CONCERTOS

ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT Soloist

GREGORY BATSLEER Conductor SCO CHORUS

ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor

4 Royal Terrace Edinburgh EH7 5AB telephone: 0131 557 6800 email: info@sco.org.uk www.sco.org.uk

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The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is a charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039 Company registration No. SC75079

www.sco.org.uk