Musical weekend in Coventry

Last weekend Dave and I  joined the British Police Symphony Orchestra for another weekend of music... the rep was a bit cheesy, with lots of John Williams movie music and poor (literally inexpensive) arrangements of British classics like Crown Imperial and Enigma, but the concert was meant to raise money for a children's charity and the crowd, young and old, seemed to like it. Coventry is NOT known for being a lovely place to visit: it is generally derided as being dirty and crime ridden and a bit ick. It was entirely rebuilt after being leveled in World War II, and although I can admire the initiative to pedestrianize most of the city center, its architecture isn't aging well. Still, it had its moments, and the weekend was an interesting venture.

Lady Godiva, of Coventry (did you know that?)

Excellent Lady Godiva that appears on the hour, complete with skeevy onlooker

The remnants of Coventry's medieval cathedral, now a powerful memorial for WWII

A new cathedral is built adjoining the destroyed on, with amazing etched glass. How many new cathedrals are built? The scale is impressive, and the architecture perhaps not my favorite but still has its merits.

Statue in the old cathedral

Dave in the cathedral

Some gorgeous medieval buildings remain, despite most of the town being entirely rebuilt from rubble post-bombing.

Sent this one to my mom... Gerontology in medieval Coventry

The friendly clarinets in the Police orchestra

Flute and horn moment in the Star Wars medley in the Sunday rehearsal

Dave underneath art?

Those buses... can't be trusted.

Musical weekend in Hereford with the British Police

I've just returned from a quick weekend trip to Hereford, playing oboe with the British Police Symphony Orchestra. The What? you may be asking... The majority of players (although certainly not in the wind section) are affiliated with the police, and the ensemble meets once a month to rehearsal or perform, spending the night in police accommodation or a budget hotel. Two members of their wind section filled in with another ensemble I play with when we toured in Reims, France last summer, and they passed my name along.

I wasn't sure what to expect of the group... the musicians I had met were good, but the police? really? I've played in my fair share of community orchestras that have been challenging to sit through, but I also know that an "NIH orchestra" can be surprisingly successful despite its name, so I gave it a shot. I'm glad I did; the BPSO impressed me mightily this weekend, and earns its reputation as one of the top amateur orchestras around. Not only was the music high quality and the rehearsals run in a professional manner, but everyone was insanely FRIENDLY. Smiles and introductions and offers to give me a lift or invitations to join for dinner... after my experience with the most unfriendly orchestra in England a week prior, this was a breath of fresh air. There was banter. There was a big crowd in the pub until 1am. And I'm happy to report, there was the invitation to join them long term.

I can't play in their big splashy December gig in Birmingham's Symphony Hall (paid work/holiday in Germany, what can I do!?), but I'd start up in January once I'm more settled in Nottingham. In the new job and city, I don't have an orchestra lined up, and this would fill that void very nicely. Another plus, it's an orchestra that is not filled with all 18 year olds or all 80 year olds. Meeting on weekends is a bit tricky to negotiate given that's my usual Dave time. However, it is sounding like the BPSO might need a third player in the section to fill in on cor/english horn. I do know this guy who might be willing and able... :)

Here are some random phone pics from my wanderings between the knackering musical schedule!

Hereford Cathedral, the venue for the evening concert

Members of the wind section and the front of the cathedral

New friends in front of what I assume is Hereford cattle

View of Hereford from the Cathedral School during a break in rehearsal

The river Wye, scenic as always!

And it was a perfect autumn Sunday up until my train back to Cardiff

Weekend in Aberdeen for our last wedding this summer

At the very end of August, in a summer full of holy matrimony, Dave and I trekked up to Aberdeen on the north-west coast of Scotland for my fifth and final wedding of the year (I think). We met each other on Friday evening at Birmingham airport, which will be my new local hub when I move to Nottingham this winter, and coasted through the little airport with carry-on luggage only (I have never done this. It is LIBERATING.)

The groom, Rhydian, is an an exceptional Welsh trumpeter (you can read into that as you will, and you are probably getting an accurate picture of him) that we know through the Oxford/London music scene. Although I don't know her very well yet, his new wife Louise (from the Aberdeen area) is lovely, and the wedding was a vibrant affair. Being Rhydian, the wedding ceremony was graced with four additional fantastic trumpeters in the organ loft... the result was outstanding. In addition to a damn fine trumpet voluntary as the processional, they also played for the hymns, and at last, this is how I've always wanted church hymns to be: crystal clear brass in perfect juicy harmonies, and playing properly LOUD, so that everyone can sing along at a full belt and enjoy themselves. Needless to say, we were seated with a crowd of other musicians in the church, and we definitely gave it some oomph.

The wedding was an excellent excuse to reconnect with old friends and their significant others

Our table was comprised of good friends and we had good fun: there was a bet on how long the groom's speech would be (the opening lengthy bid of 20 minutes was the closest, well done Rachel!) and Nick declared we had to drink every time any speech mentioned the word "trumpet." My fascinator made the rounds, being donned by the various blokes (who enjoyed it more than expected, perhaps). There was ceilidh dancing to leave us dizzy and winded. There were kilts and bagpipes. And towards the end of the evening, there was even a guest appearance by the groom joining in with the band on trumpet.

The next morning Dave and I explored Aberdeen. Known as the granite city, it is very very very gray. The buildings are gray. The sky is gray. One would expect the people to fight back with colorful doors and clothes, but no. Gray gray gray. Still, it has its charm. We found a nook inside a bookshop for coffee and a scone to start the day, then walked to the shore to meet up with Tomi and Jess for lunch. At last, we found some color: the sun came out on the sparkling water, and the boys contributed with overly bright shirts.

The boys are providing much needed color

And after this brief adventure, we headed back to the airport and back to "the south." I think I like Scotland, and this trip made me more aware of how it is truly almost a separate entity from the rest of Britain. The money, although the same currency, looks different. The dialects can be fierce. And at the moment there is the pending referendum to determine whether Scotland should sever all ties and become fully independent. I hope that doesn't happen; it's a nebulous feeling, but I like the balancing between celtic/gaelic and englishness. Regardless of the vote, I do hope to get back up to Scotland for more exploring in the future.

For more pictures of the weekend, including shots of men seriously enjoying wearing my fascinator, please peruse the full album:

Photo album from Rhydian and Louise's wedding

Musical updates from sunny Wales

I've been so unexpectedly fortunate in my numerous musical opportunities in Cardiff. It is always a worry for me when I move to a new town: who needs an oboist, and who do I want to play oboe with? I lucked out with the university ensembles, particularly when I crossed paths with the director of the chamber choir and we found a mutual passion for Bach (John Hugh Thomas, officially my oldest Facebook friend). JHT directs the Swansea Bach Choir and first asked me to play John Rutter's "The Lord is My Shepherd" for choir, organ and solo oboe for a BBC Radio 4 programme (joy joy joy joy joy). This term, he trumped that offer by inviting me to play the solo oboe obbligato part in a Bach Cantata (how much joy can I express in a single blog entry!?).

Following a very successful concert of the Bach with some Handel and Purcell in Llandaff cathedral, the choir had a repeat performance in St. David's-- a micro-city on the southwestern coast of Wales with a glorious sunken cathedral and a laid back surfer attitude. My own "saint" David graciously agreed to drive me and my oboe 2+ hours each way rather than force me to sit on a coach with less lucky undergrads. The Welsh coastline is gorgeous (it was Lonely Planet's 'Best Region On Earth' to visit in 2012), and we had brilliant sunshine for our field trip. Here are a few shots from the day:

St. David's Cathedral in St. David's the "city." (It is technically a city, because of the cathedral being there, but it is about two pubs, three surf-shops and and ice cream stand big. 

Have you ever seen such a sunken cathedral?

We wandered over to the coast during my break in rehearsals

There was this yellow bush, everywhere in Southwest Wales. A very happy color, and welcome now that the armies of daffodils in Wales have passed their prime

Dave, very pleased to have his sunglasses. I think it looks like he is so pleased that wispy clouds are radiating out of his forehead.

The concert went very well; unlike most cathedrals, the acoustic was dry enough to achieve clarity in the music. For many of the undergrad musicians, this would be their last ever performance with the university ensembles, and all the students came together as a friendly community for their send-off. After the performance, JHT introduced me to a friend of his who conducts another choir in Wales. Somehow, after many minutes of not being able to fully understand his rapid Welsh accented questions, I ended up being asked to play with his ensemble at a music festival in the Brecon Beacons this July! For this concert, I'll be paid to play second oboe with the principal oboist of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In an upcoming concert, he would like me to reprise my Bach Wedding Cantata solo. Dust off the reedmaking tools, I have professional gigs this summer!

Meanwhile, Dave and I are preparing for our annual orchestra tour to Europe... this year we'll be driving the van full of instruments to Bilbao! The orchestra had been needing a few extra string players to bulk out the sections, and through these last few concerts I've wrangled a handful of Cardiff musicians to join the Oxford group for the tour. Look at me, ambassador for Anglo-Welsh relations :) I promise to take lots of pictures from the Basque coast and the mayhem that the Oxford Millennium Orchestra tour usually creates!