What a beautiful country Wales is. I’ve just returned from making my debut with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Newtown, an area of Wales I’ve never visited, and where I was overwhelmed by the kindness of the people and the drama of the landscape.
Meurig Bowen, former Cheltenham Music Festival director (also author, with his wife Rachel, of the book “The School of Music”) invited me in his capacity as Artistic Planner of the BBCNOW. We began the adventure with outreach workshops in local schools, telling the story of the Firebird and then showing the children how to create art to music. The results were wonderful, and lots of the children were inspired to come along on the following Saturday for the actual live concert.
Before that, however, I set off through wild weather, for Cardiff, to attend a rehearsal with the orchestra. Through windswept rain, past rushing rivers and waterfalls, and along precipitous mountain roads, I revelled in the magnificent countryside as I drove through the Brecon Beacons.
In Cardiff I was treated to a stunning rehearsal by this magnificent orchestra, under the baton of Moritz Gnann, a young German conductor, also making his debut. What a privilege to hear these outstanding musicians take the music to pieces, refine something, and put it all together again. Unforgettable! I was also rather in awe of the fabulous St David’s Hall, a truly beautiful example of excellent modern architecture.
I drove back through rainbows and past rivers, through hill and valley, with a song in my heart and full of anticipation for the big day.
The Hafren Theatre in Newtown seats around 500. And we had a full house for the actual concert, presented by Lynn Bowles from Radio Wales. From the orchestra to all the backstage crew, and usherettes… everyone was warm and friendly and welcoming, and the day whizzed by.
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales sounded absolutely magnificent, and they were joined by 19 year old Charlie Lovell-Jones for Vaughan-Williams’s The Lark Ascending, an extraordinary and inspiring young talent. I painted to three pieces: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Britten, Extracts from Stravinsky’s Firebird, and The Swan of Tuonela by Sibelius. All of them favourites (although the Britten is tough, it moves along so swiftly). Here are some pictures of the second two pieces…
All in all it was a truly wonderful experience, which I hope can be repeated, and I’m hugely grateful to everyone involved for this really fantastic opportunity.
The concert was recorded for future broadcast in BBC Radio 3 (TBC) – you won’t see me painting, but if you catch it, you’ll hear the wonderful music, superbly performed …and … if you listen carefully, you might just hear me rinsing my brush!
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