They were just a bunch of holiday makers with odd shaped suitcases queuing for a flight to Madrid at Glasgow Airport on Friday morning. Or so it seemed until one of them produced a saxophone and another a sidedrum and they launched into the opening bars of Ravel's Bolero, famously used as the music to the 1984 Olympic-winning performance by British ice-skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
Other instruments soon followed until 40 of the the Royal Scottish National Orchestra's (RSNO) top players broguht the work to its snarling jazzy finale to the astonishment passengers and staff alike at one of Scotland’s busiest airports.
The musicians appeared later at a second surprise location within the airport, Glasgow Airport Foodhall, to perform traditional Scottish eightsome reels to business travellers, tourists and airport staff, though apparently they never made it to Madrid.
To assist with the surprise performances the RSNO enlisted Simon Sharkey, the National Theatre of Scotland’s Director of Learning, who has many years’ experience of urban events.
Glasgow Airport sees over 700,000 passengers a month during the busy summer peak period and the whole expereince, with lengthy check-in queues and intrusive security checks, can make the start of a holiday a stressful affair. So the RSNO players, conducted by horn player John Logan, were keen to give them a lift.
He said: “The RSNO is Scotland’s symphony orchestra and we’re very proud of what we do. When opportunities to do something a little bit different arise – something which presents orchestral music to different audiences and to enhance Scotland’s reputation as a welcoming destination – we’re happy to meet the challenge. Obviously, we take our music-making seriously but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying new things and, following today, thousands of people, many of which will be new to live orchestral music, will be able to say they’ve experienced the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, in an airport!”
Francois Bourienne, Commercial Director at Glasgow Airport, said: “The RSNO’s surprise performance marks the start of our month long "Best of Scotland" campaign, which, in addition to showcasing the best of what Scotland has to offer, aims to create a bit of theatre in the airport and what better way to do so than to host Scotland’s national orchestra.
“It’s the first time Glasgow Airport has been used as a venue by a major orchestra and the RSNO’s performance will ensure our passengers take away some very special memories of both Scotland and the airport.”
Scotland’s national symphony orchestra looks forward to some high-profile performances before it embarks on Stéphane Denève’s final season as RSNO Music Director at the end of September. The Orchestra has four performances as part of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival (follow our festival coverage here) its first appearance at the prestigious Mendelssohn Festival in Leipzig, Germany on Sunday 4 September, and the fifth annual performances at Scotland’s most popular tourist attraction, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, on Friday 9 September and Saturday 10 September.
Source: http://entertainment.stv.tv
Source: http://entertainment.stv.tv
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