Roll Out The...Carpet
A day spent down at the City Halls, first watching the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scottish Symphony Orchestra in a sensational performance for Radio 3, then later watching a carpet being laid. You see it's not all fun and glamour in this job.
The lunchtime concert was for the Radio 3 programme Making Tracks and the audience was drawn from primary schools throughout Glasgow. I cheered and clapped along with the kids as the famous theme from the Harry Potter films was deconstructed to explain the various sections of the orchestra; strings, wind instruments, brass and percussion. The theme from Doctor Who was performed against a projected backdrop of images from the TV series. Four children heard how the music they had composed as ringtones for mobile phones was transformed by an epic orchestral version. Then four other children got the chance to conduct the SSO as they performed the theme from . The concert ended with the finale from the 1812 overture, with every child told to blow up a paper bag and burst it to simulate canon fire. There were squeals of delight as the concert ended and I saw a smile on every face.
Afterwards I congratulated Hugh MacDonald, the outgoing Director of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ SSO and met his successor, Gavin Reid as we toured the backstage areas of the City Halls and examined the recording booth.
An hour later I was back at the City Halls, this time in the Recital Room where we'll be recording eighteen comedy performances next month. The acoustics aren't quite right for comedy, so we tried to reduce the amount of reverberation by laying a carpet and bringing in a few sound screens. As Andy Britton, our sound engineer, listened though headphones, I took to the stage, script in hand, to help act out a comedy sketch.
The acoustics had improved, but after several tests, the same could not be said for my performance.
