Hello! Huw again for the next update -Today we had to rise very early and travel to Glasgow for an afternoon concert. I was the designated driver for the trip (yay!) and decided that it would be best to stop on the way for many coffees. The journey to Glasgow happened to be a very nice one, especially as we went over the Forth Bridge which excited Ellie immensely! We stopped for a coffee just outside Glasgow before heading towards Glasgow University to rehearse before the lunchtime concert. The views from the university over Glasgow were truly beautiful and we had a quick walk around the university campus before a quick rehearsal before the concert. We played a shorter programme with works by Glazounov, Albeniz, Francaix and Lago. The audience reaction was great! During the concert I once again asked if anyone had ever heard a saxophone quartet and 3 people said that they had (2 more than yesterday's concert!). We stayed behind after the concert and spoke with members of the audience and they were transfixed with how the sound of the quartet sounded. We played an encore of Addis Ababa and this was the highlight of the concert for most people... It definitely helped with the CD sales!
After the Concert we made it to our hotel, and very nice it was too! It was on the outskirts of Glasgow and very near to bars and restaurants. We then set off out into Glasgow, ate Spanish food and had a quiet evening talking about future plans for the quartet. We woke up very late in the hotel and made it to Lanark by Midday in time for a walk before rehearsing and it was absolutely stunning. We truly have been spoilt on this trip as Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited. Ellie and I took a stroll and visited the falls of Clyde which was a waterfall near New Lanark. New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde. It was founded in 1786 by David Dale who built cotton mills and housing for the mill workers. Ellie was in search of some Kingfishers but unfortunately there weren't any to be seen! We climbed high above the gorge until we eventually reached the Waterfallls which didn't disappoint. We then decided to turn back to make it back in time for our rehearsal in the music room. The beautifully restored cotton mill had a music room which was big enough for concerts and it looked absolutely beautiful. We found out that we would be sharing the concert with some local pianists and in particular a young ten year old who was blind and was a phenomenal piano player. Then a quick dinner in the hotel followed and it was time for the concert. At the beginning of the concert I introduced everyone in turn and decided to introduce Shevaughan as Adele... This remained a talking point for the whole evening!
"Alaric I or II" felt very special and the atmosphere and setting really suited the music.
We spoke with many audience members on the way out and one member of the audience told us she loved how "incredibly weird and wonderful the concert was!". Another said it was "incredibly refreshing and beautiful". We then went home to our hosts and had cheese and biscuits before bed. I've decided that my favourite cheese is Camembert.. Shevaughans (Adeles) favourite cheese was Brie...
We had a lie in the next morning and decided to meet at a local coffee shop after breakfast. Ellie had already been for her morning run (I unfortunately was too lazy to get up). We then made our way to Jose's hosts house as he didn't make it for coffee. He was busy with his chanter, again and sat in the garden outside the summer house. The weather was absolutely beautiful and there wasn't a cloud to be seen in the sky. Shevaughan then had a spin in John's Jaguar which she enjoyed immensely and we decided what to do on our day off. We all voted that going to see the Kelpies was a great idea and have a picnic. We spent the rest of the day travelling to Dunblane and meeting our hosts. We all needed a good nights sleep before waking up early and playing an afternoon concert at Dunblane cathedral.
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