Our last day

Absconding and Conducting

Camping with Katy

Associate Principal Oboe Katy Mackintosh is one of the few players who has elected for al fresco accommodation during our stay at St Magnus...

Hitting Things

Midsummer Sun

We can’t believe our good luck – incredible weather for Midsummer’s Day! A slightly later rehearsal this afternoon has afforded us longer in the sunshine, with many of us taking the opportunity to sight-see, cycle, mooch around the harbour, have a barbecue and generally soak up the rays.

























Like Shetland, the main roads are in great condition – a joy to cycle on! Since we had two trucks for all of the percussion, there was room for us to sneak on some bikes, and, boy, were we glad of that today! It’s amazingly green here, with fields carpeted with beautiful wild flowers and grasses. Two of our violists, Katherine and David, were out and about this morning, with a particular mission in mind. When they came to Orkney for their first wedding anniversary, David bought Katherine a pair of earrings from Sheila Fleet Jewellery. Unfortunately, Katherine lost one of them, and so they cycled out today to visit the jewellers to see if they could make a replacement, which they can!

Logistics

It's been a really busy day both on and backstage - lots to sort out! Poor James Crabb, the accordionist in Sally Beamish's concerto The Singing, has been really ill and almost didn't make the concert. The parts for Elgar's Enigma Variations were even put out in the players' pads, just in case! But it all came good in the end.

Heading North

Wow. Finding a decent internet connection in Kirkwall is really quite hard. We've been all over town, but the Orkney Hotel finally came up trumps (thank you!). But in our travels we caught a glimpse of the St Magnus Festival's founder, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, in the foyer of the Pickaquoy Centre.

Anyway, here's what we've been up to today.