Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Young Ambassadors Forum #1: Heather Mitchell

South Lanarkshire's Young Ambassador, Heather Mitchell, describes the first Young Ambassadors Forum and Lugansky Plays The Emperor, Sat 23rd Nov at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. 
   
 Nikolai Lugansky. Photograph by Marco Borggreve

Saturday 23rd of November marked the first RSNO Young Ambassadors forum, where chosen Young Ambassadors from across Scotland gathered in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and met for the first time. It was great to meet so many talented young people who share so much passion and enthusiasm for classical music.

After a photo shoot we put our musical heads together and came up with some fresh ideas with regards to attracting young people across the country to classical music and in particular the RSNO.

Following our meeting we were invited to attend the concert Lugansky plays The Emperor where the RSNO and Musical Director Peter Oundjian conducted the concert with a fantastic performance of Les offrandes oubliées by Messiaen. The orchestra were then joined by Russian pianist extraordanaire Nikolai Lugansky who played the Emperor (Piano Concerto No5) by Beethoven. I particularly enjoyed the intricate piano sections which created tension and had us Young Ambassadors on the edge of our seats! A short interval (and copious amounts of chocolate) later we welcomed back the RSNO who put on an outstanding performance of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances which featured exceptional playing from each individual section in the orchestra, I was particularly impressed by both the woodwind and percussion sections!  The highlight of the concert was most definitely the encore of Brahms, an exciting and lively dance!

I look forward to working with the learning and engagement team and meeting with the Young Ambassadors to share ideas again soon! Upcoming concerts which I hope to attend include Benedetti and Elschenbroich Play Brahms, Pictures at an Exhibition featuring soloist Jackand of course the RSNO Christmas concert which will take place on the 21st of December in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Heather Mitchell

Heather is part of the RSNO's Young Ambassador scheme, arranged by the Learning and Engagement Department. For more information, visit the RSNO website.

Share your reviews on any of our concerts on Twitter @RSNO
Under 16? Get Free tickets for Under 16. Find out more here.


No comments:

Post a Comment