One of the Fife Region's Young Ambassadors, Kelsa McDonald, describes the first Young Ambassadors Forum and Lugansky Plays The Emperor, Sat 23rd Nov at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
On Saturday the 23rd of November it was the first chance for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Young Ambassadors to meet and attend the first concert. The Ambassadors come from all over Scotland but all share the same passion: classical music. The concert was “Lugansky Plays the Emperor” which was conducted by Peter Oundjian and featured the RSNO along with Nikolai Lugansky, a renowned pianist.
After arriving, myself and the other Ambassadors were taken into the concert hall for a hurried photo opportunity. At that point in time the orchestra were warming up and running over the material for the night ahead. It was almost dizzying to look down and see the cluster of people and instruments so far below us.
Once the photo shoot was over we returned to the VIP lounge where we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves and have a small discussion about RSNO Schools Concerts. After stating our name, school, what instrument/s we play, and what part of Scotland we were from we split into small groups to gather ideas. The discussion was a great success and it was interesting to see so many different ideas being presented, showing just how much of an input young people can have in classical music!
When the time came to watch the concert I was particularly excited. I enjoy listening to piano music and watching live performances is always so different to simply hearing it or watching it through a screen. The conductor, Peter Oundjian, was interesting and informative when introducing the musical pieces, but was also brief. The show commenced with a lively piece of music by French composer Marais before Lugansky took to the keys to perform Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. The time flew by and before I knew it, the second half had begun. It featured a set of Symphonic Dances by the Russian composer, Rachmaninov, and finished with another dance, this time by Brahms.
The evening was very enjoyable and I’m eagerly awaiting the next concert. There’s nothing quite like seeing classical music, or any music for that matter, performed live. Hopefully more people decide to head along to a concert and discover this from themselves!
Kelsa McDonald
Kelsa is part of the RSNO's Young Ambassador scheme, arranged by the Learning and Engagement Department. For more information, visit the RSNO website.
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