Saturday 24 August, as those of you who followed our Hebridean tour will know, was the day we were originally scheduled to travel to St Kilda and perform to the locals (mostly the hardy Soay sheep – one of the oldest sheep breeds in the world!) However, in the days preceding it became apparent that it was going to have to be Sunday 25 instead because of the high winds, so we suddenly we had a day to ourselves!
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BLOG – Cemre Arca, flute
The final day of our tour started with a concert at the picture postcard-like Eilean Donan Castle followed by one at Nevisport (who kindly donated 45 air beds to the orchestra for our village hall camp outs!) in Fort William.
(more…)BLOG – Chloe Peterson, oboe
Hebrides Tour – Day 10 – St Kilda
Visiting St Kilda was probably the most memorable part of the Hebrides Tour for many of the Nevis players. Here, I’m going to attempt to share the range of strong emotions we experienced during the trip, and to explain why it was so special for us to play on Hirta, the main island of the St Kilda archipelago.
(more…)BLOG – Andrew Taheny, violin
Our last full day of rehearsals before we began the Nevis Hebrides Tour was packed with unique experiences to accompany our tour preparations! Starting off after breakfast at 7:30am, we had the option of a yoga session or a hillwalk around Garelochhead. Following this we headed straight into sectionals With Katherine Wren, myself joining the strings for a further look at Grace Williams’ luscious ‘Sea Sketches’.
(more…)BLOG – Sally Webb, viola
Our second day of rehearsals dawned a little damp but not enough to discourage a little pre-tour exercise, a jog along the beautiful Gare Loch which meant I missed the raucous cacophony that was the usually Nevis wake-up call, given by Maxje and Guro (two musicians go round the rooms and perform a short ditty to get everyone out of their bed each morning). There was some yoga to help us stretch and learned how to breathe to destress or release tension. It’s important for musicians to maintain physical health and well being at all times!
(more…)BLOG – Guro Bergseng Skullerud, trumpet
Finally! Our Hebrides tour is only a couple of rehearsal days away. Of course I’m exited to play, see the beautiful parts of Scotland I haven’t visited before, and to bring music everywhere to everyone. But meeting old friends and welcoming new faces is a big bonus.
(more…)BLOG – Jenny Akroyd, saxophone
Seven Things I Learnt About Climbing Mountains, Whilst Semi-Successfully Carrying My Saxophone Up A Mountain
We at Nevis love a challenge, and in August 2018 on Day 7 of our inaugural tour we climbed Ben Nevis as an orchestra to perform a concert at the summit. I’ll admit, I had never climbed an actual mountain before, only average-sized hills, but this was a day that I was super excited for, as I really do love challenges – particularly those that I question my competence for. In my subsequent words, I shall reflect on this experience through identifying a number of observations I made throughout this rather exciting day.
(more…)BLOG – Laura Hundert, clarinet
As a member of Nevis Ensemble, I am able to see first-hand the fruition of the vision music for everyone, everywhere, and I feel so lucky that I can be a part of this mission. Over the last year, I have found that playing in concerts with Nevis helps me focus on what is really important about being a musician. I think less about if my reed is a little dry or hard and more about why I chose to be a musician in the first place – to spread the joy of music to those who might not be able to, or might not have considered going to the concert hall to see an orchestra.
(more…)Nevis Ensemble Hebrides Tour
Nevis Ensemble takes its 40-piece symphony orchestra to venues around the Outer Hebrides in August 2019 as part the biggest ever tour of the islands by an orchestra.
(more…)BLOG – Peter Davis, cello
It’s now almost a year since I was picked up by Street Orchestra Live (SOL) for my first experience touring with a pop-up orchestra, as a last-minute addition to their summer tour of the North-East of England. I had no real idea of what I had signed up for, but as soon as the first performance was underway, I was hooked, and I could tell that this was something different.
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