Orchestral Memories
I was 12 years old before I ever saw a live orchestra. The then Scottish National Orchestra had a policy of touring schools and one fine morning all other lessons were cancelled as about 200 pupils filed into our school hall for the performance. I can't remember what music was played, but I do remember being startled by how loud it all was. I was blown away, almost literally.
After that I would borrow scratchy L.P.s from the music department. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven...playing them through the stereo headphones on my bedroom record player, but nothing ever came close to the live experience.
So I joined the school trips to the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow where the Scottish Proms were held. If you didn't have a ticket you could slip some money to the security guard at the main entrance and he'd produce some from an secret pocket.
I was becoming a classical junkie. I even had a poster of on my bedroom wall. (It was later joined by photographs of and as I went through my pseudo-intellectual stage).
But I've never forgotten that first encounter with an orchestra and I'm always delighted when the ±«Óãtv Scottish Symphony Orchestra become involved it one of Radio Scotland's school or community projects. They never fail to impress and, I'm sure, leave a lasting impact on a whole new generation.
