Travelling is a reason for living, and to get to travel to the UK to play music for a collaborative ensemble from Scotland, Kenya and India was just a no brainer for me. But I didn’t know how much more I would get than what I had bargained for.
On reaching Scotland we were happy to find that the weather was just perfect and our stay was going to be very comfortable. Glasgow was alive with the anticipation of the Glasgow 2014 and all the events of Culture 2014. On our very first day we saw the Queens Baton Relay in the streets and a brass quintet performing to welcome them outside the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The feeling of listening to live music out in the open on a cool summer day was so refreshing. Our rehearsals began soon and it took just a day or two before everyone knew everyone’s name and we each felt like part of a team. Our conductor Eoin was incredible – always keeping the highest possible musical standards while always reminding us to enjoy the music. It was probably the most exhilarating (and tiring!) two weeks I’ve had in years. Every morning we would all wake up with the anticipation of another day of Scokendia.
To play great new music under the supervision of the composers themselves was another exceptional experience. The new compositions Sherehe, Weave and Spirit of India gave a strong unique relevance to our concerts.
The Live Music Now sessions gave an element of outreach to the Scokendia project. After seeing Rachel and Duncan’s admirable performance we were inspired to later become part of the concerts ourselves. It also gave us young musicians a great opportunity to play solo for an ever appreciative and friendly audience and work on our presentation and audience interaction skills.
Our project managers Jamie and Kate, and intern Ankna really went out of their way to ensure we enjoyed Glasgow for its culture organizing for us to attend concerts like the Classics Marathon with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, RSNO and BBC SSO, Madama Butterfly at Scottish Opera and the RSNO on Glasgow Green; all of which were all amazing experiences. They also took us to super fun ceilidhs and we even got to experience a bit of the famous Glasgow nightlife!
As the end drew close we all started to dread saying goodbye to Scokendia and all our Scokendians. It was depressing to realise it was over and we had to talk about Scokendia 2015 to make ourselves feel better! All of us have our fingers crossed in the hope that Scokendia 2015 happens for all of us and hopefully more too! Thank you Jamie, Kate, Carol, Eoin, Ankna and everyone else who made this unforgettable experience possible!
Scokendia 