My planned live-blog for this tour didn’t work due to technical difficulties, so I am making up for it by writing a detailed review here instead.
This was an excellent tour, very well organised with plenty to see and do, and magnificent venues to sing in. There were also, however, some amazing stories from this tour, which I hope to relay here!
If you were to ask me what I would be doing on Sunday 15th February 2009 the previous morning, then I would have told you that I would be working my way though a mountain of homework, perhaps stopping to listen to a bit of the cricket at some point. How come, then, 27 hours later, I was in Jesus College Chapel, in Cambridge, playing 2nd Horn with the College orchestra? Well, on Saturday afternoon, I received a phone call from Edward Leach OI, who is mentioned on this site as conductor of Schubert’s 8th Symphony at Snape Maltings, and barbershop arranger at the Midsummer Soiree. Apart from that, he is an excellent singer and oboeist, and is now a Choral Scholar at Jesus College, Cambridge. Anyway, Ed phoned to say that he was short of a horn for the College orchestra’s performance of Dvorak’s 8th Symphony, and asked for my services. Once practicalities were sorted out (the Leach family kindly gave me lifts each way), I was happy to accept. (more…)