RSNO Summer Pops

Although the last few weeks have been very difficult they have not been without enjoyment.

We knew Dad was ill but had no idea that he would pass away when he did so it came as a shock.

After visiting him in the afternoon of Sunday the 13th of June I came back to our house where Nathan and I hosted Ed and Wendy for dinner. Nathan had cooked a great Sunday roast, which was very tasty.

Nathan had signed up for free tickets for one of the RSNO (Royal Scottish National Orchestra) summer concerts. So after dinner we hot footed it to the Usher Hall for their New York, New York programme. It was brilliant and the conductor was fantastic.

It made for such a different Sunday evening.

Nathan, Wendy and Ed at our table at the front of the stalls.

The music that was played included bluesy Gershwin and jazzy Ellington (Caravan, The C Jam Blues, It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) and Bernstein’s classic show-tunes from On The Town.

At one point I thought to myself that Dad would have really enjoyed the evening and perhaps we could invite him to another of the events they were holding this summer- but it wasn't to be.

Nathan did however secure free tickets for 2 other events over the 2 weeks of the 'pops' season. He couldn't attend the one on the Thursday night so instead Hannah, Corinne, Zara and myself made it a girls night and we went to see the Britain’s Top of the Pops concert on the 24th of June. 

It was really good fun and was just what I needed. The music was from Bond to The Beatles…via Elgar and Walton. We enjoyed famous marches, romantic classics and the pick of the pops from the silver screen. They played the beautiful Londonderry Air, Arnold’s Scottish Dances, Jupiter from Holst’s Planets and had a great Best of Bond medley.

The last event was the RSNO Scottish Prom on  Sunday 27 June 7:30pm. We took Nathan's Mum and Dad, who kindly treated us to dinner before the concert.

Percussion virtuoso Dame Evelyn Glennie joined the Orchestra, RSNO Chorus and Neilston Pipe Band for an evening of classics which I recognised a few of.

I really enjoyed the American conductor Jeff Tyzik who was a great guide for these concerts. He explained everything so well and even made sure you learnt what instrument played which key sections. It was really good and I hope they do something similar again soon.