Musicians from Scotland’s national orchestra will take the train to various destinations across Scotland to perform concerts for the very young to the more mature this week and will provide fellow passengers with music along the way.
The ScotRail Alliance and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and have enjoyed a partnership for nearly a decade, and to say thanks for being its Principal Transport Partner the RSNO musicians will disperse to four locations using the rail network to perform a concert for young children at Kennishead, a traditional dance band performance in Pitlochry featuring music from the 1920s, string duo recitals in Mallaig and Crianlarich, and two on-board performances by RSNO string members on the Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank line.
Closest to the RSNO’s home in Glasgow, a chamber group and presenter Lisa Rourke will welcome early years and nursery aged children to Kennishead community organisation Positively Including Everyone (PIE), for a presentation of its critically acclaimed Teddy Bears Picnic, an interactive performance tailored especially for young children.
In the east, RSNO string players will entertain passengers on the Borders Railway Line between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, the longest new domestic railway to be built in over 100 years in Scotland.
On Tuesday 6 June and Wednesday 7 June the West Highland Line between Glasgow Queen Street Station and Mallaig will have a string duo performing music with a Nordic influence, collated by RSNO Viola Katherine Wren who spent several months last year travelling around Shetland, The Faroes, Greenland and Iceland, immersing herself in the diverse but connected musical cultures.
The RSNO’s Café Orchestra will perform at the Atholl Centre, Pitlochry on Wednesday 7 June from 2.30pm, providing attendees with all the means to dance to the hits of the 1920s and 30s. The musicians will also be entertaining passengers on their way from Glasgow to Pitlochry with a themed selection of music.
James Ledgerwood, the ScotRail Alliance’s Head of Economic Development: “We’re very fortunate to work alongside so many groups across Scotland that are so passionate, not only about their local railway, but also about the wider difference the railway can make to local communities.
“These concerts show that the benefits these groups bring don’t end at the station platform.”
RSNO Artistic Director for Learning and Engagement William Chandler: “Our partnership with ScotRail is incredibly valuable to us as it provides us with the means to travel the country performing to audiences in urban and rural settings. We relish the opportunity to try new things so when the opportunity to use the rail network to not only access performance opportunities but to provide platforms for performances themselves we were keen to accept. We’re very much looking forward to seeing some new faces on our journeys and spreading the joy of live music”.