Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 42

Music
LEON FEI AFTER HIS
PERFORMANCE WITH THE MSO
SCOTCH AND THE MELBOURNE
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
It is an unusual honour to be invited to perform as a soloist with the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – particularly when you’re a Year 9
schoolboy! That, however, is the position Leon Fei found himself in on
Saturday 16 February when he played the Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto, an
iconic Chinese violin concerto, to an audience of 13,600 at the Sidney
Myer Music Bowl. The concert was broadcast by the ABC, and possibly
millions heard it streamed on the internet!
So, what does a young violinist do when waiting in his dressing room
for the performance? Practise the tricky bits? Meditate? No. Someone
went in to wish him well, to find him doing his homework for Monday!
Leon’s performance was beautiful, and the orchestra loved him – I
know, because friends of mine in the MSO told me! It was a great joy to
sit in the audience and hear him.
Leon is not the only Scotch boy to have played as a soloist with the
MSO while still at school. Lin Jiang (‘03), now Principal Horn with the
Hong Kong Philharmonic, played a concerto at the Bowl, as did Max
Foster (‘09) a few years later. Max also played the Tchaikovsky Piano
Concerto No 1 with the MSO at Hamer Hall in the Young Performer of the
Year finals, which he won. Andrew Kawai (‘16) played the Strauss Oboe
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Great Scot Number 156 – April 2019
Concerto with the MSO as a finalist in the Young Performers’ Awards,
but this year was Leon’s turn.
On 2 March there was another Scotch connection with the MSO.
Winton Marsalis, jazz legend, with his Lincoln Centre ensemble,
performed with the MSO at Hamer Hall. The conductor was none other
than Nicholas Buc (‘99). It was another great night and I loved it.
Nick was Captain of Music at Scotch, and then returned as a composition
teacher and choir accompanist. He left when he won a prestigious
scholarship to the USA to further his work as a film composer.
Term 4 is always a bit busier than one might expect. The annual Jazz
Cabaret delighted a packed audience in the Cardinal Pavilion. The special
guest was the distinguished jazz guitarist, Simon Phillips. The Spring
Concert, featuring the intermediate ensembles, was particularly pleasing
– the progress made between the Autumn Season intermediate night
and the Spring Concert was immense, reflecting encouragement from
parents, diligence from boys, and excellent teaching and coaching.
The year raced to its conclusion with the pipers commencing their
competition season in Daylesford. The Junior School Concert was, as
ever, a delight. The Concert Band, under the effervescent guidance