Great Scot May 2020 Great Scot 159_MAY 2020_ONLINE_V3 | Page 44

MUSIC
FROM ALCATRAZ
TO THE MET
The Symphony Orchestra’s tour of America
Alcatraz, even in sunshine, is a formidable and cold place – with
pictures of former ‘guests’ such as Al Capone and ‘Machine Gun’
Kelly. So commenced the orchestra’s first day of what turned out to
be a remarkable three-week tour of America.
We landed in San Francisco, then travelled on to Washington
DC, New York City, Boston, and finally Los Angeles. Our repertoire
included Camille Saint-Saëns’ Danse Bacchanale, Malcolm Arnold’s
Four Scottish Dances, Gabriel Fabre’s Dolly Suite, James Ledger’s
Indian Pacific, and of course, our traditional tour encore: Gumtree
Suite by our very own Nicholas Buc (‘99).
As usual, we took a number of concerti that were ‘rotated’
through the tour. These included Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, brilliantly
performed by Lincoln Poon (‘19). Leon Fei (Year 10) showcased his
flawless violin skills in Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. Samuel Zong (Year
12) captivated the audience in Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto. The
meticulous, rhythmical stroke of the harp in Rodrigo’s Concierto de
Aranjuez, performed by Yuki Goh (‘19), was outstanding, and Tom An
(Year 12) and Richard Liu (Year 11) dazzled audiences with flamboyant
performances of Franz Krommer’s Concerto for Two Clarinets.
We performed at some public venues, as well as at high schools
in each city, where our musicians had time to meet their American
counterparts with music in common. People can drive in America
at an earlier age than in Australia, and some of the boys were
44
Great Scot Issue 159 – May 2020
particularly delighted when a carload of young ladies drove to
another city to attend our next concert. (So it wasn’t just about
the music!)
A tour like this gives everyone an opportunity to soak up the
history and culture of the country. A visit to Alcatraz left a lasting
impression. In Washington DC we visited the US Capitol Building,
the White House and the Lincoln Memorial, as well as various
museums. We saw the bright lights of Times Square in New York,
and were immersed in the rich history of the Statue of Liberty and
Ellis Island, and the Beatles’ association with Central Park. The
history associated with Boston, enhanced by walking guided tours
(through the snow) helped bring alive the relevance of the Boston
Tea Party and other major historical events.
As an orchestra of students, it was good to visit places of learning,
such as Harvard and the Lincoln Centre, where the boys had a brief,
but informative ballet lesson, covering basic ballet positions.
America has some of the finest performing organisations in the
world. We enjoyed a fabulous performance of My Fair Lady at the
Kennedy Centre. We also enjoyed a jaw-dropping performance of
Dvorak’s 9th Symphony, From the New World, performed by the
New York Philharmonic. We saw Wicked on Broadway, and finally
Puccini’s La Bohème at ‘The Met’ – it really doesn’t get any better
than that!