I was working away on Friday morning when I received a phone call from my violin teacher Laura wanting to know if I would like to see the Camerata of St John's that evening. Um, that would be "oh my goodness yes" once I made sure things were okay on the home front. Lucky for me that a) I work close to the venue - the Queensland Conservatorium theater, and b) I have a violin teacher who knows I like going to see shows like this.
As it happens, this is the first Friday of the month so my work had the regular monthly social drinks, that is to say, pizza and beer. It was free and still gave me plenty of time to get to the Conservatorium in the evening. On the way to the Conservatorium I passed the West End markets. I had forgotten they were on. I'll have to go back and check them out one Friday. I saw food stalls, and at least one was vegan =)
When I arrived at Southbank I thought someone was celebrating Carnaval. There was capo ferro and samba dancers. Walking a little further on I realised it was the annual Lantern Parade Walk for Refugees. I stopped at a stand that had African singers and listened to a few songs. Further on there was a coffee van so I tried my luck. I asked the young man if they did espressos. He looked confused. Short black? Yes they did. And a double shot? Yes. At that point the older man who actually made the coffee looked around from behind the machine. I gave him my espresso glass cup. His face lit up. He said it was something he didn't see very often and he was happy. And the coffee? It was great. Very smooth. It was a shame he was gone by the time I walked that way again.
At the Conservatorium I had to find someone to open the cloak room. You see, I had Patience with me and I had take the train in to work today, and I didn't want to leave her in the office or to have to go back there after the concert. Fortunately one of the lovely staff opened it up for me and she was safe and sound. The staff member actually asked me if I was playing. I chuckled inside and said no. I wish. Maybe one day...
I caught up with Laura to collect my ticket. And here I met Dave. I didn't get to speak to him for long but he was very kind and polite and I liked him straight away. Inside the theater I sat with Jessie and Nathan. Nathan is a lovely young man, a fellow student like myself, but much younger, and less Greek, and more Korean. He was there with his mother and this was their first string concert. As it happens, they were in row N and I was in row O but I didn't know that until I had a closer look at my ticket. My, that could have been more embarrassing than it was.
The Camerata played the first work on their own - Dvořák Serenade in E Major for Strings. I was reminded what a great sound a string ensemble can make. There were seventeen string instruments on stage. It is easy to forget when I practice that violins are often heard in groups like this more, I think, than on their own, so it is great to see and hear ensembles, especially when they are as good as this one. I would really like to play as part of an ensemble one day. I noticed too how much the players moved. All of them. Some of them moved around quite a bit. And one more thing - clapping between movements. I can't be 100% sure but I believe fist fights have broken out over this issue. It seemed that there were times when the Camerata were waiting for applause after movements, and the audience obliged, but there were no applause after some other movements. This was welcome especially after the fourth movement, which is one of those moments where the air seems to be sucked out of the room and no-one is breathing.
For the second piece we were introduced to 75 year old Maurice Bourgue who is a world-class oboe player from France. I have said numerous times that I love the violin. However, I think I find greater and greater appreciation for other instruments. I guess it is a little easier to do when someone like Maurice is playing =) What amazed me most was how a single oboe could hold its own against the seventeen string players on stage. It was also impressive the breath control someone of that age (with apologies to Maurice) had. It was a wonderful performance.
After this there was a brief interval. Jessie thought the show had finished so she was pleased when we told here there was more to come.I met Patrick, another of Laura's students but he still goes to school. I can't be sure what he made of a mature age student =)
The first piece after interval was not by the Camerata nor was it by Maurice. We were treated to a performance by the Orava String Quartet! They won the Musica Viva Australia Award for the most outstanding Australian ensemble as well as the Audience Prize for String Quartets at the 2013 Chamber Music Awards. So yes, they are pretty good. I regret I cannot remember what they played, but it was splendid. Also they will be based in Brisbane for twelve months from July, so that's something of a coup.
The evening finished off with Maurice Bourgue, sans oboe, to conduct the Camerata plus horns plus reeds plus percussion (one of Laura's friends) for Mozart's Paris Symphony in D Major. Obviously this man has many skills, and his conducting was passionate and energetic. It was a most entertaining performance and a fantastic way to finish the fight.
I had a brief moment to thank Laura for the evening before she was whisked away with Dave and the rest of her group. It is alway a great experience to see what can be accomplished by a violin player. If I could make people feel the way I did after a performance I would be so proud. All that was left now was to track down a person kind enough to open the cloak room and re-unite me with Patience. I think I was smiling the whole trip home =)
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