The Second Performance Week

Baptism of fire into the second week.  First we played in the folk group which was great - interesting bowing patterns.   Then I popped into the singing workshop.  

Then into the contemporary ensemble which I wanted to watch for a while.  But Tommy kindly invited me to play too.  I haven't played anything like this before and it was interesting.  There is form to it and various meeting places in the piece but otherwise you are free to work through a number of sections of music which all fit together.  I have played graphic scores before and it has a similar feel but slightly more structure to it.

Then into choir for the afternoon. We sang more of  Amazing Grace and Londonderry Air.  

After choir, into town for meeting at 5.30 pm.  One of the things I do in my "spare" time is  to sit on the Board of the Scots Music Group (as a volunteer non Executive Director).  The Scots Music Group is a community-based charity located in Edinburgh.  Our aim is to build music, dance and song based on Scots traditions into the community life of the city and beyond, thereby enhancing those communities and the lives of the individuals who participate.   

To do this, we run classes, informal sessions, ceilidhs, workshops and social events.  I have quite a lot of board experience from my past life as a policy civil servant.  But this isn't essential to become a volunteer.  There are lots of roles, for example from helping to organise ceilidhs, helping out in the office etc.  You can join Scots music group as a member through the website and become involved.  Good for networking and for your CV?