Student feedback on their visit to the London Philharmonic Orchestra (part 2)
| Type of post: | Orchestra news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Zoe Utley |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Tue, 11 Mar 2025 |
| Three students recently visited the London Philharmonic Orchestra. We spoke to them afterwards to find out how it went. Next up: principal tuba player Thomas Pyrah. It was indeed amazing!  Once we were given the go ahead from Richmondshire Orchestra, who were funding the lessons, we organised the travel as a group and realised that it would be easier to go down to London the night before the rehearsal. In the morning, we met Simon Carrington (principal timpanist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra) outside the Royal Festival Hall, along with our respective principals. For Andrew and me it was the second or third time that we had met the principals, as we both recently auditioned at the Royal Academy and Guidhall. We then got to sit in the best seats of the Royal Festival Hall, as it was only open to patrons - to see photos and video. We saw the LPO rehearse Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances. This was a great experience, as it helped me to see a professional orchestra rehearse. After that I travelled to the Royal Academy for my lesson. My lesson was with Lee Tsarmaklis, principal tuba at the LPO. He helped me with creating a proper practice routine to achieve my goal of playing in a professional orchestra. He also helped with my breathing, making sure I was using enough air for the tuba. We then applied this to Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6 and I can't wait to perform it on the 23rd March at Tennants, Leyburn! |
