ICSE Events 2010!
Tour to Scotland
On the morning Monday 28th June 2010, members of Imperial College String Ensemble departed from Imperial College Union for the county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland via minibus, plane and train. Our first few days were spent at a self catering lodge in the Galloway Activity Centre on Loch Ken, near Castle Douglas. A full day's rehearsal of music both new and old (Mozart's Adagio & Fugue, Bach's Violin Concerto in A minor providing first time concerto opportunities for 3 ICSE members, Parry's English Suite, Purcell's Chacony in G minor and the rarely performed viola concerto Ulysses Awakes by John Woolrich) culminated in our first free concert performed on Tuesday evening to a packed out Parton Church. Given the rarity of classical performances in the region, the reception and acclaim given to us far exceeded our expectation!
Wednesday 30th June was designated as a "day off", for the orchestra to enjoy the local area with activities ranging from outdoor laserquest, boating and swimming in the loch. Later that day we left via minibus and train for the bright lights of Edinburgh, squeezing in another rehearsal shortly after arriving in the early evening.
Thursday 1st July commenced with a dedicated promotional effort of flyering locals and tourists in the rain, followed by a brief rehearsal and a well received lunchtime concert given in the prestigious St Giles Cathedral in the heart of Edinburgh. As a reward for the hard work put in by all members over the course of the tour, a subsidized group dinner was provided on the last night after the concert. Friday's activities consisted of travelling back via minibus and plane, arriving in London late on Friday evening.
Weekend Away to Canterbury
On Friday the 19th of March began the first ever ICSE Weekend Away for over two years. As soon as the rehearsal was over, fourteen of the most intrepid members of the String Ensemble started frantically packing a minibus and John Sandall's car with instruments, music stands and luggage. In the capable hands of our driver (and also the leader of the ensemble) Jon Silver, we reached the YHA hostel in Canterbury at about 11.30. We whiled away the rest of the evening with a quiet game of Cranium, which had many amusing moments, as well as several quite disturbing ones.
We quickly settled into our rehearsal room, and began the first of three intense rehearsals. Our repertoire was the music we were planning to perform that term: Mendelssohn's String Symphony no. 8, Stravinsky's extremely challenging Concerto in D, Barber's powerful Adagio for Strings and "Stop Playing Homework and do your Video Games" by some guy on the internet. This was our first look at the video games piece, which was a collection of classic (and mostly Nintendo) video games ranging from Tetris to Zelda, arranged for strings. It was a pleasant change from the more conventional repertoire, and for those of us who know and love those games, was a great blast from the past. Although having only been with the ensemble for a term and a half, our new conductor Scott Wilson already knew how to get the most out of the group, and it was a productive, if slightly sleepy, rehearsal. Naturally there were tea breaks to keep us all happy.
The concert was casual, but well-received, although I’m not sure if many of the elderly residents fully appreciated the video games piece. We played one movement of the Stravinsky, the video games piece, and two movements of the Mendelssohn, which went down very well. It was a solid performance, and it was particularly satisfying to see the results of the intensive rehearsals paying off so soon. As soon as it was over, we packed everything into the minibus again, and set off back to London.