Edinburgh University String Orchestra concerts

Following a highly successful performance in Shiskine on the last day of May, this splendid young orchestra gave their second concert in Brodick Church on Monday, June 2nd. As one lady said afterwards, ‘There were so many of them! I’d expected something more like a string quartet.’

From the first kick-off, it was clear that their conductor, Michael Devlin, had set high standards. As they launched into the Finzi Romance for Strings in Eb Op 11, the crisp precision of the short notes and the insistence on dynamic expression made the listeners feel in safe hands. A clear, singing tone from the first violins established a joyous attack that characterised the group’s approach to their whole programme and made it fresh and vibrant. There were moments when the cello tone in quiet passages could have had more stability, but the overall performance had great vitality. In the absence of printed programmes, it would have been good to tell the audience how many movements to expect, as there was some doubt about when to applaud – but this simply reflected the warm response that the music elicited from the listeners.

A particularly interesting piece was the competition-winning Double Bass Concerto by Alex Lamb, played by the young Malaysian bassist, Myles Nadarajah. An approachable, clear composition, it began with a beguiling rhythmic motif then offered a slower, lyrical second movement – but its real triumph lay in the third movement, a jazzy, slightly salacious number that deserves to become a standard classic in its own right.

It was difficult to believe that almost all these players were studying subjects other than music. They brought great joy to their audience, one of whom, an elderly lady, said on leaving, ‘It’s good to know music is in safe hands.’ Particular thanks to Mia Tour, violin, who also master-minded all the arrangements for getting the big group here. We hope to see them again.