In the last week, we kicked off our client season at the Proms and on Sunday morning we attended a breath-taking performance at the Royal Albert Hall by the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. Set against a sea of blue and yellow flags, it was a moment when music brought people together, a moment when positivity of music expression and shared experience said more than a thousand words.
During we week, we have been enjoying English orchestral music and, with thanks to our friends at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, we have shared with clients, friends and partners more than 200 copies of a wonderful CD of English string classics. A thank you to the many guests that supported our 10th anniversary at the end of April and, once again, here is music that brings a welcome wellbeing tonic to brighten the day.
As we finish the week, we have been updating our new website. A 10th anniversary is a time for a refresh and we’ve added a short video from the reception of our birthday party in London. It features the RPO on the evening when we celebrated a wonderful performance of A London Symphony, played at the Royal Festival Hall — the place where the elephant story started 10 years ago. Full circle (video link here https://vimeo.com/712033661)
A week when orchestral music has been the soundtrack of our days. And a reminder of the important role that culture and the arts play in our recovery from lockdown — not just in terms of the way it supports wellbeing, but also the economic contribution a vibrant arts scene makes to the UK economy at large. Despite the interest rate hikes, despite rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, music can remind us what’s right with the world; it can remind us of the enduring positives of the human condition — and it has power to remind us what we all have in common.
Explore the RPO’s new ‘Journeys of Discovery’ season here: https://www.rpo.co.uk
Check out the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra here: https://www.eif.co.uk/events/ukrainian-freedom-orchestra