The former chief executive of the City of Edinburgh Council, Sue Bruce, is now Dame Susan Bruce and newly appointed chair of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Also recently appointed as the Orchestra's chief executive, hot foot from New York's Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, is Dr Krishna Thiagarajan. Together they hosted the opening of the Orchestra's £20 million new headquarters situated between the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and John Lewis department store, facing Buchanan Street Bus Station.
As we gathered in the Strathclyde Bar Aimee Clark, RSNO Young Ambassador Alumna, was playing her harp.
Once into the new auditorium and interspersed with speeches we enjoyed Dukas' Fanfare from La peri by brass players from both the RSNO and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, parts of Grieg's Holberg Suite and parts of JS Bach's Concerto in D minor for two violins (Maya Iwabuchi and Xander van Vliet) and parts of Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence from the RSNO Strings all conducted by associate conductor Jean-Claude Picard.
Katherine Bryan, RSNO Principal Flute, in the gallery stole the night with Debussy's Syrinx. The Strings were joined by the RSNO Junior Chorus and Pippa Tunnell (harp) under Christopher Bell for a traditional song arranged by Stephen Doughty and Britten's This little babe from A Ceremony of Carols. To signify a wider use of the new auditorium by, for instance, Celtic Connections we heard the lovely voice of Karine Polwart.
The speeches were short and interesting and circumspect. Time again those involved in every way in the planning, funding and progress of this major world class development were honoured. And yet there was the real feeling that with new brooms at the helm, Sue Bruce and Krishna Thiagarajan, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra was in very safe hands for an exciting future. It was a privilege to have been invited to such a significant event.
Event: Tuesday 17th November 2015 at 6.45pm