G.P.

Three cellists and the perfect concentration

Last week I conducted two concerts with the strings of Saimaa Sinfonietta - combined orchestras of Lappeenranta and Mikkeli. Despite many small problems (players fell ill, materials were full of mistakes) the two concerts we made were great! The program was John Tavener's "Protecting Veil" with Marko Ylönen on cello solo, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Theme by Thomas Tallis and Symphony No. 4 for strings and percussion by Einar Englund.

I heard afterwards that this was the last concert of the contract between the two orchestras. Hopefully the cooperation between the orchestras will continue even without a long-term contract, because despite the slower warming-up process in the rehearsals it is valuable for many reasons. Bigger repertoire, more relaxed work environment and possibility to repeat the program are just few of them.