Hello! Atéa Quintet here! The time has flown by and we can't believe it's already day 4!
Our journey here began in London on the 27th as we travelled up to Oban by train, enjoying the beautiful views on the way. We enjoyed fish and chips by the sea and even a ceilidh (apologies to anyone who experienced our terrible dancing!) before setting off to the ferry the following morning to the beautiful Isle of Coll. Many thanks to Caledonian MacBrayne Hebridean and Clyde Ferries for sponsoring the ride there - we loved the traditional Scottish breakfast!
Since arriving we have worked hard and played hard! On our first full day we managed about 7 hours of rehearsing as well as runs and walks along the one road on the island. As a quintet it feels like we have done a week's worth of work each day. We have been getting coaching every day by amazing tutors, including pearls of wisdom from Neil Black and Timothy Brown. Last night we had our first informal performance and enjoyed listening to the other wonderful groups. The evening ended with a rendition of Terry Riley 'in C' played by all groups together - so much fun!
Today was a particularly enjoyable day, as we had a scheduled afternoon trip to the beach between rehearsals and coaching sessions. This provided a much needed break from our intensive repertoire (including Ligeti). When we arrived, we couldn't believe our eyes, it was as if we had been transported to the Caribbean islands, with white sand and turquoise sea, warm and crystal-clear water, almost a private beach just for ourselves! The weather has been particularly amazing today, so we managed to swim, do some sunbathing, and even saw some crabs and jellyfish.
Our work continues, and now we are preparing for a children's workshop tomorrow afternoon, which we are planning together with the Maxwell Quartet.
The great thing about this course is how we are completely isolated from our usual daily distractions, and we can be completely free to rehearse and work as much as we want without worrying about anything else. The fantastic location provides us with so much musical inspiration, and every day we feel more and more united and bonded as a quintet. Many thanks to The Tunnell Trust for this incredible opportunity! We look forward to sharing more of our adventures in a few days!
Atéa xxx
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