Day 53 - The Mighty Quo and a gig for the BBC

While Mum was taking me to classical concerts and buying me classical cassette tapes to further my musical development I was receiving an alternative musical education from my Dad. Mum would drop me and Viki off at Dad's on Saturday afternoons after music centre or youth orchestra and as we arrived we could usually hear music of some kind blaring out from the hi-fi system. More often than not it was an LP (that's a 'long playing' record for readers under the age of 25) from his immense record collection and it varied from week to week. Usually it was Iron Maiden or ACDC but when I played Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition with County Training Orchestra Dad pulled out Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Pictures at an Exhibition album. When Viki started the flute we learnt about Focus and Jethro Tull. Viki eventually developed a preference for Guns n' Roses and Bon Jovi while I showed an interest in the synthesised sounds of Jean Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream. However the group that we both became fans of, and the one that Dad has his greatest regard for, was Status Quo. You may joke about those three chords but the Quo managed to create a lot of good music with them. Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt have been together for over 40 years, much longer than many top string quartets and they are not only fine musicians but top entertainers as well. We've seen them in concert several times and it is usually a great show. I've never seen such a wide range of people in any other audience, from stylish young girls to ageing rockers (or was that just me and Dad!), an equal mix of male and female, young and old, denim-clad and anything-other-than-denim-clad. It seem odd mentioning the Quo alongside all the harp posts but when you consider that Prince Charles is also a big Status Quo fan (you can hear the crowd calling "Charlie, Charlie" on one of the live albums) and then remember he has his own harpist then there is a pretty strong connection. And perhaps without the Quo my own musical talents might be lacking. After all, that head banging and air guitar practise to Down Down and Whatever You Want on those Saturday afternoons must have improved my pulse and rhythm skills considerably! Dad has made a very generous donation so today's practise is dedicated to Dad and Sue, his wife, who has been successful in making him turn the volume down, or at least wear headphones. I played for over an hour and this session was an important one as I'd had the email informing me the recording for BBC Look East would be taking place this afternoon at 4pm. We were to play Jeremy Thurlow's GOAT Music so I included that in my practice. I also worked out the order for my grade 1 exam and will be starting with Rondo, just to get it out of the way first, then Azaleas and finishing with the lighter piece The Ball. I finished my session by downloading a simple difficult piano version of Rockin' All Over The World. Not sure if the gentle angelic tones of the harp suit the rhythmic rock character of the mighty Quo but Dad will be pleased to know I gave it a go!

Shortly before 4pm around 20 musicians, some looking slightly nervous, wandered into the Guildhall in Cambridge. We set ourselves up in the Large Hall, which was a challenge as we had to remember not to go to our usual orchestral positions. I went behind the violins and did a few very quiet plucks.

While our reporter Waseem Mirza set up we had a run through of GOAT Music. Usually in a difficult situation I like to say that this has Potential with a capital P to offer some kind of encouragement but I'm just glad I didn't have to comment at that stage. I heard bits of the tune but the overwhelming sound of feet tapping and counting out loud to keep time was my strongest impression of the first run through. Maurice (does the man have no end to his talents?) put down his horn and conducted us for the next go. I have to confess I forgot to look at him but the overall sound was much better. We all seemed to get more confident although I got a little worried when a microphone appeared almost under my nose. So now I had to remember not to swear as well.

We were asked to play through the piece three or four times. Two of the three cameras were stationary while the other went around with Waseem filming us individually. Guess who was first… Me! As he poked the camera through my strings I tried very hard not to do my cheesy grin or mouth the numbers 1,2,3,4 as I was counting. As a nice touch he followed my hand as I did the glissando and captured a few right notes as well as wrong ones. After our fourth performance he moved further out into the hall before doing an interview with Elizabeth, from the SIA, while we rehearsed quietly (I SAID QUIETLY) in the background then he moved up to the balcony to get a great opening shot. Each playing got considerably better and there were some impressive sounds from all sections. I chatted with Amy, a singer who is doing very well on the tenor saxophone. I offered her a few tips and taught her G sharp. I also met Sue, one of the pedal harpists. Sue wasn't able to bring her harp as it doesn't fit in her car so she played her regular instrument. I won't tell you which one though in case you watch the broadcast. She is doing two of the same exam pieces as me and has also found Rondo to be difficult. However she has enjoyed it and is thinking about getting a lever harp afterwards to carry on. As we were leaving Guy was with his guitar about to be interviewed. We have been told that the report should be broadcast during tomorrow's (Friday's) breakfast news and then throughout the day on Look East. Most of my family and a great many friends are in the eastern region so should be able to see it.