And it's just as well, as the first day back has proven to be as frenetic as anything I can remember. That maybe something to do with having (in a moment of unguarded enthusiasm last season) piling up new projects in the early Spring, including some that are going to take up a helluva lot of time. The main one that's pre-occupying me as I type is the BBC Philharmonic's family concert on 3 April - not just because we've not run a large scale family event before as part of Nottingham Classics during the time I've been working on the series, but also because we've added some whistles and bells in the form of the Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City Family Orchestra. The model is a proven one - the BBC Philharmonic created the Salford Family Orchestra a year and a bit ago as a means of engaging more deeply with its local community and of providing an inspiring opportunity for its participants to perform in a big public concert (The BBC Proms in fact). And the response was really wholehearted from those who took part. We're hoping to do the same in Nottinghamshire and most things are now in place - our first applications for places came in at the end of last week. But even after several hours organising it there's still seemingly a mountain of things to do. I had intended, arriving back in the office to make some real headway today but I should have known better. With next season still taking shape, our first concerts this weekend and the end of next week, and numerous bits of admin to sort out, the window of opportunity quickly turned into a porthole and many things are now on the to-do list for tomorrow.
Oh well, at least I did stick to one of my New Year's resolutions and used my lunch hour to pick up my shiny new bass trombone and get to work on remembering how to play it. I'm going to be joining the University Philharmonia in a performance of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique in February and I really need to put in some hard yards to get some semblance of tone and technique back. I guess it's a bit like rejoining a gym after several months spent avoiding it - your know what you're meant to be able to do but your body just won't play ball. Nevertheless I figured that 30 minutes to an hour of hard graft through scales, legato exercises, and lip flexibilities would be manageable even within the non-stop environment of the Royal Concert Hall.
Well...just! By the time I'd worked my way through the emails, meetings, phone calls and proofing it was 4 o'clock - a late lunch by anyone's standards. Nevertheless I did manage 20 minutes' practice and used the time to try out the sample orchestral chair which we're considering to replace the long-serving and, frankly, exhausted chairs that have been here since 1982. And, I'm pleased to say, it was really excellent - plenty of support, the right shape and a serious looking chair to boot. Let's hope the orchestras like them too.
So, the first day back was as relentless as expected, probably more so, but inch by inch the pieces are falling into place. The next big thing is turning the draft 2011-2012 programme into a fully-fledged season. And there are four Sunday morning piano series concerts to add in too - apart from one date in the diary I haven't done anything with these yet. I have a feeling that there will be a few more late lunches this Spring.
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