Our first full day at Music Coll was accompanied by what we are told is normal island weather – glorious sunshine followed by torrential rain, followed by glorious sunshine. Somehow the landscape of Coll makes even a downpour look atmospheric and refreshing…

We got down to work and had our first coaching with Tim Brown in the gorgeous main hall where we played the Comedy for Five Winds by Paul Patterson. Tim’s coaching was insightful and we are very much looking forward to our regular sessions with him for the rest of the week! We also experimented with using the large amount of space at our disposal and sent one player to each corner of the room while we rehearsed the Coleman Afro-Cuban Concerto. It was surprisingly difficult to stay in the groove in the faster movements, however the Vocalise was very well suited to the space.

We were easily persuaded to buy the Tunnell Trust embroidered t-shirts and hoodies (after getting caught in the rain!)  so you might spot the logo in any future photos.

The evening was concluded with our first visit to the very pleasant Coll Hotel Restaurant and Bar, which is located dangerously close to our accommodation. There we discovered a pool table and darts board – two essential skills that we are all looking forward to developing further. Rowan has already improved a great deal and managed to get all three darts on the board in a row!

Monday will involve an informal performance of Movements 1 & 2 of Martin Butler’s Down-Hollow Winds to the other musicians here with us and we are really looking forward to hearing all the ensembles play.