Before the concert in Newtonmore, we went to have lunch in a traditional roadside diner with a backdrop of the mountains of Cairngorm National Park.

After we had our lovely meal, we managed to fit in a snowball fight before heading to the venue for our evening performance. The storm that had recently passed brought a serene atmosphere to the picturesque town. We very much enjoyed the concert, and the audience was very receptive.

Our next stop was Nairn, an old fisherman’s town on the west coast. It was wonderful for all of us to recharge and walk along the sandy beach.
The concert was held at the Nairn Community and Arts Centre, a lovely hall with great acoustics. As soon as we walked in, we could feel a special atmosphere. We had yet another friendly and very welcoming audience which, combined with the fantastic venue, made our performance in Nairn especially memorable.

The next morning, we set off early for Cromarty, stopping on the way at Chanory Point for a walk along the beach to try and spot some dolphins! Unfortunately, the wet and windy weather cut our walk short and no dolphins were to be seen.

Later that day, we made our way up the hill to the venue, a lovely renovated stables converted into a quaint arts and concert venue. This was the only afternoon concert of the tour and it provided some new challenges. Having performed at the same time each night prior, we had to rethink what had become something of a routine. Everything felt different, from having daylight pouring in through the windows to the engagement of the audience. We found it thoroughly enjoyable, and very interesting to mix things up. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to the delights of the local pizzeria which we all thoroughly enjoyed whilst relaxing with some wine and a good film.

Our final concert day had arrived. We practised in the morning before heading south to Aberdeen. After arriving we quickly changed and headed to Queens Cross Church for our final rehearsal. The church had a fantastic platform and excellent acoustics. Again, we could feel something very special about this atmosphere. Having the opportunity to play this music in so many beautiful and inspiring places is something we’ll never forget. We had taken so much from every one of the concerts we had given, and the wonderful people we met along the way. Our final concert in Aberdeen was emotional, and it was lovely to stay and talk to some of the audience afterwards.

We hope to return to Scotland very soon and would like to thank the Tunnell Trust for awarding us this life-changing opportunity, and to all the people behind the scenes at each club that made it happen, and our trip so beautiful.

Bye for now!

Elmore String Quartet

We began our Journey North from London after a performance last Monday evening. After stopping back in Manchester for a few hours sleep we started the 9 hr drive to Thurso on Tuesday Morning. We passed incredible landscapes and the weather, which changed every 30 minutes treated us to a display from snow to blue skies, sleet and rain. After a very smooth drive, we hopped aboard the 19:00 ferry from Scrabster to Stromness on Orkney.

The next morning we visited the Ring of Brodgar which was very inspiring.  Afterwards, we headed to Kirkwall to get ready for our afternoon workshop with some of the local music students.

This took place at King Street Hall, where they had been preparing a number of works. Having been through music services and county orchestras ourselves growing up, we felt humbled to be able to offer our support to the students, many of whom will be applying for conservatoires in the coming months.

That evening we were welcomed onto the stage at Orkney by a sold-out audience. Post pandemic, this has been a rare sight for us and it was a heartwarming reminder of how important classical music is to communities. The acoustic in the venue was resonant and perfectly suited for chamber music. Having programmed Britten’s 3rd string quartet, we were curious to see how it would be received. Very quickly it became apparent how involved the audience was, which really added to the atmosphere of the music.

We boarded the 06:00 ferry back from Stromness to Scrabster and began the drive down to Inverness.

Storm Eunice has been at the forefront of the news so far, with weather warnings making it difficult for some of the regular concert-goers to get out to the venue. Our concert in Inverness yesterday night was a much more intimate, but equally welcoming affair.
Beethoven’s Op.132 quartet in A minor is the central work of our tour, and performing the third movement felt particularly special. One audience member commented that the concert ‘felt like it could have been in somebody’s living room’.

This morning after a fabulous breakfast provided by our host, we set off to Newtonmore through a blanket white landscape. Despite the snow, we have arrived safely and are looking forward to performing this evening.