It was the most stunning day to drive from the West coast back to the east! But firstly, we made sure to take a walk in Helensburgh and take in as much sun as we could.

Also, we may or may not have had waffles and ice cream for breakfast… We drove on beautiful smaller roads and avoided the motorway altogether so we can really take in the views.

We played an afternoon concert at the Dollar Academy, surrounded by birds and hills. After the first half, a man came to speak to Mihai to say that he came to the concert with his mum not knowing what we were going to play and was hoping to hear the Debussy sonata. So, when Mihai played the opening statement, he was just ecstatic! I love talking to the people who come to listen to us. It’s always a very special connection after you’ve already communicated in music.

This photo was taken by the absolutely lovely Caroline who runs the Dollar Music Society.

After the concert, we enjoyed a little stroll along the river and Yoanna was absolutely taken by the smell of food at the end of the road. Well, more precisely, the smell of food and nature combined in a perfect perfume.
We followed the smell, and found a little Japanese restaurant that had just opened and was only serving food to take away. So, we made the best out of it. Can’t think of a better restaurant setting in that moment!

Then, we drove back to Edinburgh… 

It was an unforgettable week. We will miss Scotland dearly, both for the stunning views and incredible, warm, open-hearted people we made friends with. It was a dream come true performing so many concerts in a row together, and playing music we love deeply.

Thank you to the fantastic Tunnell Trust for this adventure! 

Stay tuned for a couple of extra posts… 

We arrived in Helensburgh on the sunniest day!

The venue, The Tower Digital Arts Centre, is an unusual one: a typical Scottish church that has been transformed into a cinema, and for tonight, a concert hall.

The usher looked a little odd too… 😂

 

A little bonus from the night before in Biggar: Mihai at our lovely hosts’ warm kitchen, enjoying a glass of scotch. We were so grateful to the lovely Frances and Ted for being so wonderful, feeding us great food and stories. One of the best things about travelling is certainly the people we meet along the way!

 

We loved playing in the beautiful Loaningdale House in Biggar, where we were surprised by a gorgeous Steinway – Mihai surely enjoyed playing the epic Dohnanyi sonata on it!

 

Here is a short excerpt of the end of the first movement: we have been loving sharing this rarely performed masterpiece, and it’s an absolute treat to get to play it six times in a row.

 

The morning after the concert, we enjoyed the stunning spring day. Scotland is truly beautiful!

Looking forward to our next concert, in Helensburgh.

 

New Lanark was beautiful! We enjoyed playing in a lovely, intimate space. Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties we could not take a good photo of the performance, but here is Mihai getting set up for our rehearsal: 

 

We had a few hours to kill next morning, and as we were staying in the cute Scottish Equi Hotel… we decided to treat ourselves to a horse riding lesson!

 

We are here with the gorgeous Montana and Scarlett. It was an unforgettable experience to connect with these stunning animals.

 

 

We are super excited for our next concert tonight in Biggar, and for more adventures to come. 🤩

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