Two British music icons will join forces in a new five-year partnership as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) becomes the official Associate Orchestra of the Royal Albert Hall, reaffirming London’s position as a global centre for the arts.
From her first ever concert at The Hexagon, to international musician: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s French horn player Kathryn Saunders reflects on growing up in Reading.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is the Resident Orchestra of The Hexagon and deeply committed to the Reading community through its partnership work with Berkshire Maestros. But the relationship is personal for many of the musicians in the Orchestra who grew up and received their initial training in Reading, such as Philip Woods and Kathryn Saunders, both French horn players.
RPO Principal Cello Richard Harwood talks to John Griff about his life playing with the RPO, the quirks of travelling with an instrument and how he started out as a cellist. He performs Brahms’ Double Concerto with the Orchestra in February at Cadogan Hall, Croydon's Fairfield Halls and Reading’s The Hexagon.
This month we welcome Finlay Bain, who joins the Orchestra as 4th Horn.
Finlay Bain began his musical training as a choral scholar at St. Paul's Cathedral, where he started learning the French Horn aged 11. He was then awarded a music scholarship to Hampton School where he studied the horn with Richard Kennedy. In his last few years of school, Finlay was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and in 2010 was a Brass Finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition.
