Fresh air, open road, and a car full of juggling balls (and instruments). This can only mean one thing: MSO is on the road for our 2018 Regional Tour schools workshops and community events!
Ahead of the orchestra’s Regional Tour concerts in October, our MSO string quartet and three members of staff have been delivering daily pre-concert workshops, Alexander Technique masterclasses, and teacher professional development sessions as well as undertaking meetings with our venue and funding partners and having wonderful, collaborative discussions with members of the Aboriginal community.
We’ve even played for a yoga class! During our last visit to Wangaratta in 2016, the musicians joined local yoga teacher, Julie Connolly for her first ever lesson. Nearly two years later to the day, the quartet – consisting of Michael Loftus-Hills (violin 1), Jennen Ngiau-Keng (violin 2), Beth Condon (viola) and Alexandra Partridge (cello) – accompanied a capacity class at Wangaratta’s Fitness4Me studio.
“In 2016, fresh out of my yoga teacher training, I was ridiculously fortunate to guide a very small handful of students through a yoga flow with the MSO. At the end of that class, I was flooded with gratitude for the opportunity to help facilitate such a gorgeous event,” said Julie.
“In this year’s class, the shapes my students so soft and graceful. I know this is because they’d forgotten to be so concerned about the posture and were focussing on the music instead. It was a truly community-connecting activity.”
And although not mentioned above, we really couldn’t go on without acknowledging the delightful, Mozart-inspired shape struck by first violin, Michael Loftus-Hills as we left the studio.
A new style of yoga, perhaps? We’re working on it.
As our three Kia Carnivals roll through the majestic Grampians and into Hamilton at the mid-point of the week, we’ve already directly engaged with over 220 school students and 80 members of the general public and more to come at our remaining schools workshops and teacher professional development sessions with the Hamilton and Alexandra College, Good Shepherd College, Warrnambool East Primary School and the Terang and Camperdown Colleges.
And by the way: got any best-in-town coffee suggestions? Hit us up!