July 31st - Day 104

Youth Music Box at The Royal Festival Hall

October 1st - Day 166

Today I went to the Royal Festival Hall, surprisingly for the first time during this escapade. The last time I went to the main hall was in 2003 to see Arthur Lee and Love (then indie band Baby Lemonade), backed by a full orchestra, perform the 1967 Love album "Forever Changes". Having been rushed in through the side doors just before this evening's freebie began, it took me a few minutes to realise I was in the same space. I was one of two hundred or so people watching The Philharmonia Orchestra, under Diego Masson, perform contemporary Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg's "Coyote Blues". They also peformed "Engine", but I'd gone by then.

December 11th - Day 237

This is Swedish jazz singer Cecilia Stalin and band performing a free lunchtime concert in front of a good-sized audience at The Royal Festival Hall's Clore Ballroom. It's the large basin area in the main hall. Most of the audience were well behaved and stayed in their seats, but a small number spent the concert running around in circles, falling down and embarking on sporadic attempts to climb onto the stage, such as the troublemaker seen being restrained in the bottom photo. The parents involved spent most of their lunchtime rounding up their small children. They'd return to their tables with one little fellow only to see another couple set off for glory in his place. I don't know if the musicians, or other audience members, found it distracting. Personally I found it hugely entertaining.

ceciliastalin.com

December 24th - Day 250

February 5th - Day 293

The two photos above show, if you peer very closely to the right in both of them, female a cappella trio Voice performing beautiful music, "spanning both ages and continents...from medieval chant...to twentieth century European folk songs" in the Royal Festival Hall's Foyer Bar.

voicetrio.co.uk

And below, outside on The South Bank, spring has arrived and buskers are in bloom. For a couple of days anyway. There's a nasty frost forecast for the end of the week.

March 23rd - Day 339

Year five children from Ivydale Primary School, shown above sitting nicely and being quiet, were at The Royal Festival Hall as one of eight London schools taking part in the premiere of the opera, The Clothesburger. The hour long piece included music composed by children from all the schools. Each school got their turn at being central performers alongside eight professional grown-ups...by that I mean eight adults who are paid to perform, not eight people who are paid to be grown-up. The children's musical efforts were collated and further composed by the acclaimed and innovative composer Errollyn Wallen.

More on Day 279.

April 17th - Day 364

An appropriate way to (nearly) round off the year. An all-day feast of theremin at The Royal Festival Hall (a lot busier than it looks in the photo!). The main draw was major theremin-player Lydia Kavina - the woman instructing and performing on my "Mastering the Theremin" dvd no less. Her grandfather's cousin was the instrument's inventor, Leon Theremin, and she herself received theremin lessons from Theremin when she was a girl. I was able to stay for a couple of hours during which time Lydia and others showed off the full-range of the instrument, from beautiful classical pieces, to sonic soundscapes, to quirky improvisations. Very sadly I had to leave before the twenty-plus theremin jam.

lydiakavina.com