Photos and text by Ruby Collins, Sub-Principal Bassoon

Thursday 3 July: Lausanne and Évian-Les-Bains

Having flown into Geneva airport the night before, we first stayed in Lausanne in Switzerland before taking buses across the border to Évian-Les Bains where we performed a varied programme of John Williams, Aaron Copland and Rimsky-Korsakov in La Grange Au Lac. We were conducted by Lina-Gonzalez Granados and played John Williams’ Violin Concerto No.2 with Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Friday 4 July: Ludwigsburg, Germany

After an early start we took the train and a bus from Lausanne to Ludwigsburg in Germany. Here we performed an open-air concert at the Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg consisting solely of works by John Williams, again with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Saturday 5 July: Ludwigsburg, Germany

Continuing our time in Ludwigsburg, we played a different programme this evening with works such as Bizet’s Carmen Suite No.1, Falla’s Three Cornered Hat: Suite No.2 and Scenes and Dances from The Three Cornered Hat along with other works. This evening we performed with soloist Leticia Moreno.

We were able to enjoy the beautiful views around the Residenzschloss, and even saw a firework display in the town square after the concert.

Sunday 6 July: Bad Kissingen, Germany

After a bus ride to Bad Kissingen we played the same programme as in Evian at the Regentenbau, again with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Monday 7 July: Linz, Austria

With an early start to the morning, we took the train from Würzburg Hauptbahnhof to Linz in Austria. We performed at the Domplatz in Linz, where we played a totally different programme this evening - music from James Bond, with conductor Stephen Bell. We even had enough time to try a traditional Austrian schnitzel before the concert!

Tuesday 8 July: Linz, Austria

Continuing our time in Linz, we performed at the Dom Platz for a second time with our John Williams programme and conductor Lina-Gonzalez Granados.

Wednesday 9 July: Altötting, Germany

After two lovely days in Linz, it was time to head back to Germany where we performed our John Williams programme in the Kapellplatz in Altötting.

Thursday 10 July: Ingolstadt, Germany

For the final day of the fantastic tour, we travelled by bus to Ingolstadt in Germany where we played in the Festsaal. In our last concert we performed a programme which featured works by Copland, Williams and Rimsky-Korsakov.

My first official tour as a member of the RPO has been fantastic, and one I certainly won’t forget. It was really exciting to discover so many new cities, make wonderful music and play in all of the different concert venues. It has also been so lovely spending time with all of the other musicians in the orchestra. I cannot wait for all of the upcoming tours in the future!

The woodwind section of the Orchestra on tour, courtesy of Richard Ion