by Matthew Knight (sub-principal trombone)

As the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra spends a sunny bank holiday weekend stuck inside, recording in the artificial light of the famous Abbey Road studio 1, it seems a good time to reflect on the strangeness of a musician’s life. No nine-to-five, or Monday-to-Friday for us, no fixed place of work, in fact no ‘normal’ at all. Life in one of world’s busiest and most musically-diverse orchestras is different every single day. It takes us from the recording studios and concert halls of our London home, to the far-flung regions of the UK and the most prestigious venues around the world, as we perform for over 300,000 people every year.

And so we thought it might be interesting to write a musician’s-view blog – one post reflecting on each month that passes – inviting you, our readers, to meet the players behind the scenes, as we chart the highs (and occasional lows) of our weird and wonderful lifestyle in this orchestra we all love, the RPO.