After many, many months of restrictions, last week we were finally able to play in an orchestral rehearsal again!

Following very strict guidelines, sitting two metres apart, and only one person a desk (which is tricky for us terrible page-turners!), I really enjoyed working on Emilie Mayer's Faust-Ouverture, as well as Schumann's Symphony n. 4 under maestro Martyn Brabbins' expert guidance. You can listen to a small clip of the run-through recording here.

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I was not familiar at all with the Faust, which you can listen to here, turned out to be a gorgeous piece, full of exciting harmonic twists and turns, and an incredibly cathartic ending. I was also very surprised, in retrospect, to realise that this is only the second piece composed by a woman that I have ever played. In the coming months, I think I will make a conscious effort to play more works by female composers.

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Playing with the RCM Philharmonic was a great opportunity to meet new people and reunite with familiar faces, and of course, to finally all make music together...

Today, I received a last-minute email, which I replied to in under a minute (someone is overly keen!), and tomorrow I will be taking part in a play-through of one of my favourite symphonies ever; Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony in F minor.