As part of RNS’s 60th anniversary celebrations, we commissioned a series of audience portraits to capture the essence of how music makes us feel.
Adjami-Da-Silva
Adjami
Adjami chose to listen to Mozart’s Symphony No.40, Mvt 1, as she loves music from the Classical period. Adjami first heard RNS when they performed at her children’s school as part of the In Harmony music education project, and she now regularly brings her children to our Classics 4 Kids series.
She said, “My 1-year-old and 9-year-old are always left in awe of the musicians. To me, RNS means culture!”
Geoff
Geoff chose to listen to Orff’s Carmina Burana: O Fortuna during his portrait. Geoff’s first RNS concert was back in 1990 when he heard Peter Francomb, RNS’ Section Leader Horn, perform a Mozart horn concerto, and he is pleased that he can still see Peter perform at Sage Gateshead.
His love of music has been passed down to his two daughters, who were also photographed for the exhibition and are now avid concertgoers and musicians themselves.
Vanessa and Arthur
Vanessa and Arthur chose to listen to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in their session. Vanessa’s favourite RNS concert was back in 2016 on tour with guitarist Craig Ogden, but she also enjoyed our Nordic Summer Nights regional tour – particularly hearing Mozart’s Horn Quintet in E flat.
To Vanessa, “RNS is a group of cool professional musicians, who are very kind and put a lot of effort into performing, which makes them very inspiring.”
Myra
Myra listened to Mozart’s Soave il Vento from Cosi fan tutte during her portrait, as she is an opera lover and has attended many RNS concerts over the years featuring operatic repertoire.
However, her favourite concert in recent years was the RNS Sampler Baroque concert in July 2018, which she attended with friends who were so moved by hearing the music that they were unable to hold back the tears!
Peter
Peter listened to Binge’s The Watermill while he was having his picture taken. Peter’s concert highlight every year is the New Year’s Day concert. This was his first experience of RNS, and he has been a regular attender ever since.
To Peter, RNS simply means “quality, beauty, and happiness.”