Waiting for a plane has rarely been an amusing, surprising and enjoyable experience - unless a girl takes a flute out of her hand luggage and starts playing Ravel's Bolero. Ignore it, perhaps, but then a man going by pulls a clarinet out of his case and joins in. And then one notices the tapping sounds emerging from the soporific airport buzz. A bloke wheels up a drum on a trolley. Before people know it, they're witnessing a full-blown performance of Torvill and Dean's signature tune played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in front of their startled eyes.
This is an unorthodox and very catchy enterprise that the RSNO have just pulled off for a smart, street-friendly piece of PR, which they put onto YouTube. Last Friday they pitched up at Glasgow Airport, with the sort of hand luggage that causes headaches at check-in desks, and entertained the passengers in the Food Hall. Friendly of them to shorten Bolero to a digestible four minutes' worth, rather than the full 15 minutes, which might well cause missed planes.
They've just uploaded another tube of their Scottish reels.
- More about the orchestra's activities on their website
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