THE Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is to look east for audience growth and income as its reputation grows amongst Asian audiences, a senior figure has said.
The 128-year-old ensemble recently returned from a six-date tour of China, with around 12,000 people turning out for performances that featured both Chinese and European pieces, including Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise, by the late Sanday-based composer Peter Maxwell-Davies.
Acclaimed classical violinist Nicola Benedetti joined players for the tour, which began in late December.
Bill Chandler, RSNO interim deputy chief executive, says the activity “opened a lot of doors” and could see the orchestra develop a “new strand of activity” focusing on China, South Korea and Japan.
He told The National: “We have never seen such a unique interest.
“It’s almost a culture race. They are screaming out for content. The whole nation is completely obsessed with learning music. They have a lot of young people playing at a very high level but what they don’t have is centuries of tradition of consuming western classical music.
“What they are talking to us about is bringing our heritage of playing music to the country and sharing it with them. It’s a business opportunity, but it’s also a real serious cultural enrichment opportunity.
“There is an ambition to enrich relationships. The arts have always been perceived as something for people with money, as elitist. We don’t believe that. We have always believed it has huge benefits.”
He went on: “China is really important to us but it’s not the only thing that we are doing. We have got a plan to work on regular touring in other places in Asia as well.”
With musicians, composers and staff from all over the world, RSNO is an international ensemble. Tokyo-born Maya Iwabuchi, who leads the violin section, joined in 2011, while principal guest conductor Elim Chan hails from Hong Kong and China’s Junping Qian was appointed to the role of assistant conductor in October.
Meanwhile, Chandler says there has been a “renewed injection of enthusiasm about the quality of the orchestra” that could drive sales and make costly overseas tours more lucrative. He said: “It’s really important for us to tour internationally. That growth of perception of quality and accomplishment, I’m hoping, is going to get us to the point when we are not just wiping our faces, but it is an integral part of our operations.”
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