The Really Terrible Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Really Terrible Orchestra (RTO) is a British
amateur orchestra
, founded in 1995 by the Edinburgh
-based businessman Peter Stevenson and the author Alexander McCall Smith
. The inspiration for Stevenson and Smith was the enjoyment that their children were having with their school orchestras. They decided to look for a local amateur orchestra with which they could enjoy playing music for the fun of it. They could not find such an orchestra, and formed the RTO as a result, with Richard Neville Towle as its conductor. The orchestra website describes its mission as follows:
Smith has expressed the low quality of the orchestra's playing very directly:
Aside from their yearly concerts at the Edinburgh Fringe
, the orchestra also features in the novel The Sunday Philosophy Club
by Alexander McCall Smith
. In the foyer of the Canongate Kirk, an Edinburgh church and their regular venue, the orchestra sells CDs of their performances.
In 2005 a documentary film
about the RTO, The Really Terrible Orchestra, directed by Edward Brooke-Hitching, was selected for the 60th International Edinburgh Film Festival in 2006. It won the Baillie Gifford Award for best short Scottish documentary.
The RTO made their London debut on 3 November 2007 at the Cadogan Hall
, London, in a sold-out concert.
On 1 April 2009, the RTO travelled to the USA and played to an enraptured audience at the New York Town Hall, on its first (one-date) overseas tour.
The Orchestra ventured into Europe for the first time on 16 April 2011. They played two concerts in Utrecht's Academiegebouw as part of the City2Cities Utrecht International Literature Days. The proceedings were dignified by Dutch poets J. Bernlef
and Anna Enquist.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
amateur orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, founded in 1995 by the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
-based businessman Peter Stevenson and the author Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE, is a Rhodesian-born Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. In the late 20th century, McCall Smith became a respected expert on medical law and bioethics and served on British and international committees...
. The inspiration for Stevenson and Smith was the enjoyment that their children were having with their school orchestras. They decided to look for a local amateur orchestra with which they could enjoy playing music for the fun of it. They could not find such an orchestra, and formed the RTO as a result, with Richard Neville Towle as its conductor. The orchestra website describes its mission as follows:
"The Really Terrible Orchestra exists to encourage those who have been prevented from playing music, either through lack of talent or some other factor, to play music in the company of similarly afflicted players.
The policy of the orchestra is to make no distinction between the various grades of ability and the various forms of music, or time signature. The RTO looks forward to a further lowering of standards, in order to underline its commitment to accessibility and relevance."
Smith has expressed the low quality of the orchestra's playing very directly:
"The name was carefully chosen: what it said was what you would get."
Aside from their yearly concerts at the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
, the orchestra also features in the novel The Sunday Philosophy Club
The Sunday Philosophy Club
The Sunday Philosophy Club is the first of the Sunday Philosophy Club series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and featuring the protagonist Isabel Dalhousie. It was first published in 2004.-Plot synopsis:...
by Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE, is a Rhodesian-born Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. In the late 20th century, McCall Smith became a respected expert on medical law and bioethics and served on British and international committees...
. In the foyer of the Canongate Kirk, an Edinburgh church and their regular venue, the orchestra sells CDs of their performances.
In 2005 a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the RTO, The Really Terrible Orchestra, directed by Edward Brooke-Hitching, was selected for the 60th International Edinburgh Film Festival in 2006. It won the Baillie Gifford Award for best short Scottish documentary.
The RTO made their London debut on 3 November 2007 at the Cadogan Hall
Cadogan Hall
Cadogan Hall is a 900-seat capacity concert hall on Sloane Terrace in Chelsea / Belgravia in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, United Kingdom...
, London, in a sold-out concert.
On 1 April 2009, the RTO travelled to the USA and played to an enraptured audience at the New York Town Hall, on its first (one-date) overseas tour.
The Orchestra ventured into Europe for the first time on 16 April 2011. They played two concerts in Utrecht's Academiegebouw as part of the City2Cities Utrecht International Literature Days. The proceedings were dignified by Dutch poets J. Bernlef
J. Bernlef
J. Bernlef is a Dutch writer, lyricist, novelist and translator. He made his literary debut with Kokkels in 1960. He became known to a larger public with his novel Hersenschimmen from 1984, which treated the theme of dementia. The book is basis for a film from 1987, and a theatre play from 2006...
and Anna Enquist.