Summer is upon us, and the Henry Wood Hall feels very empty!

The Orchestra takes its well-earned rest in July, and so with no rehearsals or concerts on the immediate horizon, thoughts in the office turn to projects which can only be accomplished when there's a bit more peace and quiet.  This July and August our archive is getting some much-needed attention.

We are lucky to have such a wealth of information from our long and interesting history, from books, programmes, photographs, letters, press cuttings... the list is endless! We're hoping soon to commence work on a concert programme archive, so that visitors to the website can search the details of past RSNO concerts.  One of our supporters, Dick Heathwood, has volunteered to get this project off the ground - if you'd like to help out, do get in touch by sending Laura an email.

We're starting off with our photograph archive, and beginning to digitise it - a laborious process - and also to tag it - rather more fun!  Margaret Walker has joined us for the summer months to help scan photos and organise some of the archive material.

The tagging is a bit of a collaborative effort, and for this we're relying heavily on those who have been with the organisation for 20+ years, since the majority of the photographs are from the 1960s to 1990s.  There are, however, a few older, intriguing specimens.

This photo is signed "Mrs John Wallace in kind remembrance of" and then a signature which we haven't deciphered yet!  There's a date on the back:1893. Does anyone out there have any ideas, or can you make out the signature in the bottom right-hand corner?  "Marie" someone?

Sir John Barbirolli, former guest and principal conductor for five years in the 1930s, is met by members of the Scottish Orchestra on his return from America (c.1934).

There's something indescribably sad about this next one, depicting the battered timpani rescued from the aftermath of the fire which destroyed the St Andrew's Hall in 1962.  You can see in the background the posters for the forthcoming concerts, with Sir Alexander Gibson down to conduct.

Some of the touring photos are particularly breathtaking- this one from the Arlberg Pass shows members of the Orchestra enjoying a sublime Alpine view on the 1967 tour.

And this one from the Musikverein in Vienna captures perfectly the sumptuousness of a venue which we have visited at various points in our history.

This is all just the tip of the iceberg - there are many, many more boxes to look through.  The problem is, the more fascinating the photograph, the longer you spend day-dreaming over it!

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