Mission to MOLA

As I creep towards decrepitude (I'm nearly 56!) I look back at at fabulous 40 year professional life as a bass player, and I have seen some amazing places and met some incredible people, including being privileged to meet and shake hands with Ella Fitzgerald.

Since 2005 I have been in a "day job" as well, as Performance Librarian at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly known as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) where I manage all performance material and advise on copyright and associated institutions (PRS, PPL) as well as doing lots of gigs at night.

Right now, I'm pretty excited as I've flown out to New Orleans for the MOLA (Major Orchestra Librarian's Association) Conference which is happening over the weekend of 11-14th May.

It is great to get the chance to meet people doing the same job as me, as there is normally only one in any institution, so one tends to be a bit "out on a limb"! At the conference there will be many interesting sessions, on new media licensing and Latin American orchestral music, to name but two. Also as part of the agenda, I have the chance to attend various concerts taking place in the city, and one that I dare not miss is the New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra - a name to be reckoned with!

I shall be doing a daily update to this blog whilst in the USA, and let you know all of the news and events as they happen. This will include any gigs I attend, especially if I get some good traditional Dixie Jazz.

The fun started when I flew into Louis Armstrong International Airport - as the great man himself said often, "and that's Jazz!"

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Day six and on the road again

Well my guess was a good 'un and there was no internet until I got back to the UK. this is a very swift report which I shall flesh out from sunny Pertyck later. Monday night's hotel was gorgeous and oh so different from the Marriott. The Royal is a series of building in the FQ which were renovated and turned into a hotel less than 12 months ago. Each room has been stripped back to the bare stone which is whitewashed and there is a black hardwood floor throughout. The (huge) bed is black, with white bedlinen. At the end of the bed is a (huger!) plasma TV and iPhone docking station. In the ensuite bathroom, there is a marble washbasin and ditto shower which is big enough for half of the Scottish rugby team!. The whole place is lit with really cool mood lighting - very trendy!! To boot, the view from the veranda looks down on a lovely courtyard with a wee tinkly fountain.......... aaaaaaaaaaah!

Thus far I have made it back as far as Heathrow but am in the throes of a 5 & a 1/2 hour sit before my Glasgow flight leaves. Harumph. It eventually came to an end and I finally got home around 2:30pm - again, almost exactly 22 hours after leaving New Orleans. Gosh, did I ever sleep well that night!!!
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2 comments:

  1. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Whittaker Library16 May 2012 at 01:34

    At times like this, one buys a respectable newspaper, reads it cover to cover (supplements an' all), and ATTEMPTS THE CROSSWORDS. Time will fly.

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  2. Susan M16 May 2012 at 16:15

    You'll be home by the time you get this - well, at least, I hope you will be and that your predicted five and a half hour wait hasn't increased exponentially!! I was wondering what happened to day five? Did you lose that on the plane? Will it end up in the left luggage office? 8-) Let's hope it catches up with you on the glasgow flight, hehe. Look forward to the next installment. Sxx

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