Today was our official first symposium rehearsal! The day started out with a welcoming opening ceremony as a start to the symposium rehearsing week. Afterwards, while the bell ringers had a packed and exciting rehearsal to commence the day, the Roadies departed on a coach bus to Aberdeen for a day of exploration! After their leisurely ride over, the roadies immediately scoured the city for shops and places to eat as they arrived just in time for lunch at 12 PM. At P&J Live, the bell ringers worked hard through the morning as they had their first rehearsal, running through all the songs with the new conductors and choirs. At lunch time the ringers headed over to the cafeteria and got to have the tasty food provided by P&J! There were sandwiches and a delicious tomato soup.

After lunch, it was time for more ringing. This rehearsal section was our longest, lasting from 1:30 till 6:05 pm with three 10 minute breaks sprinkled in (these breaks were not enough in the end). We got to meet the rest of the directors, learning their styles and quirks as we went along. Some chose to have us play the songs as written, and others decided to rewrite it on the spot, which was personally not enjoyable. However, when discussing the piece with a ringer who didn’t tour with us, the changes were a pleasant surprise. After packing up for the day we had dinner, consisting of noodles and chicken or tofu (pictured below). After this much needed break, it was time for the first round of solo concerts. We listened to 10 groups perform ranging in size from 3 to 20+ ringers. All of the groups brought different talents to the table, as well as different types of bells and ringing techniques. A group from Scotland used a synthesizer that could read changes in the soil and leaves of a house plant, as the plant reacted to the sounds of music they were playing. That was honestly amazing! Even though the day felt like a bust overall for me, on the way back to our hotel, we spotted our first Scottish rainbow, which seemed to fix everything! 

-Anna and Kayla