Janice Thorgilson

I joined the BSO in October 1981 and find it difficult to believe that this is my thirtieth year.  Sometimes it feels like only yesterday and at other times it feels like an eternity!

Shortly after coming to Bournemouth I gained my pilots licence, and being able to fly to some of our concerts over the years has been tremendous.  Perhaps most notably when my husband, now-retired violinist Charlie Thorgilson, and I opted out of the orchestra travel arrangements on a tour of Spain in 1989 and made our own way there in a rented single engine aircraft.  It was a great adventure and, unlike the rest of the band, we arrived at every venue on time!

Amongst my musical highlights I would have to include the Alpine Symphony conducted by Kees Bakels in Exeter Cathedral in 1990: awesome is the only word to describe it.  Also, performing Falstaff in Paris in 1991 with Richard Armstrong: wonderful music, terrific singers and conducted by someone who knew the score inside out.

For the past six years I’ve chaired the BSO Benevolent Fund Committee, carrying on the tradition established in 1958 of organising a fund-raising concert every year (www.bsobenevolentfund.co.uk.) Naturally, this isn’t without its challenges, but the generosity of everyone involved and the benefit to musicians requiring its resources makes it a very rewarding experience.

My hobbies, apart from flying, include swimming and Pilates.  The latter being a recent, desperate bid to stop my joints from creaking too loudly during performances!