Saturday, February 3, 2007
Michele Strong
Michele Strong
As you probably remember I was kind of mediocre cellist at school.
When I left I moved on to the double bass, and found that mediocre bass players are far more in demand!
After having lessons with John Gray for a couple of years and playing with the Con orchestra etc I went to London in 1980 to do a year's
orchestral training course in London.
When that finished I decided to stay in the UK and moved to Scotland, where I freelanced with the BBC and Scottish National Orchestras and toured around with Scottish Ballet.
After a marriage which sadly didn't work out I moved back to London, started applying for jobs.... and got sub principal bass in the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
I've been here since 1985!! It's not a bad job. We do varied work, and have gone on a lot of tours. Apart from London every couple of years for the Proms we've been to Southern Ireland,
Germany, Poland, Hong Kong, New York, Florida and Korea.
We have quite a bit of free time, so I teach two nights a week at Belfast School of Music and am bass tutor for the Belfast Youth Orchestra every Saturday morning. I'm also member of a double bass trio that gives concerts for nursery and junior primary kids.
Northern Ireland is a beautiful place. Very green. (It rains a lot!). Despite the adverse press coverage of Belfast over the year I've never been involved in any of the troubles, and now it's just like any other UK city.
I married again in Belfast and it lasted seven years... no children luckily. Now I'm with someone else and am very happy, and have decided to leave marriage alone!
In my spare time I've taken up sea kayaking, which is great!
I've managed to get back to Oz every few years and I 'd love eventually to find a way to move back! Australia will always be home.... It's not easy to follow the Sydney Roosters from here, but I try!
I've kept in touch with Ros, Leone and Pierre and have seen them whenever I've been in Sydney. I did get to an earlier reunion held by Paul, and have also kept in touch with him on and off... Actually he's the only ex-class mate who's come to visit me in Belfast which was really nice.
Here's a couple of photos of me taken on my last visit to Sydney
in June/July this year.... One in the Green Room at the Opera House,
and the other taken with my Dad at the airport.
