Rhiannon's advice for Newbie Nashers!

“It’s hot. Your suitcase is heavy. The flip-flops you thought looked really cool are sliding off your feet and you can’t lug your instrument, stand, suitcase and uniform up the stairs. You feel your instrument case slipping from your already-overloaded shoulders. It’s going to be a disaster. It will fall, break, you’ll have let the orchestra down, your family down, and yourself down.

But then a welfare team member comes over, balancing a crate of water on one hip, and takes the weight of your suitcarrier, and pulls your instrument back up onto your shoulders. Their kind smile and helpfulness is a shining beacon of hope. Buck up chuck. It’s only day one and it’s going to get sweatier and heavier!

The first day of the residency is a whirlwind. Your schedule seems crammed, everyone is excited and noisy, the campus seems huge, but if you are a newbie this time, DO NOT FEAR! The welfare staff are more patient than saints, your section leader is definitely more scared of you than you are of them, and you’re about to make some lifelong friends who will become your summer family. Once you get assigned your room, the people in the same flat as you will either be newbies just as nervous as you, or old-timers who will love a new member to take under their wing. The evening ice-breakers might seem a little odd, and maybe like they’re not even chipping the ice, but if you learn a dozen names, those names will become your friends. Don’t be offended if people ignore your surname; it will be replaced with your instrument! I can’t remember the last time I was introduced as anything other than “Rhiannon Trombone”. 

Some of the traditions may seem bizarre, (for example, anything the brass sections does…) but those traditions are part of what makes you feel a member of something special, so embrace it. The first day is busy, so sleep well; leave all of the others down the SU, sleep the first night and you’ll survive the first week with minimal scarring! Similarly, find out where your sectional rooms are and, if you have sectionals first thing in the morning, take your stand with you to your room the night before! It will save those precious few moments between being just on time for your welfare group meeting and walking in just as notices come out, which is an awkward feeling whether you are new or old.

Smile, say your instrument after your name, and be brave. You’ll be rewarded with an amazing two weeks and friends that will last much longer than the course.”