Arts Week with Judy Murphy

Chief Conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra, Jaime Martín, hopes that when the NSO visits Galway on Saturday, May 13 for a concert featuring work by Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov and Ian Wilson, there will be families in the audience. His wish is that some children will be so mesmerised by the orchestra’s performance they’ll decide to pursue music.

That’s what happened to Jaime. He was eight years old and had no interest in music when his father brought him to a classical concert in their home city of Santander, Spain.

“I thought ‘this is going to be incredibly boring’,” he recalls with a laugh. “Then, suddenly, in front of the symphony orchestra, I was overwhelmed by the sound being made by a big group of musicians right in front of us. That’s what attracted me to the industry.”

When he says he is “incredibly grateful” to his father for having taken him to that concert, it’s no surprise.

These days, Jaime is one of the world’s top conductors, having changed careers 10 years ago after decades as a flautist, when he worked as with leading orchestras in England and Europe. His father is still alive and enjoys the story of Jaime’s musical journey.

“He was not a musician but he always loved music – and somebody like my father is the core audience we love,” says his son, who lives in London. Currently holidaying in Dorset, he and his wife Rachel are heading for a seaside walk after his Tribune interview.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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