Mum’s music passion reignited by Rusty Players

Despite playing the recorder for 40 years, mum Morrigan Mason found herself on a hiatus when she was restricted from signing up for many community orchestras – until she discovered The Rusty Player’s Orchestra.

Picking up her favourite instrument once more, Morrigan has reignited her passion for playing at Rusty’s in Carmarthen. It’s infectious too as now both her teenage daughter Gwenonwy and friend Gemma have signed up and play alongside her.

“I love it so much,” said an excited Morrigan, age 48. “Now my family and friends are involved and they get the same sense of wellbeing from playing music together at Rusty’s.”

The Rusty Player’s Orchestra was set up as an extension of The People’s Orchestra(TPO) family. It’s aimed at those who want to reconnect with their musical instrument after growing a bit “rusty”, playing in a welcoming community orchestra.

There’s four different Rusty groups so far for The Black Country, South Birmingham, Barry Island and Carmarthen.

“I’m a recorder player and options to play with other musicians are often restricted to playing with other recorders,” added Morrigan. “But in Rusty’s, I play all types of recorders but mainly use tenor and treble ones, usually covering parts written for oboe or flute.”

Although Morrigan has loved playing recorder since childhood, she found herself stopping for several years because she couldn’t find the right community music group to play with.

“Since my teenage years, I’ve regularly played and performed with ensembles and even a recorder orchestra,” explained Morrigan. “I even took the ATCL classical music performance diploma in my twenties just for fun. When I relocated for work, I couldn’t find any group to join with my instrument, leading me to stop playing for several years.

“That changed when I saw a Facebook advert about Rusty Player’s being established in Carmarthen.”

Morrigan, the Museum and Arts Service Manager for Carmarthenshire County Council, added: “The Rusty’s message about inclusivity appealed to me because they welcome any instrument. I turned up at the first Carmarthen Rusty’s rehearsal and made some apologetic noises to Nick, the conductor at the time, about being a recorder player but he immediately put me at my ease with his enthusiasm for the instrument.

“Playing music with other people has been an integral part of my life and has kept me grounded through life’s ups and downs.”

She soon found that Rusty’s was an uplifting place for her – friendly, fun, and enlivening. The weekly rehearsal at Carmarthen Scouts Hall from 7.15pm to 9.15pm on Thursdays in term time left Morrigan overjoyed at practising music from movies and musicals.

Hearing so much about it, Morrigan’s teenage daughter, Gwenonwy, got an itch to get involved too, as did Morrigan’s fellow volunteer at Girlguiding, Gemma.

“Gemma has loved getting back into playing her instrument after a long break,” smiled Morrigan. “It’s rekindled her love for music. Just recently, she played with TPO at Inverness Cathedral, which is something she probably never imagined doing before joining Rusty’s.

“Then there’s my daughter Gwenonwy, who plays the violin. She joined Rusty’s after hearing how cool the music we play is.

“She could also see how much I love it. We often talk about that “buzz” you get after playing music and spending time with lovely people.

“We both recognise how much good it does for our mental wellbeing and it’s great to have a hobby to share.”

Morrigan is full of praise for Carmarthen Rusty’s conductor Alex McGee, an award-winning composer and arranger who you can read more about here.

“Alex joined quite recently and brings extensive experience as a conductor, teacher, performer, and composer,” said Morrigan. “He’s also a self-confessed sci-fi nerd, which is exactly the kind of expertise you need for conducting film scores.

“He’s got a great manner, expertly supporting us to be the best group we can. He challenges us to be the best ensemble we can be – and we leave our weekly rehearsal feeling positive and uplifted.

“We all make mistakes, but what matters is playing as an ensemble and paying attention to the group.”

If you miss playing an instrument, maybe a Rusty Player’s Orchestra near you could be the answer. Find out more here.