Ruth Davies - Oboe
Ruth Davies joined the Orchestra in 1994 and plays Principal Oboe number two.
Q. What is your instrument/ position/ job title in the Orchestra?
A. I play second oboe.
Q. When did you join the Orchestra?
A. I joined full time in March 1994 but I had been coming in to play on a freelance basis since 1991.
Q. What was your earliest musical experience?
A. I remember visiting my mum's relations. They had a piano and I used to bash away at it. (I thought I was composing!) I was about 4 years old.
Q. If you could play a different instrument, which one would it be?
A. I would love to play the accordion. I have got one but since the strap snapped it's been collecting dust. I love listening to French singers like Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet. There's always a fabulous accordion solo and it transports me to a cafe somewhere in rural France drinking some of the local wine.
Q. What would you most like to do if you weren’t a musician?
A. I can't contemplate not being able to play the oboe. However, if I really had to do something else, it would be to do with food. I'd like to work in an old fashioned tea room serving cakes and chatting to the customers. Service would be really slow!
Q. What’s on your record/CD/MP3 Player/Spotify Playlist right now?
A. At the moment I'm listening to the soundtrack of 'Les Parapluies de Cherbourg', The Proclaimers and Poulenc Sextet.
Q. What is your favourite Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra recording?
A. My favourite CD is the 'Adagietto' CD we made with Libor in 1997. It's got lots of slushy oboe solos on it, which I got to play. I've a huge sentimental attachment to it for lots of reasons.
Q. What is your most memorable moment with the Orchestra so far?
A. This is the hardest question. I don't know. I love the variety of my job. Playing as part of a Big Band in jazz concerts, chamber music... it's always a different challenge. I think the most memorable moments are when there's a huge orchestra on and that magical feeling of getting swept away by the sound. Fabulous.
Q. What do you like to do with your free time outside music?
A. Free time? Was that free time you said? I'm very involved with the education department so on my mornings off I frequently find myself in a school or a nursery playing to children. We work a lot of evenings but if we're not working I like to cook, eat and generally chill out at home. An early night is a bonus! (How sad is that?)
Q. What do you like most about Liverpool?
A. I'm from Southport and have always had close connections with Liverpool. I've seen Liverpool develop and reinvent itself over the years. It's a great place to live and work. The best thing about Liverpool is the Scouse sense of humour - unbeatable.
