A Love Note to Truro

Over the past four years, I have come to associate the month of May and its various heraldings of summertime with the bright days and happy times I spent in Truro. I have wonderful memories of walking along the river to Malpas, enjoying the golden hours after Evensong with members of the back row, basking in the sun on Lemon Quay with a burger (RIP, Truro Craftworks!), and playing games of football with the choristers on the green. 

My phone reminded me this morning that on this day in 2016, I visited Truro for the first time. After graduating with my BMus from Eastman, I travelled to the UK for a little recital tour of concert engagements I’d been awarded by the Oundle for Organists Summer School, and I had a couple days free in the middle to nip down and see what was to be my future workplace (I had already been appointed but hadn’t yet been to the cathedral in person). It was a flying visit, but I remember a few highlights: seeing the cathedral’s famous three spires from the train (see below), being shuttled down to High Cross in time for Evensong (the anthem was the first movement of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms!), enjoying the Old Ale House and the Rising Sun for the first time, and meeting people that would eventually become very dear friends. 

May 2017 found me in Truro again, this time as a proper Cornish citizen and the 22nd American Cathedral Organ Scholar to have ever graced this Green and Pleasant land (though we all know that Cornwall isn’t actually part of England; for the sake of this particular statistic we’ll pretend it is). With apologies for the cliché, I was living my best life - in the middle of the sometimes strenuous but hugely gratifying routine of a cathedral musician, I was loving my surroundings and my like-minded musical colleagues, and everything was truly lovely. I remember that month featured many Gs&Ts, late evenings (whether from organ practice, pub, or both), curries, and over half term, a fun tour to Salem, Germany, 

May 2018 was a very special month indeed, as it was the first time I was able to return to Truro following a stressful first year of my Master’s degree. I flew into Newquay Airport on a sunny day and admired the coast from the plane, and I’m pretty sure the excitement of seeing all my Cornish friends again combatted any potential jet-lag I might have normally felt after the long trip. I may have even teared up when I saw those spires again… That visit had many high points, including amazing concerts by David Briggs, and by the Gesualdo Six (the latter at a certain massive birthday party), wonderful singing from the cathedral choir (as always), and several meaningful reconnections with beloved friends over curries (and over a scotch or three). 

Last year in May I made another pilgrimage to Truro, this time seeking a bit of respite from “the changes and chances of this life”. It was a short visit, but I made the most of the lovely weather and managed to fit in a few relaxing walks, including an early one along the river to Saint Clement and back via a fry-up at The Heron. It was meditative to sit and listen to echoes of birds singing and sheep bleating, and the fatty breakfast food didn’t hurt, either.  

With the current pandemic, obviously I can’t make it down to Truro this May. I regret breaking what would have been a five-year streak, but I hope to make up for lost time in the future. In the meantime, I’ve ordered some Cornish pasties from Ann’s, and I continue to enjoy the beautiful photos of Cornwall that are popping up on my social media feeds. Truro remains a very special place to me (as evidenced by it being the main thing I rant about on this blog), and that is partly because of the great experience I had living there, but it is primarily due to the invaluable connections I’ve cultivated with so many of its people. Xx