7 Extra Exam Practice

THE REALLY TERRIBLE ORCHESTRA

Many children are taught to play a musical instrument. While a large number of them quit when they grow
older, there are those who continue playing. If they are truly excellent, they may become professional
musicians. Others might join an amateur group for fun. But most will never get the chance to play in
public.
But in 1995, best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith and Scottish businessman Peter Stevenson
decided that the time had come to give enthusiastic but untalented players the opportunity to perform
together. They founded the Really Terrible Orchestra (RTO), which lives up to its name in every way.
Although no auditions were held (the founders considered testing applicants to make sure that no decent
musicians were accepted, but eventually rejected the idea), plenty of amateur players applied to join.
These were mainly individuals who were extremely talented in a variety of other fields such as medicine,
law and banking, but who had no musical ability at all.
Once the orchestra was formed, many members took music lessons, and rehearsed carefully. (With
the possible exception of the trumpets, players do not deliberately try to play badly.) They also hired
a professional conductor. However, despite these measures, their lack of talent didn’t go unnoticed.
The bassoon player (McCall Smith) and a clarinet player simply omitted the notes they had difficulty
playing. One cellist not only had a hearing problem but couldn’t remember which string was which.
Although he pencilled in the names on his instrument, he still rarely got them right.
The orchestra’s measure of success is if it can actually play a piece of music right through to the end,
without having to stop and start again. Of course, the piece in question might not even be one coherent
work. Sometimes the members find that they are playing different pieces, by different composers, at the
same time. And all this occurs not only during rehearsals, but also during concerts!
Given these musical “accidents”, it seems obvious that no one would voluntarily come to hear these
“musicians” play. But this isn’t the case. To its own surprise, the orchestra has become a hit.
At first, audience members were generally friends and relations who were joined by people curious
to see what the Really Terrible Orchestra was like. But since then, there have been highly successful
concerts in Edinburgh, London and elsewhere. Orchestra members are not embarrassed to admit
that the free wine offered before the concert may help the audience to appreciate the music, but
this doesn’t account for the successful sales of the RTO’s CDs. In addition, a real composer
has written an original work for them, and their conductor, Richard Neville Towle, has been knighted
by the Queen.
Why is the RTO so popular? Experts have come up with several theories, including the fact that people
often seem to enjoy the embarrassment of others. But perhaps it’s simply because the RTO proves that the
joy of creation, not the standard of the performance, is what really counts. This should encourage every
amateur performer everywhere to continue, no matter what the results. If success follows, then that’s just
an unexpected bonus.

quit: deixar, abandonar / dejar, abandonar

live up to its name: fer honor al seu nom / hacer honor a su nombre
applicant: candidat, aspirant / candidato, aspirante
hire: contractar / contratar
conductor: director (d’orquestra) / director (de orquesta)

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 7 Extra Exam Practice Name Mark

PART ONE: READING COMPREHENSION

Choose the best answer according to the text. Only ONE answer is possible.

1. Many adults who play instruments … . 6. RTO audiences … .

a. are well known to the public
b. give music lessons to children
c. become professional musicians
d. rarely have the opportunity to play in public
2. Alexander McCall Smith … .
a. became a best-selling author in 1995
b. is Peter Stevenson’s Scottish business partner
c. started an orchestra for untalented players
d. played music with Stevenson before 1995
3. Applicants to the RTO were … .
a. mostly untalented in a variety of other fields
b. generally successful in their professional lives
c. rejected if they showed no musical talent
d. accepted if they were decent musicians
a. obviously don’t come to concerts voluntarily
b. are more surprised by the concerts than
expected
c. are by now usually just relatives and friends
d. want to hear how a terrible orchestra sounds
7. The RTO’s music ... .
a. is helped by the wine drunk by the musicians
b. was played when their conductor was knighted
c. has been recorded and sold successfully on CDs
d. consists only of specially written original pieces
8. The RTO’s success … .
a. embarrasses many of the experts
b. is due to its simplicity
c. has results that cannot be counted
d. was an unexpected bonus

4. Orchestra members … .
a. try to make the trumpets play badly
b. formed the orchestra after hiring a conductor
c. may not play notes if they are too difficult
d. often cannot remember which notes to play

5. At some concerts, the RTO … .

a. successfully plays a piece of music right to
the end
b. chooses to play different works simultaneously
c. stops to rehearse a difficult piece of music
d. tries to combine different pieces into a coherent
whole

PART TWO: WRITING

Choose ONE topic. Write about number 1 or 2. Length: 125-150 words.

1. Should excellence of performance be a criterion for performing in public? Why or why not?
2. The RTO is going to give a concert in your town. Write the interview between an orchestra
member and an interviewer at the local radio station.