The plane whirs in activity and begins to make its steady way across the airstrip of Amsterdam’s international airport. A large number of young Australians sit with their seat belts at the ready, waiting to buckle them in sync with the safety demonstration video (the appropriately-named “seat belt game” – a sure mark of a touring group finding every little gimmick with which to pass travel time). The video, however, glitches for the merest fraction of a second at exactly the required moment, resulting in a entirely imprecise smattering of clasps coming together and a collective groan/chuckle. Next time, then.

For there will be a next time. Despite feeling as if we’ve spent most of our lives enjoying Europe in its stunning summer splendour, the Australian Youth Orchestra has only just etched over the halfway mark in its month-long international tour, and has said goodbye to Amsterdam (and indeed Europe) after last night’s performance in the king of concert halls, Het Concertgebouw. But I’m getting ahead of myself. After four concerts, there is a great deal to talk about – and I’ll start by picking up where the previous Limelight blogger and AYO bassist Giovanni Vinci left off.