You are here: Home > News > Newsletter archive > Feb 2012You are not logged in.

Newsletter for February 2012

This is an edited version of the Havant Orchestras newsletter which is provided in printed form (or e-mailed in PDF format, if requested) to players and Friends of the Orchestras.

THE CRADDOCKS’ GOLD FUND OPEN HOUSE

… at 152 West Street, Havant, PO9 1LP
Is This SUNDAY – 5 February   2.00 – 4.00 pm

CDs, Books, Music, Pictures, Refreshments … and more!

From the Chairman …

A Happy New Year to everyone. 

Havant Symphony Orchestra was 50 years old on 12 January and we shall celebrate this remarkable achievement on Saturday 11th and throughout 2012. 

The Chamber Orchestra’s first concert of the new year features Simon Wills and Richard Steggall – two local musicians who have gone on to great things nationally and internationally.  With our usual mixture of the unfamiliar and the familiar the programme includes Simon’s entertaining world premiere, a splendid horn concerto (it’s not every day you hear one of those!), Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ symphony and a little bonus treat.  This should certainly start the year off in style. 

Rosemary Jones has retired from her front of house position after many years in post.  Geoff Porter has agreed to take over these duties and this means that he has relinquished his post as Friends’ Secretary.  We now need to fill that position and I shall be writing to the Friends very soon to ask for someone to take this on – unless someone volunteers now!

The Society relies on a large body of volunteers who help with many aspects of our work but we still need more. 

Are there ways in which you could help us? Some tasks require time but not much prior knowledge or experience, others require particular skills but not a great time commitment. Examples include: completing grant application forms (I’m sure many of you do this sort of thing at work or with other charities); help with publicity and newsletter distribution; organising the pre-concert music; contacting prospective sponsors; helping with front of house; hosting a social occasion.  Please get in touch if you can help with any of these or in any other way.

This is the Final Bulletin on my 1,000 mile walk to raise funds last year. … I still have to catch up with a few people in the Chamber Orchestra (or they can catch up with me!) but the final sum is over £1,000 plus Giftaid.  Thank you everyone for your support.  If you have any ideas for fundraising, from selling home-made jam and cakes to running a marathon, then we can boost our ‘Gold Fund’ even further to help make this an even more memorable year. 

I look forward to seeing you all at this splendid concert and would love to hear your opinions afterwards. 

Tony Gutteridge
(023 9247 4681 or acg@waitrose.com)

Saturday 11 February Programme

6.30 David Goodall introducing Truffaldino
and Upbeat Club exploring Aleatoric Music
also CDs, etc on sale
7.00 Interlude in the Octagon Lounge
7.20 Take your seats in the Auditorium
7.30

THE CONCERT

Truffaldino – Simon Wills
Horn Concerto No 1 – R Strauss
Interval – 20 minutes
Symphony No 3, Eroica – Beethoven

9.35
approx
End of concert and …

A Safe Journey Home

Peter Craddock’s Thoughts…

It is now some years since HCO had the privilege of giving the premiere of a new composition.  There was a time when grantgiving bodies and industry encouraged enterprising commissions and we took advantage of this between 1969 and 1985.  During this era works by James Brown, John McCabe, Michael Hurd, Gordon Jacob, Philip Martin and Christopher Headington were all given the kiss-of-life by HCO.  Sadly those funds have been severely curtailed or dried up completely, or had such strict conditions imposed that complying was well-nigh impossible.  It is therefore with great relish and extraordinary gratitude that we have a new piece to perform on Saturday by a burgeoning continental composer who used to play in HSO in the Oaklands School days.  It is his gift for the Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Season and appropriate that HCO will perform this tribute to its sister organisation. 

The genesis of the new work is quite interesting.  Having recently made contact again with ex-HSO trombonist Simon Wills, I was astonished to learn from his website that he was a high profile composer in Germany and Switzerland having had important commissions for symphonies and operas.  I enquired whether he had something suitably scored for our chamber orchestra forces that we might perform during the festive year.  Simon thought he might modify an existing work, but after toying with this for a while suddenly decided that it wouldn’t work and he would compose something new for us.  Truffaldino was thus born.  It’s a balletic neo-classical piece that had its germ cells emanating from half-remembered keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti framed by boisterous opening and closing sections based on (believe it) ‘an obscene Ferrarase mocking song as sung to newly qualified doctors’!

I have not yet had the pleasure of perusing the text of the latter but I doubt whether it would influence my interpretation had I done so, the music itself being overtly expressive.  I won’t tell you any more about Truffaldino otherwise it might lose its ‘premiere’ aspect.  Think of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with its 18th century tunes and dance steps – humorously coloured by ‘wrong notes’ and displaced accents – and you will be in the same zone. 

Thank you, Simon for giving us such a colourful, challenging piece. 

Not only do we have a new composition to play but we also have a new soloist who was initially taught by Bridget Bartholomew, our 2nd Horn, and who hails from Petersfield.  Strauss’s heroic 1st Horn Concerto will offer him ample opportunities to display his wonderful skills.  A truly warm welcome to Richard Steggall making his debut with us on Saturday. 

Eroica’ of a different kind permeate the epic third symphony of Beethoven, and in order to match the scale of this work I have increased the size of the string section for added strength and power.  Thus we have two extra 2nd violins, violas and cellos, plus a third double bass – so important for harmonic foundation.  Since space is rapidly running out, I offer a very sincere blanket thanks to all those instrumentalists who have joined us specially for this concert.  I will however, give a word of welcome to the new trumpet players for this season, and, continuing on brass lines, those of you who are aware that Beethoven demands an extra (3rd) horn in the Symphony may have a little surprise. 

It won’t be the only one in the concert!

UPBEAT

on Saturday 11th – in the Meon Area at 6.30pm

Our ‘Upbeat’ pre-concert meeting will be about modern composers, with the chance to compose and play your own piece of ‘aleatoric’ or ‘chance’ music.

We’ll be rolling a big dice to help us decide what notes and rhythms will be part of your composition.  Hope you can come and join in the fun!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries at becky.hill@rocketmail.com

Best wishes and see you on Saturday,
Becky Hill

The Pre-Concert Interlude in the Octagon Lounge

Saturday at 7.00pm

Chloë Dixon will entertain you plus some of her friends – or solo if they are otherwise committed! 

More information on Saturday.

Chloë sang before a concert last season which everyone really enjoyed so come to the Octagon for more songs in her individual style

If you live in or near …

Stubbington, Lee-on-the-Solent or Eastleigh, please give the Orchestras a little of your valuable time. 

We have recently reviewed the locations where information about our concerts is needed and these are the areas that were identified.  The main reason is that longstanding poster deliverers have ‘resigned’ and we have not found replacements yet.  (There are also places that have never been included on our display list.)

If you could donate an hour or so, six times a year to delivering posters in one or more of these areas (known or unknown), the Orchestras will be very grateful – and if you have any ideas of other ways of telling folk about the concerts, perhaps a short talk to a society you belong to or simply encouraging friends, they will be delighted!

If you live in an ‘un-postered’ area you would be giving even more potential listeners the chance to enjoy the concerts.  Sandra will be happy to give you more information and advice, so please call her on 023 9248 3228 or e-mail her at: sandra.craddock@ntlworld.com.

CDs for this concert

Sourced by GE

Strauss  Horn Concerto No 1
Lars-Michael Stansky / Vienna PO / Previn
c/w Horn Cto No 2, Oboe Cto, and Duet Concertino for Clarinet & Bassoon
Deutsche Grammophon DG E4534832 Full Price

Beethoven  Symphony No 3, Eroica
LSO / Haitink
c/w Overture Leonore No 2
LSO Live LSO 0080 Mid Price

Simon Wills  Truffaldino
No recording as yet!

CDs FOR SALE

Plus
SHEET MUSIC, BOOKS, MINIATURE SCORES
10% of Sale Price to Orchestra Funds

AND

back by popular demand
ALISON’S JEWELLERY
in aid of The GOLD FUND

Browse in the Meon Area before the concert,
during the interval and afterwards as well

Dates for NEXT SEASON – 2012–2013

2012 2013
Saturday 22 September Hayling Island
Saturday 20 October Ferneham Hall
Saturday 8 December Oaklands School
Waterlooville
Saturday 9 February Ferneham Hall
Saturday 16 March Ferneham Hall
Saturday 18 May Holy Trinity Church
Fareham
Saturday 6 July Ferneham Hall

HSO’s future conductor – a brief update

It has been a busy start to the New Year including:

  • contact with several existing candidates;
  • considering recommendations for two more possible candidates;
  • planning two trial rehearsals in March and April;
  • and the first trial rehearsal with Andrew Morley last month.

Andrew conducted us in Elgar’s ‘Cockaigne’ Overture and Brahms’ St. Anthony Variations.  He works at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Greenwich where, amongst other things, he conducts the Junior Orchestra. 

He also conducts many amateur and semi-professional orchestras including the St Paul’s Orchestra, Greenwich and the Wolsey Orchestra in Ipswich. 

We all enjoyed the rehearsal and appreciated the time and effort Andy put into it and he remains on our list of candidates. 

Further updates on the quest to find Peter’s successor will appear in future Newsletters.

Steve Bartholomew
for the Succession Sub-committee

Recitals at The Purcell Room

… by Recipients of Support from the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund

These free events require tickets.  Reserve online – £1.75 transaction fee, by phone 0844 847 9910 (£2.75 fee) or free at Southbank Centre Ticket Offices. 

Monday 13 February, 7.45pm
(Not 6.00pm as incorrectly given in printed newsletter)
Cordelia Williams – piano
Couperin: Pièces de clavecin, Ordre No.8
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
Chopin: 2 Nocturnes, Op.62
Schubert: Piano Sonata in C minor, D.958

Cordelia would have played with HSO in January 2011 but the change of date meant she was out of the country – we hope to invite her to play again soon. 

Thursday 16 February, 6:00pm
Benjamin Baker – violin
Kan Tomita – piano
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in A, Op.12 No.2
Strauss: Violin Sonata in E flat, Op.18

Ben played the Kabalevsky Concerto with HSO in November 2009 at very short notice and hopes to be invited again!

Other musical events

Saturday 10 March, 2.00pm
The Spring (Havant Arts Centre), Havant
The Elgar Society – Illustrated talk:
‘Elgar’s work at Powick Asylum’
All Welcome – no charge


Monday 12 March, 7.00pm
The Spring (Havant Arts Centre), Havant
Peter Rhodes, piano;
Pre-concert talk by Terry Barfoot
Beethoven Liszt Shostakovich, Schumann, and Bartok
Tickets £15.00, with concs, at the door


Friday 16 March, 7.30pm
Third Floor Arts Centre, Portsmouth
Music In The Round: Ludwig String Trio
Serenade in D Op 8 Beethoven
String Trio, Op 34 Hindemith
Divertimento in E flat, K 563 Mozart
Tickets £15, concs £12 from 023 9284 3023


Friday 16 March, 7.30pm
University of Chichester Chamber Orchestra
St Johns Chapel, St Johns Street, Chichester
Andante Festivo Sibelius
Brandenburg No 4 Bach
Fantasia on Greensleeves Vaughan Williams
Water Music Suite Handel
Tickets £10, concs £8 from 01243 816108

Society Contact Details are at the back of the current Programme Book.

Contact information can also be found on the Contacts page within this web site.


Website kindly hosted by