We have a New Chairman
Please give a Warm Welcome to
Steve Bartholomew!

Here are his first …

Remarks from the Chair …

Welcome to the new season and I hope you had an enjoyable summer.

It was lovely to see so many of you at the recent Hayling Island concert which marked the end of Rob Hodge’s tenure as Bob Harding Bursary holder.  He guided HSO to fine performances including a splendid Mozart Clarinet Concerto with outstanding soloist James Maltby and the most exciting live performance of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony I have heard.

This promises to be another compelling season of music-making, starting with Saturday’s HCO concert which includes my favourite Beethoven Piano Concerto as well as Mendelssohn’s evocative ‘Hebrides’ Overture and Sibelius and Mozart too.  This will be a Saturday evening to relish!

This season is rather different from others and particularly special.  Not only do we have a wide array of works and fabulous soloists – both international and ‘homegrown’ – but also three conductors.  For March and July they will be Andy Morley and Tom Hammond of whom more in later Newsletters.  Rob Hodge will continue to work with us and HSO will also work under the baton of Colin Jagger, Director of Music at Portsmouth University, for the Hayling concert next September as we have decided not to run the Bursary Scheme this season.

Of course the landmark event will be the HSO concert on 8th December at Oaklands School.  It will be very special musically with all the works chosen by members of the Society.  The evening will also be a celebration of Peter Craddock’s 50 years of conducting HSO.  What better opportunity to celebrate Peter’s achievement and to thank him for the enjoyment he has given to so many players and listeners?  Thank heavens he still intends to conduct HCO and will be on hand to give direction and guidance ‘behind the scenes’, too.

At the recent AGM, there were a number of changes to the Committee.  Tony Gutteridge stood down as Chairman after a second spell.  He resumed the post after his first term because his successor resigned through pressure of work and Tony generously stepped into the breach “for a year or two” … sixteen years later I think we can agree he has served his time!

During both terms as Chairman, Tony has worked tirelessly to guide the Society through some very challenging times.  He has done this with a calm assurance, great skill and with unflagging courtesy.  As his successor once again, I would like to thank Tony for his huge contribution to the Society.  His appointment as Honorary Vice President was announced at the AGM in recognition of his contribution, not only as Chairman, but in a number of other roles too.  He is remaining on the Committee and will continue as Orchestra Manager for the HSO.  I am also delighted to report that Helen Gutteridge has been appointed an Honorary Vice President too.  This is not only for her support to Tony, but also in recognition of the outstanding work she has done in her own right particularly as Hire Librarian.  Thank you Tony and Helen and congratulations.

Two other Committee members stood down at the AGM: Jenny Wyatt and Stuart Reed.  Jenny because she is moving out of the area and Stuart because he has decided to concentrate on his many, and varied, playing activities (which will continue to include the HSO).  Our thanks go to both of them.

Looking ahead … although this season is set to be an enjoyable one, the Orchestras face major challenges.  Finding a long-term replacement for Peter as HSO conductor is the main one.

However, we also need other people to help with running the Society.  We have been without a Friends’ Secretary for some time.  This is a vital role to lead a vital group of people. If you would like to volunteer for this please do get in touch with me.

We also need to find – another new Chairman or Chairwoman.  I accepted the role for one year only as I am in the process of moving out of the area from the New Year.  Work commitments mean that I will be back in South East Hampshire regularly until the end of this season but after that it simply will not be possible for me to continue as Chairman, as I’m sure you will understand.  Again, please contact me if this is a role you could be interested in.

As one of his final tasks as outgoing Chairman, Tony has drafted the Trustees Report which we submit annually to the Charity Commissioners.  This is an informative and interesting document.  Please do have a look at it on our website or contact me for a personal copy.  Amongst the many facts that it contains is the rather daunting one that our average audience at Ferneham Hall fell from 343 in 2010-2011 to 324 last season.  Whilst we are not alone in this trend for classical orchestral music, it is not something that we can ignore.

Please do everything you can to encourage, persuade and cajole new people to our concerts.  We (your Committee) will certainly be doing everything we can to reverse that trend, too.

Enjoy this HCO concert and the rest of the season – I am certainly going to!

Steve Bartholomew

stevebartho@yahoo.co.uk

Saturday 20 October Programme

Upbeat in the Meon Hall at 6.30pm

Hello Upbeaters!

I am looking forward to meeting you all at our meeting on Saturday.  We’ll be listening to ‘programme music’, pieces that help us to imagine pictures as we listen to them.  There will be plenty of paper and coloured pencils in case you are inspired to draw a picture of the music we are listening to.

Come and join us!

Best wishes
Becky Hill

Pre-Concert Interlude

in the Octagon Lounge, 7.00 – 7.20pm

Two pupils from Portsmouth High School for Girls’ will play the 1st movement of Vivaldi’s Concerto for 2 violoncellos and one will also play some solos. 

(These are provisional, re-arranged plans caused by last minute changes to PHS’ Orchestra’s Italian tour timetable.)

After the triumph of HSO at Hayling last month with outgoing Bursary Holder Rob Hodge, we launch our main season of concerts in a spirit of optimism and eagerness.  Normally our October date with the Chamber Orchestra manages to steer clear of events by other organisations but this year there are several collisions – as a result of which a number of new players have been drafted into the playing squad.

We are all looking forward to playing this lovely programme of largely established ‘classical’ favourites.  Mendelssohn’s evergreen Hebrides Overture with its graphic illustration of the sea is always a source of wonder and delight.  The incidental music which Sibelius wrote for Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande has always charmed audiences with its expressive mood music ranging from the noble At the Castle Gate (familiar as the title music for The Sky at Night series) to the deeply elegiac Death of Mélisande.

Beethoven’s majestic 3rd Piano Concerto was the first concerto I learnt to play and has remained one of my fondest works ever since.  What makes our performance so special is the return of Russian soloist Alexander Karpeyev. He can now be legitimately engaged after a brief period in limbo whilst the UK immigration authorities sorted out the earnings’ status of Non-EU artists studying here.  Sasha is currently writing a thesis on the aesthetic influences and performance practice of Medtner’s works.

The least-known work in the programme is Mozart’s Paris Symphony of 1778, a shortish three-movement piece.  It is unusually devoid of the traditional Minuet yet importantly it is scored for the biggest orchestra he had used up to this point in his symphonies – as befits the forces available at the Concerts Spirituels in Paris where the first performance took place.  The Parisians loved it and we hope you will!

Peter Craddock

CDs for this concert

Sourced by GE

Mendelssohn – Overture The Hebrides
Berlin PO; Karajan: c/w Symphonies 3 & 4
DG Originals 449 7432 mid price

Sibelius – Suite Pelléas et Mélisande
RPO, Beecham: c/w Symphony 7, Tapiola and The Oceanides
EMI Great Recordings of the Century 5096922 mid price

Beethoven – Piano Concerto No 3
Yefim Bronfman, Tonhalle Orchestra, Zinman
c/w Piano Concerto 4
Arte nova 08287 6640 1028 bargain price

Mozart – Symphony No 31, Paris
ECO; Barenboim
c/w Symphonies 29, 30, 33, 34, 38 and 39
EMI Gemini 3509172 - 2 mid priced discs

Needed Urgently, PLEASE!

A volunteer to deliver posters and handbills in Stubbington.  Just six times a year and a list of sites provided.

Contact Sandra – 023 9248 3228.

Tickets, Tickets, Tickets!

Margaret Packe will be in the Meon Room from 7.15pm and in the Interval on Saturday for any Ticket transactions you may require – including those for Oaklands on 8 December.

HSO – 8th December

Ticket Sales for this landmark event are going very well.

As we are restricted by the Fire Regulations to a smaller capacity than at Ferneham Hall, you may miss out on tickets if you delay too much longer!

Please book soon – Margaret is waiting for your call on 01243 377430 and will be in the Meon Room on Saturday with tickets at the ready!  Most importantly – Season Ticket Holders still pay the STH rate.

Travel directions are printed on the tickets and can be accessed at the School’s website:
www.oaklands.hants.sch.uk.

Saturday 27 October 7.30pm

Sunday 9 December 7.30pm