Vol 3 Issue 1 - Harrogate Symphony Orchestra

Volume 3. Issue 1
October 2014
Welcome . . .
A new issue, a new year with lots of exciting prospects and, naturally, lots of
news. You will interested to know that the baby boom from the last issue seems to
have momentarily slowed down but the recent trend in multiple marriages seems
to be on the increase: read on! After such a wonderful year, what else could we
hope for: stimulating programmes and outstanding soloists are par for the course
so what else has our committee up their sleeves? Again, read on!
Don’t forget to enter our Spot the Logo competition for free tickets to the
concert in March: you can only have a chance of winning by entering and it will only
take 2 minutes! Someone said this competition should be called “Where’s Bryan”:
not that this has any similarities to ‘Where’s (the) Wally”. Cheeky!
Bryan
Spot the Logo
The next competition is very tricky. Any ideas where
Bryan is this time? Clue: one of his favourite holiday
destinations.
Entries: go to the website! New members
A warm welcome to:
Karen Twitchin: Cello
Ben Twitchin: violin
Joshua Rowe: violin
Grace McNeil: violin
Debra Marriott: violin
Charlotte Taylor: viola
H A R R O G AT E O R C H E S T R A . O R G . U K
National Orchestra for All
It was a great pleasure to have been
invited to the event organised by the
National Orchestra for All in July. Lots of
children involved and our own John
Bywater, Mike Barker and Marion Field
(violins), Amanda Kirby and Carolynn Rankin
(violas), Judy Gees (cello) and Nick Salmon
(flute). What a surprise and experience it
was to play in the Leeds Arena in front of
over 2000 people!
Gilbert and Sullivan
Word must be getting around about us as we were also asked to provide the
orchestra for “Trial by Jury” in June at the Royal Hall. The G and S Society were
coming to Harrogate for their big festival in August and wanted to try out a new
amplification system for their shows. HSO to the rescue: a 19 piece orchestra who
performed as we always expect: wonderfully! A great night was enjoyed by all but
the unexpected fire alarm in the middle didn’t please everyone! Le Tour: Summer Spectacular in June
Well we couldn’t have had a more exciting and fun filled evening, could we? A sell
out audience, so enthusiastic and willing to get involved and some wonderful music:
all contributed to a great success. Perhaps it might have been my entry on the
scooter that might have helped a little to establish the atmosphere. I didn’t even
consider health and safety (perhaps why I didn’t tell anyone I was doing this) and
the orchestra’s faces were a picture. My son who was sitting next to his mum
(Friends secretary Kathy) simply said “ Mum, don’t look: it’s dad!”
Highlight of the evening? Lots of votes
for our flautist Nick Salmon’s piece Tour
de France Baht ‘At. And didn’t our
bassonist Gillian Neild do well with her
singing?
Great review in the press and have you
heard the CD? Brilliant!
Bryan in full voice with Knaresborough’s bike “Walter”
H A R R O G AT E O R C H E S T R A . O R G . U K
The big birthday
Yes we all get there eventually. Bryan and Kathy celebrated theirs in May with
a surprise cake and presents including a large magnifying glass so Bryan is now
able to see the scores! The band for the Ceilidh was provided by our very own
HSO players, spearheaded by Phil Rowe Thanks all: a wonderful time!
Now where is
that Mike
Kelly?
HSO at it again!
Ah, so that is what it says!
Happy Days: weddings
galore
Simon Whalley: bassoon.
Helen and I got married
at the Merchant
Adventurers Hall in York
on Friday 29th August
2014. It is a lovely
medieval hall in the centre
of York. We had a small
ceremony in the afternoon
with family and close
friends followed by a big Ceilidh in the evening with a live band, lots of dancing
and lots of friends. One of the treats was having a wind quintet playing in the
garden while we had drinks and photos. This was made up of Chris Armitage,
Tamsin Heath, and Rebecca Elcock.
H A R R O G AT E O R C H E S T R A . O R G . U K
Rebecca Robinson (flute/picc) and Nathaniel Elcock (violin)
Many of you may have heard on the HSO grapevine (if not
directly!) that we were getting married this summer. And so it
came to pass, on a particularly lovely Saturday (26th July to be
precise), we tied the knot at Burniston Methodist Church near
Scarborough. The reception was in a marquee at Rebecca's
parents' home, just down the road from the church. A great time
was had by all, not least the bride and groom! We were sorry the
day went so quickly, but we are enjoying settling into married life.
Thanks Bryan and HSO for your kindness and encouragement.
Rebecca & Nathaniel
Katharine Oldershaw (violin)
. . . would like to say thank you to us all, for the bottle of bubbly we got her to
celebrate her recent wedding to
John. She kept it very quiet beforehand,
but the new Mrs Bowness says they had a
wonderful service and celebration last
month, in the heart of the Yorkshire
Dales.
The music had a family feel to it, with
John’s cousin giving “the finest church
organ in the dale” a tuneful musical
workout, and Katharine’s brother and
sister-in-law performing an oboe and
bassoon duet while the register was being
signed.
The photo shows the moment when the happy couple emerged from the small
village church at Arkengarthdale. As a surprise, the ushers formed a ceremonial
arch from hiking poles (reflecting their liking for the hills) and violin bows - which
don’t need explaining.
Other news
Anna Noakes (flautist and member of INCA) performed (and written for I think)
the flute concerto by Jean- Michel Damase with the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Follow the link to have a listen:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03z9jxk
Wouldn’t it be good to play this with her?
H A R R O G AT E O R C H E S T R A . O R G . U K
HIC Christmas Concert. You will not be aware that things are about to change
with the concert in December. In order to involve more schools and hopefully
guaranteeing a fuller audience, we are changing the name to “The Harrogate
Christmas Concert”. From 2015, schools will now only take part once every 3
years. Not being involved every year means more children taking part, less often,
therefore not putting as much pressure on schools or us to “provide” an audience.
This should ensure that when their child does take part, parents should come
along to support. We are also going to promote the concert as open to all: not just
those associated with schools. This is where we need your help. We hope to
encourage residential/care homes and people who just like a festive occasion. If
you have any contacts or could pass on some of the posters, this would be very
helpful.
The concert this year is on the 13th and starts at 6.00pm. The rehearsal
schedule will change: all details to follow.
Alberto (Portugheis) is thriving and still going strong with ideas. His recent
venture is a solo recital in the newly refurbished Wesley Chapel to raise funds
for world peace. More details later but put
Saturday 30th May 2015 in your diary: and there
may well be a meal at the Majestic to follow!
Toby, son of Sarah and Richard Owen-Hughes, has had more successes on the
gardening front. Do have a read of the link below: it is very entertaining.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening/teachershome/news/tobyowen-­‐
hugesvisitswisley.aspa Below is a photo of his visit to Wisley last year with TV’s Tommy Walsh and Nick
Knowles H A R R O G AT E O R C H E S T R A . O R G . U K
Hot off the press:
Have you heard about the BBC’s project to encourage younger audiences to learn
about and enjoy classical music? Just click the link to have a look:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4KCVB2XVgPQ0JwnqLGJl8y0/about-­‐bbc-­‐ten-­‐pieces 10 classical favourites will be the centre of the project and Bryan is presently
offering schools some workshops to introduce these works. He is also in
communication with the Harrogate International Festival people to see if we can
support them next year as their focus will be on music for children. As a result of
the “No Strings” event, it was always our intention to do another children’s concert
and this seems an amazing opportunity to further our cause of “music for all”.
Even if this does not materialise, are we all up for a children’s concert?
Making Music
You may not be aware that we are members of Making Music: a National events
concern that supports all kinds of Arts concerns, including musical ones. Bryan has
been “volunteered” to be the rep and has been finding out more and more how they
can support us. The initial step is to get some publicity, so follow the link below to
see what has happened so far.
http://www.makingmusic.org.uk/events/all-events/yorkshire-and-the-north-ofengland/brahms-piano-concerto-no-2
Did you know? Andy Williams our esteemed horn principal is letting loose the reins
of treasurer of the HSO. Ted Crebbin (a name that might be familiar to us: yes,
Chris’s father) has been shadowing Andy for a number of months now and will be
introduced to you and nominated at the AGM (20th November). He will be a great
asset to us and comes highly recommended. Many thanks to Andy for all those years
of dedication and helping to keep the HSO afloat.
Friends of the HSO. Some really good news. . . Kathy has been at it again and
secured nearly 100 Friends so far, for the coming year. Although this is a financial
saving for those who take up their membership, it does mean that we are secure in
the knowledge that we have a guaranteed nucleus of support for the concerts: as
well as some cash coming in. She would like to thank all those who have encouraged
their acquaintances to become Friends.
CDs and videos. Now that many of you have heard us on cd and vouch for the
excellent quality performances, what can we do the sell ourselves? Flick has a
large number of recordings, from the most recent in June, and those going back a
number of years. We need to free up her floor space. She continues to bring
recordings to rehearsals so could you please help to sell some. They will make
excellent Christmas presents. The alternative? If we cannot sell them, the future is
bleak: no more recordings! How sad would that be?
ps on the same lines, have we all got the HSO car stickers?
H A R R O G AT E O R C H E S T R A . O R G . U K
Did you know?
. . . . Naomi (1st violins) and her quartet played for the family wedding of our ex
chairman, Mike Booth at the beginning of August.
. . . . Carolynn (violas) has been working illustriously and gained her Doctorate
over the summer.
. . . . Glad to see a good number of the HSO at Laura van der Heijden’s recital
at the Wesley Chapel. Wasn’t she fantastic? John and Bryan went to meet her
afterwards and she says she is looking forward to playing the Shostakovich with the
HSO in March.
Dates for the Diary
15th November Winter Concert: Beethoven overture Coriolan, Brahms 2nd
piano concerto (with our amazingly outstanding local celebrity Julian Saphir) and
Rachmaninov’s 2nd symphony. If there was ever a concert not to missed, it is this
one! Incidentally, this will be the 4th concerto Julian has played with us and he says
he just loves playing with the HSO. If the Trustees buy a piano for the Royal Hall,
he says he would willingly play a concerto with us every year! Any thoughts?
He is, as we speak, flying to Leipzig for a solo recital of Schumann and Liszt. Catch
up with him on his website:
www.juliansaphir.com
13th December The Harrogate Christmas Concert. nb 6.00pm start.
Our usual festive concert at the HIC with the HCS and over 300 local school
children.
18th December Christmas meal. Pannal Golf Club at 7.30pm. Please let Jill
know asap for your tickets. Friends and family are welcome.
2015
21st March Spring Concert.: Sibelius Karelia Suite, Shostakovich Cello
Concerto no 1 (Laura van der Heijden, BBC Young Musician of the Year 2012 winner),
Nick Salmon Air and Fandango and Respighi Pines of Rome.
20th June: Songs from the shows
21st November: by popular request, Elgar Enigma Variations, Mozart Clarinet
Concerto (Chris Armitage) and the concert starts with the Berlioz Roman Carnival
. . . and finally:
Ø You are aware of the old saying ”any publicity is good publicity” so please forward this
newsletter to all your friends and relations, especially now, to promote our November
concert.
Ø Use Bryan’s technique of selling cds: give a couple to friends and ask them to have a
listen to see what they think. When they say they love them, you tell them that they are
only £7 each. When they offer to buy them and you’ve got the cash, sell them a ticket for
the concert. Works every time!
H A R R O G AT E O R C H E S T R A . O R G . U K