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Well, this is it. As the title of this post says, these will be my final Conductor’s Notes. I know I wasn’t very good at doing them regularly, but it was a lovely way to communicate with you, and feedback what we’d done in rehearsals and what we’d do in the following week. Maybe whoever takes over will want to continue them (and do a better job at remembering to post them!)

It’s incredibly sad to think that Telford Orchestra won’t be a regular part of our lives, as it’s been a real joy and we’ve had great fun with you! I’m so proud of all we’ve accomplished, and I feel like the standard of the orchestra has come on leaps and bounds over the past two years. From our online Zoom sessions all the way to Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, we’ve push the boundaries of what we thought we could do, and continued to excel and succeed!

I want to thank you all for your love and support; not only in our departure, but throughout our entire time with you. It’s just simply been a pleasure making music with you all. Thank you for all your hard work in practicing at home, learning and digesting the music, and embracing every challenge I’ve thrown at you. Our final concert I think is testament to the dedication of everyone, as the standard was so high and the electric energy in the room was completely down to your amazing playing and teamwork.

A massive thank you to the committee(s) I’ve worked with over the past couple of years – without them, the concerts wouldn’t happen at all and my job would certainly be a lot harder. A big thanks to Adrian for hosting the Saturday rehearsals and socials; days like that not only develop our musicality brilliantly, but also our social life as an orchestra, something so important. And of course an extra special thanks to Phil who’s been my ‘right-hand-man’ through all of this. I’m not sure any of us quite appreciate how much work he does for the orchestra, and how invaluable he’s been. He’s certainly supported me without fail, and for that I’m eternally grateful.

I know we’ll be back, either as players or audience members, so this isn’t the last time you’ll hear from us (not least because we’ll inundate you with wedding photos!) But, for the final time I’m signing off, with love.
–Ben

A great start to the new term, with the two weeks before Easter, and then starting again on Monday. We’ve now handed out all of the music, so time to get stuck in at home on practicing it all. I know that the music may seem daunting, but we’ll work very hard and thoroughly on it all, and I look forward to bringing it all to life.

What we did on Monday 17th April:

We played through the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet, and worked on the ending, including some of the trickier rhythms in the final ‘sword fight’ sequence. After the break we played through the Mussorgsky Night on a Bare Mountain and Saint-Saens Danse Macabre. We took both under-speed to begin with, but also had a bit of a play ‘at tempo’.

What we’ll do on Monday 24th April:

I’d like to begin by working on the Tchaikovsky in the first half of the rehearsal, and then look at the Mussorgsky Night on a Bare Mountain and The Gnome in the second half of the rehearsal. Other Dates: A reminder of other dates this term – normal Monday rehearsals between now and the concert *Apart from Monday 8th May. Saturday 3rd June – Afternoon rehearsal at Adrian’s house (14:00-17:30) Saturday 24th June – Concert, with afternoon rehearsal (13:30-16:30)

Spotify Playlist

The Spotify Playlist for the term is HERE. Do please give it a listen, or find the pieces on YouTube – listening to them regularly will help ingrain the tricky bits. See you all on Monday 24th. – Ben

Great job everyone on another excellent rehearsal – next stop: concert day! Below is a brief summary of what we did, and then all the information you could possibly need to know, including a rehearsal schedule for the day. See you all on Saturday!

What we did on Monday 13th March:

We began with Beethoven Movement 3 just touching up the odd corner – remember wind and brass to take a full, early breath to ensure our entries are together. Then we worked on the trumpet/tutti sections of the Karelia Suite (movements 1 & 3) with our 3rd trumpeter, making sure the ensemble was perfect, the balance was correct, and everything was well tuned.

We did some excellent work on the 4th movement, securing a few corners, and practicing the handover of melodic snippets, especially in the strings (Letters I-K) – just a little bit more personal practice on these to get them under the fingers and we’ll have it spotless! Then we reminded ourselves of, and refined, a couple of moments in Movement 2, including the opening, the fugue, and the start of the ‘b’ motif.

Finally, we ended with spot checks of the ‘chamber movements’ of the Elgar, maintaining the quality and balance throughout, allowing the correct instruments through the texture at the right points, and perfecting the interpretation of the music. Such good work, and really classy playing – well done!

Concert Day Rehearsal Schedule:

13:00 – Set up St Michael’s Church (help with percussion and chairs).

13:30 – Beethoven Symphony 7 (in order).
Trombones to take short break while we rehearse Movement 2.

14:45 – Break.
Tuba, Trumpet 3, Horns 3 & 4, and Percussion to join.

15:00 – Sibelius Karelia Suite (in order).
Brass, percussion and flutes to take short break while we rehearse Movement 2.

15:40 – Elgar Wand of Youth Suites Movements 1:1 (Overture), 2:1 (March) and 2:6 (The Wild Bears), including practicing joins between movements.
Trumpet 3 to leave, Harp to join.

16:10 – Elgar Wand of Youth Suites Movements 1:2 (Serenade), 2:3 (Moths and Butterflies) and 2:5 (The Tame Bear).
Tuba, Trombones, Trumpets, and Horns 3 & 4 to leave.

16:30 – Rehearsal ends.

19:10 – Arrival and set up for concert.

19:30 – Concert starts.

Other Concert information

Location: St Michael’s Church, Madeley, TF7 5BN.

Concert Dress: All Black – it may be cold, so make sure you’re wearing appropriate layers. All open-collar, so no ties.

Concert Running Order:
Karelia Suite – Sibelius
Movements from The Wand of Youth Suites 1 & 2 – Elgar
Suite 1: I. Overture
Suite 1: II. Serenade
Suite 2: I. March
Suite 2: III. Moths and Butterflies
Suite 2: V. The Tame Bear
Suite 2: VI. The Wild Bears
Interval of 25 minutes
Symphony No. 7 – Beethoven

Other bits:

Tickets

Tickets are available online from the address below. Otherwise on the door (same price – £7.50).
https://www.ticketstelford.com/
Tel. – 01952 382382

See you all on Saturday 18th!
– Ben

Well done everyone, we’re almost at the concert now and it’s sounding great! The Elgar is sounding magnificent, and there’s so much life to the Beethoven. Little things now, and it’ll be a smashing concert in less than 2 weeks time.

What we did on Monday 6th March:

We started with The Wild Bears, touching up some small moments and refining tiny details. Overall, the ensemble in this is great, and the only thing we really need to work on is making everything over the top – anything staccato, make sure it’s very short, for example!

We then worked on the 1st movement of the Beethoven, starting the piece and ensuring the chords are placed and supportive to the solo lines, before keeping the semiquavers together in the Strings. A little bit of ensemble work at Letter A and B tidied up the rhythms and blend. We got into the Vivace brilliantly, just make sure we all breathe together to help the ensemble work. Lots of good things in this section to make sure we don’t overshadow the melody, and when we have the middle or background parts they are supportive but not in the way. We did some work on the entries before letter E in the woodwinds, and solidified the rhythm in bar 171 onwards. Excellent work on the Development (177 onwards), just make sure it’s all got direction! We made sure not to get in the way of the melodic lines in bars 309-318, and ended the movement with a bang making sure to build to the end and not get carried away too early.

After the break we played movement 4, with the opening being excellent – keep the energy and excitement all the way through this, as it’s the climax of the concert. From Letter G onwards it was clear we didn’t know this quite as well as we’d thought, so please practice that at home this week, and we’ll solidify it all next week!

We finished with the 2nd movement of the Karelia Suite, doing 10 minutes of ensemble, blend, and character in the music. A beautiful sound, just keep it all nice and accurate and listen to one another.

Great rehearsal!

What we’ll do on Monday 13th March:

As above, we’ll work on the 4th movement of the Beethoven, especially from Letter G onwards as this was the most rocky section, and lock this in before Saturday. I then want to do a bit of movement 3 & 2 of the Beethoven (after which the Trombones can go), before top and tailing Serenade and Moths and Butterflies from the Elgar suites.

Concert information

As with the last notes, below is hopefully all the information you’ll need for the concert day. Do drop me or Phil an email or chat to us at a rehearsal if there’s anything you’re unclear of.

Timings:
– 1pm set up in the church.
– 1:30pm-4:30pm rehearsal.
– 7:30pm-9:30pm concert.

Location: St Michael’s Church, Madeley, TF7 5BN.

Concert Dress: All Black – it may be cold, so make sure you’re wearing appropriate layers. All open-collar, so no ties.

Concert Running Order:
Karelia Suite – Sibelius
Movements from The Wand of Youth Suites 1 & 2 – Elgar
Suite 1: I. Overture
Suite 1: II. Serenade
Suite 2: I. March
Suite 2: III. Moths and Butterflies
Suite 2: V. The Tame Bear
Suite 2: VI. The Wild Bears
Interval of 25 minutes
Symphony No. 7 – Beethoven

Poster

You can see the wonderful poster for the concert, created by our very own Bec, below. Share it far and wide – we deserve a great audience for this one!

Spotify Playlist

The Spotify Playlist for the term is HERE. Do please give it a listen, or find the pieces on YouTube – listening to them regularly will help ingrain the tricky bits.

See you all on Monday 13th.
– Ben

Sorry for missing the Notes last week – having said this, at this stage I’m sure you’re all happy with all of the music, so nothing we rehearse should come as a shock! It didn’t affect the rehearsal, and we made some really excellent progress!

What we did on Monday 27th February:

We began by playing through the ‘larger’ movements of the Elgar, refining all of the fine details in each movement. In Suite 1 ‘Overture‘ we made sure the strings started together, the energy picked up immediately at the “a tempo” before Figure 4, and the orchestration and articulation was clear and accurate at the end of the movement. After this we did some fine detail on Suite 2 ‘March‘ working on the steady rhythms and ensuring there was the attention to detail Elgar’s scores require, such as the articulation an hand-over between instruments. We ended the first half by working on Suite 2 ‘Wild Bears‘, paying particular attention to the blend and priorities of musical ideas, and focusing on accompanying when we need but bringing out the line at other times. A very exciting play of it!

After the break we looked at the first movement of the Karelia Suite, working on the ‘shimmer’ in the strings, the blend of the horns at the start, the accelerando into Letter D, and the blend of the trumpets at Letter D. We then played a spot of the last movement, to just check we’re all happy with it.

Then we top and tailed the Scherzo of the Beethoven symphony, getting the opening rhythms together, and keeping everything as precise as possible – it sounded great! Just watch for the tempo change between the “Assai meno presto” sections going back into the “Presto” tempo.

We finished by playing the second movement of the Karelia Suite, just making sure the ensemble was good, and everyone was happy with notes. We’ll do a touch of work on this, Strings.

What we’ll do on Monday 6th March:

We’ll begin with The Wild Bears, before looking at the first movement of the Beethoven. After this we’ll do a bit of the last movement of the symphony, then work on the second movement – trombones can go at this point. We’ll then finish with a bit of work on Karelia suite movement 2.

Concert information

Below is hopefully all the information you’ll need for the concert day. Do drop me or Phil an email or chat to us at a rehearsal if there’s anything you’re unclear of.

Timings:
– 1pm set up in the church.
– 1:30pm-4:30pm rehearsal.
– 7:30pm-9:30pm concert.

Location: St Michael’s Church, Madeley, TF7 5BN.

Concert Dress: All Black – it may be cold, so make sure you’re wearing appropriate layers. All open-collar, so no ties.

Concert Running Order:
Karelia Suite – Sibelius
Movements from The Wand of Youth Suites 1 & 2 – Elgar
Suite 1: I. Overture
Suite 1: II. Serenade
Suite 2: I. March
Suite 2: III. Moths and Butterflies
Suite 2: V. The Tame Bear
Suite 2: VI. The Wild Bears
Interval of 25 minutes
Symphony No. 7 – Beethoven

Poster

You can see the wonderful poster for the concert, created by our very own Bec, below. Share it far and wide – we deserve a great audience for this one!

Spotify Playlist

The Spotify Playlist for the term is HERE. Do please give it a listen, or find the pieces on YouTube – listening to them regularly will help ingrain the tricky bits.

See you all on Monday 6th.
– Ben

Hello everyone! A brilliant couple of rehearsals with so much good work done – I’ve had many comments from members of the orchestra saying just how good they thought we all sounded on Saturday, and how much progress we’ve made.

What we did on Saturday 11th February:

Firstly, a huge thank you to Adrian and Julie for welcoming us into their home for our rehearsal. We had a great session, covering a lot of music. We started with Elgar Suite 1, movement 1, doing some really detailed work on ensemble, the chromatic notes, and overall character. We then looked at Suite 2, Movement 1, and brought out the different moods of the piece, easily transitioning between the two. Just be careful with the dotted rhythms verses the triplet rhythms, which need to be distinct. We did some excellent rehearsing of Movement 6, keeping the accompaniment really accurate, finding the flow and excitement of the melody, and the ‘hammered’ section at the end.

We then spent a good amount of time on the 3rd Movement of the Beethoven, getting the rhythms and timings together, and ensuring the colours are bright and engaged. We practiced the timings at bar 24, working through until Letter A. The ‘Trio’ was lovely, just watch for the tempo change, and make sure it’s a true quaver, not crotchet. Woodwind, careful at bar 181. We finished by refreshing ourselves on Movement 4 of the Symphony, maintaining the energy, even after a 3-hour rehearsal.

What we did on Monday 13th February:

Really detailed work on the 1st Movement, especially on the opening, keeping the rhythm but also giving it all direction. We then worked on the rest of the exposition, up to bar 176. We then did a little consolidatory work on Movement 3, reminding ourselves of the great work on Saturday.

After the break we worked on the ‘chamber’ movements of the Elgar suites, really nailing down the interpretation and characters of each piece. We spent a lot of this time practicing the hand-over of the musical lines between instruments, creating different colours and ideas.

Keep on practicing!

What we’ll do on Monday 20th February:

We’ll begin with Movement 1 of the Beethoven, from bar 177 (development and recapitulation), then do Movement 1 of the Karelia Suite. After this we’ll split off into sectionals, with Wind and Brass working on Beethoven Movement 3 and Elgar Suite 2, Movement 1, and Strings working on Beethoven Movement 1 and 2.

Poster

You can see the wonderful poster for the concert, created by our very own Bec, below. Share it far and wide – we deserve a great audience for this one!

Spotify Playlist

The Spotify Playlist for the term is HERE. Do please give it a listen, or find the pieces on YouTube – listening to them regularly will help ingrain the tricky bits.

See you all on Monday 20th.
– Ben

Good morning friends, thank you for an excellent rehearsal last night, a lot of good things covered, and I’m now very excited about the weekend rehearsal.

What we did on Monday 6th February:

We opened with Movement I from Karelia Suite, working on the ensemble, tuning and character of the music, until it was really sparkly and shimmery in the strings, and very accurate in the woodwind and brass. After this we played through Movement III, with a little bit of work done on ensemble.

We then moved on to The Wild Bears from the Wand of Youth, Suite 2, and immediately broke it down into accompaniment and melody, ensuring the accompaniment wasn’t ‘lopsided’ with the off-beats. We did a little bit on the style of the music, and also worked on the ‘handing over’ of the music between parts – very Elgarian. We’ll cover the rest of it on Saturday.

After the break, woodwind and strings did some excellent rehearsing of Movement II from Karelia Suite, really refining the blend and style of the piece. Beautiful chamber playing in this – we’ll just tidy up the odd moment here and there.

What we’ll do on Saturday 11th February:

I’d like to work on the tutti movements of the Wand of Youth (1.1, 2.1, 2.7), then do some serious work on the Beethoven, especially movements 3 & 4. If we have time, we’ll cover the last movement of the Karelia Suite.

What we’ll do on Monday 13th February:

More work on the Beethoven in the first half, then the ‘smaller movements’ of the Elgar in the second, so trumpets and trombones can leave at the break on Monday.

Extra Rehearsal

Looking forward to seeing most of you on Saturday 11th February at Adrian’s. The rehearsal will run from 14:00-17:30 with plenty of breaks. If people could start arriving from 13:30 to help move furniture, that would be great!

Spotify Playlist

The Spotify Playlist for the term is HERE. Do please give it a listen, or find the pieces on YouTube – listening to them regularly will help ingrain the tricky bits.

See you all on Saturday 11th or Monday 13th.
– Ben

Hello all, a great rehearsal filled with lots of Beethoven and Elgar, and lots of progress made, so lock that all in.

What we did on Monday 30th January:

We started with the opening of the Beethoven, focusing strongly on keeping the semiquaver subdivisions steady, as well as giving the music direction through the long chords and ‘static’ passages. We also looked at the balance and blend of Letter A, and its corresponding moment at bar 42. After this we did some really detailed work on the development section of the movement, beginning in bar 177. This included keeping the persistent rhythm accurate, passing the melody between parts (such as violins to oboe in bars 190-191), and the different colours as he passes the motifs around the instruments and builds towards Letter I.

After the break we played through (and worked on) the remaining Elgar movements, beginning with Suite 1, II. Serenade. The important thing in this movement is to be mindful of the melody, keeping the accompaniment light throughout, and making the ‘baton-pass’ smooth when he passes the melody to a different instrument, such as Violin 1 at Figure 8. After this we did Suite 2, III. Moths and Butterflies where, immediately, we needed to be careful with not rushing the semiquavers and quavers in the melody (Violins 1 & 2 and Viola). Some of the shaping and colours were brought out in the wind parts, such as bar before Figure 31 in the Flutes, and the change of character at Figure 32 was established nicely. Fortunately, these movements are quite repetitive, so once we’ve rehearsed it once, we can apply it to the rest of the movement. We finished with Suite 2, V. The Tame Bear, really evoking the images created by the music, with quiet but ‘ploddy’ sounds, and biting forte-pianos. The best way to keep this one engaging is to over-emphasise everything!

What we’ll do on Monday 6th February:

We’ll start with Movement I. Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite, before looking at VI. The Wild Bears from Wand of Youth, Suite II. And then after the break, Horns, Trombones and Trumpets can go home, and we’ll do some detailed work on the Karelia Suite, Movement II.

Extra Rehearsal

A reminder about our extra rehearsal on Saturday 11th February at Adrian’s. The rehearsal will run from 14:00-17:30 with plenty of breaks. Most people have confirmed their availability, but if you haven’t, could you please confirm your availability for this.

Spotify Playlist

The Spotify Playlist for the term is HERE. Do please give it a listen, or find the pieces on YouTube – listening to them regularly will help ingrain the tricky bits.

See you all on Monday 6th.
– Ben

Good morning friends. Thank you all for a great start to the week, I thought that was an excellent and very productive rehearsal; I hope you all thought so too.
A huge thanks to Chris for leading the Wind sectional – some great feedback on this below.

What we did on Monday 23rd January:

Today was ‘Beethoven day’, working solely on Symphony No. 7. We started with the 4th movement (Allegro con brio) getting together the different layers of the texture, as well as ensuring the semiquavers don’t rush. We also made sure to bring out the melody appropriately in bars 24 (woodwind and brass), and 32 (strings). After this, Wind went downstairs to recap this opening separately, while Strings carried on from Letter A, joining up all of the semiquaver motifs, keeping the transitions smooth.

Then we went to the 1st movement. Strings worked from bar 84, keeping the dotted rhythm steady, as well as looking at the inner parts (slow practice here, second violins and violas), before locking in the first violin and cello parts in bars 101-108. We also played with the ‘lop-sided’ rhythms in bars 112, and looked further ahead to bar 171, keeping the ornaments on the beat. Winds looked at the beginning of the 1st movement, working on ensemble and blend, before looking at the ‘Vivace’ and gradually speeding it up. The hard thing is the relentless dotted rhythm, which was worked on very thoroughly.

After the break, Strings looked at the 3rd movement (Presto), gradually speeding it up. We put lots of colour and character into the music, keeping it lively and engaged. Have confidence in bars 25-28, so the rising motif works. Winds also looked at the start of the 3rd movement, practicing it slowly and accurately, with a little bit of speeding up to the fuller tempo. It’s good to keep the style and articulation as clean as possible when practicing it slowly, so it translates to the full tempo. Winds also had a brief look at the Assai meno presto (bar 149), to get the contrast of melodic ideas.

We finished the rehearsal by running through the opening of the 1st movement in tutti (careful not to rush on the semiquavers), and then working on the Vivace, putting into practice the sectionals work. Clearly excellent focus and practice, as the rhythms were much better, and we worked a bit on balance between parts. Finally, we ran the opening of the 3rd movement.

What we’ll do on Monday 30th January:

I’d like to begin by working on the 1st movement of the Beethoven, before splitting off to sectionals again for work on the development section (beginning bar 177). After the break, we’ll look at Wand of Youth Suite 1: 2. Serenade, Suite 2: 3. Moths and Butterflies, and 5. The Tame Bear.

Extra Rehearsal

A reminder about our extra rehearsal on Saturday 11th February at Adrian’s. The rehearsal will run from 14:00-17:30 with plenty of breaks. Most people have confirmed their availability, but if you haven’t, could you please confirm your availability for this.

Spotify Playlist

The Spotify Playlist for the term is HERE. Do please give it a listen, or find the pieces on YouTube – listening to them regularly will help ingrain the tricky bits.

See you all on Monday 30th.
– Ben

Goodness, it’s been so long since I’ve posted on here! As well as the updates, as normal, a few things to say alongside this, so thanks for reading.

It’s my aim, this New Year, to keep these notes up to date as much as possible. I’ll try to get them out immediately following the Monday rehearsal, but if not at least by the end of the working week, so you can all have a look at what we’ll be doing on Monday over the weekend. Please do keep an eye on this page each week.
(We’re also in the process of updating the whole website, so don’t worry if the dates are old/missing – we’re on it!)

What we did on Monday 16th January:

It’s been an excellent start to the term, and we’ve really broken the back of the Elgar and Sibelius. I feel like the movements we’ve covered are already in a really good place, and we can start cracking on with the Symphony now.

We began with I. Overture in Elgar Suite 1, and reminded ourselves of what we covered the previous week. Lots of good work here, particularly the detail in articulation and ‘musical flow’. Just remember to subdivide the melody like crazy, and keep it all bubbly and exciting. After this we worked on I. March from Suite 2. Some excellent things here, especially the continuation of musical phrases, and the contrast of different ideas. Don’t let the triplets rush, and in the ‘B’ theme (Figure 5), keep the semiquavers going through the rests so it doesn’t drag.

After the break we looked at VI. The Wild Bears from Suite 2, breaking down the accompaniment and melodies throughout, and keeping it steady – one to practice at home with a metronome. Good work on dynamics. Finally, we ended with Movement 3 of the Karelia Suite. Here, it’s all about keeping the rhythm tight, and finding the contrast in articulation, dynamics, and colour. Remind yourself as to whether you’re the foreground, middle-ground, or background, and be aware of those more important in that moment. Wind, remember not to rush at Letter C.

What we’ll do on Monday 23rd January:

We’ll be putting those movements of Elgar and Sibelius to bed for a few weeks, and begin our work on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. We’ll begin with a tutti rehearsal on the Fourth Movement before breaking off into sectionals on movements 1 & 3. After this, we’ll come back to put it altogether.

Extra Rehearsal

A reminder about our extra rehearsal on Saturday 11th February at Adrian’s. The rehearsal will run from 14:00-17:30 with plenty of breaks. Most people have confirmed their availability, but if you haven’t, could you please confirm your availability for this.

Spotify Playlist

The Spotify Playlist for the term is HERE. Do please give it a listen, or find the pieces on YouTube – listening to them regularly will help ingrain the tricky bits.

January Dinner

It was so lovely to see so many people at our New Year’s Meal on the 6th. Thank you to all who came and made it such an enjoyable evening, but more importantly, a massive “thank you” to Frances for organising it.
Phil did a little speech at the dinner, and I certainly couldn’t follow up such generous words then, but I wanted to say something now.

Telford Orchestra really is such a special group, and we feel so lucky to be a part of it; it’s such a privilege to conduct you all. I’m so grateful for the commitment and hard work that you all put in to making the music and the ensemble great each week, all the personal practice and learning you do, and to all your friends and family who support what we do so enthusiastically. Of course, my job is made significantly easier by the fantastic Committee we have – so much gets done behind the scenes, and it’s all worth it to see such happy people each week. We’ve done some stonking concerts in 2022, and I really look forward to continuing our brilliant music-making with you all this term, and into the rest of 2023.

See you all on Monday 23rd.
– Ben