Conductor’s Notes

Hello everyone, I know I’m a bit late in posting these, but I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone for the incredible concert we put on at the Anstice for the Jubilee. Our ‘Last Night of the Proms’ style concert was a massive hit, especially with our new audience at the Anstice, and I think it was clear to see how much the audience enjoyed it; they couldn’t wait to get their first round of applause in after the Prelude and Aragonaise in the Carmen! And the whole vibe of the concert was just electric. I particularly enjoyed the second half during which the audience thoroughly joined in after realising what a treat it was having you play for them.

There were some truly brilliant moments: as above, the Carmen Suite went down a treat; when members started singing along to Adrian’s solo in the Fantasia on British Sea Songs, along with the delight of the Hornpipe lead by Dan and Lisa, and of course the laughs in Richard’s clarinet cadenza when there was the hint of the Hornpipe played in such a charming and cheeky way.

The feedback Phil and I have received from not only the audience but the staff at the Anstice has been nothing but overwhelmingly positive, and that’s all down to you and your hard work over the short term and in the concert. It was truly a joy! Both Lyndy and the audience have been desperate to know details for our next concert, and we’ve even been able to encourage non-classical music listeners to let their guards down and enjoy an orchestral concert, with many already signing up for the next one. I think that’s such a remarkable achievement.

I want to share a couple of things.
Firstly, Lyndy live-streamed the last 20 minutes or so of the event, with around 100 people watching it on Facebook. This view count has now risen to nearly 2,000!! You can check it out HERE.

Secondly, Teresa has written some lovely poems about the event:

Finally, info on next term:
On Saturday 12th November, we’ll be performing ‘Music from Stage and Screen’ – a programme featuring music from film, opera, and musicals. As this is a very different programme to what we normally do, there are a few hurdles for us to overcome regarding performance rights. Rest assured that I and the Committee are on this, so we’ll be able to put on a belter of a concert.

Following two weeks of playing through and rehearsing Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 5, we’ll be starting some of this new rep on Monday 20th June. A programme and Spotify playlist will be up soon for us all to use over the summer to learn the music.

Once again, thank you for all your incredibly hard work. As I said in the concert, a special thanks to all our guest players who support our work, and of course an enormous thanks to the committee who do so much hard work behind the scenes – in particular our Chair, Phil, who works tirelessly to make sure everything goes ahead brilliantly!

I’m really looking forward to continuing our incredible success at the start of this month.
– Ben

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I’m really looking forward to our concert at The Anstice tomorrow, it’s going to be absolutely stonking! It’s been a very short and intense term, but I’m sure you can all agree that on Monday it sounded amazing. Thank you all for your hard work.
This is just a reminder of the necessary information, as well as final details for tomorrow’s rehearsal, so please read carefully.

Rehearsal order:
13:00 – Set up percussion and stage
13:15 – Members arrive
13:25 – Orchestra tunes

13:00 – Brahms – Hungarian Dance 5
13:40 – Dvorak – Slavonic Dance 4
13:50 – Dvorak – Slavonic Dance 8
14:00 – Vaughan Williams – English Folk Song Suite
14:30 – Grainger – Irish Tune from County Derry
14:40 – Parry – Jerusalem

14:50 – Break

15:05 – Trad. – National Anthem
15:10 – Elgar – Pomp and Circumstance 1
15:25 – Wood – Fantasia on British Sea Songs
15:50 – Coates – Dambusters
16:00 – Strauss – Radetzky March
16:10 – Bizet – Carmen Suites

The concert:
Will begin at 19:00. Please be in seats, ready to go at 18:55. This concert will undoubtedly be more relaxed than out ‘usual’ concerts, especially as the bar will be open throughout, but it’s important we look professional in our stage management.
The concert will finish around 21:45.

Instrument cases:
For the rehearsal, in the main hall.
For the concert, please use the library downstairs to avoid trip hazards on the stage and in our limited space.

Dress Code:
Think “BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Last Night of the Proms”. Either:
Dinner Jackets (black jacket, white shirt, black trousers) with coloured bowtie, cummerbund, pocket square, etc.
OR
Block coloured dress/skirt/blouse with black trousers.
OR
All black with a splash of colour!

Concert Order:

You’ll be given a running order list, but just to completely clarify the concert order, it is:
Bizet – Movements from Carmen Suites 1 & 2
– Prelude and Aragonaise (1 & 1a)
– Habanera (7)
– Chanson du Toréador (9)
– Intermezzo (2)
– Les Toréadors (5)
Brahms – Hungarian Dance no. 5
Dvorak – Slavonic Dances, op. 46
– Number 4
– Number 8
Strauss – Radetzky March
Interval of 30 minutes (or so)
Coates – Dambusters
Vaughan Williams – English Folk Song Suite
Grainger – Irish Tune from County Derry
Parry – Jerusalem
Wood – Fantasia on British Sea Songs
Elgar – Pomp and Circumstance
Trad. – National Anthem

Thank you all for reading and your commitment this term, and a huge thank you to our guest players for joining in with the fun that this concert is.

See you all tomorrow.

– Ben

Goodness, how have we almost got to the end of this ‘term’ and I’m only just posting my first Conductor’s Notes?! I’m so sorry for this! What a short whirlwind of a term it’s been. I want to thank you all for your hard work and commitment to turn out such a hard programme of music in only 6 weeks or so; I’ve been incredibly impressed with how well everyone has picked up the music, and that’s testament to what a good team you are as an orchestra.

This isn’t so much a “what we’ve done” and “what we will do” type post, more confirming everything for both Monday’s rehearsal and Friday’s rehearsal and concert. Thanks for reading this so carefully.

Monday 30th May
We’ll be going through most of the repertoire, fine tuning small bits, to ensure everyone is as happy as possible, especially as we’ll have some of our guest players with us. As I said, it’s been a very rapid turnover of music, so please do voice any concerns about any of it on Monday, and we’ll do our best to cover it.

Friday 3rd June
Concert day! We’ve “sold out” the concert, which is fabulous, and you all deserve an excellent audience for it, so let’s give them a good show!

The rehearsal:
Is in The Anstice (not Jubilee House!). Please arrive for 13:15, for a prompt 13:30 start. If anyone can arrive at 13:00 to help set up, including percussion, that would be brilliant – please note that woodwind and brass will be on the stage, so will need extra time to sort out the available space.
The rehearsal will finish at 16:30, giving us plenty of time for a break.

The concert:
Will begin at 19:00. Please be in seats, ready to go at 18:55. This concert will undoubtedly be more relaxed than out ‘usual’ concerts, especially as the bar will be open throughout, but it’s important we look professional in our stage management.
The concert will finish around 21:45.

Instrument cases:
For the rehearsal, in the main hall.
For the concert, please use the library downstairs to avoid trip hazards on the stage and in our limited space.

Dress Code:
Think “BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Last Night of the Proms”. Either:
Dinner Jackets (black jacket, white shirt, black trousers) with coloured bowtie, cummerbund, pocket square, etc.
OR
Block coloured dress/skirt/blouse with black trousers.
OR
All black with a splash of colour!

Concert Order:

Just to completely clarify the concert order, it is:

Bizet – Movements from Carmen Suites 1 & 2
– Prelude and Aragonaise (1 & 1a)
– Habanera (7)
– Chanson du Toréador (9)
– Intermezzo (2)
– Les Toréadors (5)
Brahms – Hungarian Dance no. 5
Dvorak – Slavonic Dances, op. 46
– Number 4
– Number 8
Strauss – Radetzky March
Interval of 30 minutes (or so)
Coates – Dambusters
Vaughan Williams – English Folk Song Suite
Grainger – Irish Tune from County Derry
Parry – Jerusalem
Wood – Fantasia on British Sea Songs
Elgar – Pomp and Circumstance
Trad. – National Anthem

Spotify Playlist

It may be a bit late for this, but in case it helps you familiarise yourself with the music, please check out the Spotify Playlist HERE.

I think that’s everything…
If you have any questions, please email me or Phil and we’ll do our best to help.

See you all on Monday!
-Ben

Well done on Monday’s rehearsal. It’s been so good to do sectionals, and I’m so pleased with how they were sounding. A massive thanks and congratulations to our Leader, Dan, who ran his first rehearsal with the strings. Time for personal practice now…

What we did on 14.03.22

A good warm up of Movement 3 of the Slavonic Dances to warm up. Then, winds, well done for putting up with my sectional – I’m so pleased with the work we did on the Slavonic Dances and the Symphony no. 8, Movement 2 & 3. Strings, when I heard you you sounded brilliant, and Dan tells me you worked incredibly hard for him!

What we will do on 21.03.22

I’d like to really solidify the inner movements of the Symphony, as well as the Weber.

19:30 – 20:00 – Symphony no. 8, Movement 2.
20:00 – 20:30 – Symphony no. 8, Movement 3.
20:40 – 21:30 – Invitation to the Dance.

Please note, Trombones you’ll not be needed this week – sorry, and enjoy the pub!

The Spotify Playlist

is here. Hopefully it’s helpful in learning the music, and refining our interpretation of it.

Piece of the Week

This week’s piece is a piece very special to me – William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. I’ve sung it a few times, and listen to it roughly once a month. Although it’s a choral-orchestral work, don’t let this put you orchestra-purists off; the instrumental writing in this piece is just breathtaking, and his orchestration is insane – every time I hear it I pick out something new and go “Wow! I’d never noticed that before!”
It’s one of my favourite pieces, and I hope you all like it too.
Listen HERE.

See you all on Monday 21st!

– Ben

Brilliant rehearsal on Monday, everyone. I’m so pleased with how the Symphony went, and I think we’re in a really good position for the concert, having now run both halves. I think it’s also shown us just the small bits we need to work on, both in rehearsal and in our own practice.

What we did on 07.03.22

Very good run of the Symphony no. 8 – yes, a little rough round the edges, but I think it was so useful for us all to feel what it’s like to do the work from beginning to end. There was some excellent work done in the second half of the rehearsal, and I feel like the two outer movements are extremely solid. The inner two movements just need a touch more practice, and I’m conscious that the 3rd movement needs the most work.

What we will do on 14.03.22

Sectionals this week! Wind and Brass will be in the downstairs library with me, and strings will be up in the main hall with Dan.

Please note that the timings and suggested sections are just an example. Please feel free to raise your concerns with parts of the music in the sectionals – they’re for you to feel happier and more confident with the music.

19:30-19:45 – Working tutti in the hall on Dvorak Slavonic Dance no. 3.
19:45-20:25 – Sectionals on the Slavonic Dances no. 3, 4, and 8.
20:25-20:35 – Break.
20:35-21:00 – Sectionals on the Symphony no. 8, movements 2 & 3.
21:00-21:15 – Sectionals on Invitation to the Dance.
21:15-21:30 – Tutti in the hall on Invitation to the Dance.

The Spotify Playlist

is here. Hopefully it’s helpful in learning the music, and refining our interpretation of it.

Piece of the Week

In celebration of International Women’s Day on Tuesday this week, I wanted to share with you a piece by a composer who, until around this time last year, I’d not heard of – Florence Price’s Symphony no. 1. Completed in 1932 and performed in 1933 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Price’s first symphony was the first symphony by a Black woman to be performed by a major American orchestra. The 3rd movement, Juba Dance, (an African-American style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping), was the first part of the symphony I heard, and I was hooked so had to find out more. I hope you enjoy that movement as much as I do!
Listen HERE.

See you all on Monday 14th!

– Ben

What a wonderful rehearsal! I was so pleased with how the run of the First Half went, and although there’s plenty for us to work on, I thought the overall sound, performance, and ensemble was brilliant.

What we did on 28.02.22

The run was very successful, and I was blown away by the great quality of playing right from the get-go with the Weber. There are a few things in the Weber we’ll work on over the coming weeks, but it’s in a good place. The Dvorak Slavonic Dances, while a bit rough in places, were an overall success. The detailed work we did in the second half of the rehearsal – particularly in finding the contrasts between the sections – needs to be applied right from the start. I think that now we’re more familiar with them this will become easier each week. I know it’s a huge endurance test, but at least you now know what it’s like to play it all the way through.

What we will do on 07.03.22

Goodness… March already! As I said in the rehearsal on the 28th, we’ll be doing a run of the Second Half of the concert – the Dvorak Symphony no. 8.

19:30-19:40 – Brahms Hungarian Dance no. 5.
*Please note that this will just be used as a warm up.
19:40-20:25 – Run the Second Half (Dvorak Symphony no. 8)
20:25-20:35 – Break.
20:35-21:30 – Work on the First Half, according to the run.
*potential Trombones to go early if Movements 2 & 3 need work.

The Spotify Playlist

is here. Hopefully it’s helpful in learning the music, and refining our interpretation of it.

Piece of the week

is something we listened to in the car driving home last night – Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Originally written as the second movements of his String Quartet, Barber reorchestrated it for String Ensemble in 1938, sending a copy to Toscanini who performed it later that year.
For those who don’t recognise it, it’s one of the most stunningly beautiful works in the string orchestra repertoire. Listen here.

See you all on Monday 7th!

– Ben

Thanks so much to Chris, once again, for stepping in at the last moment. I’m certainly hoping that I’m not ill any more, as I’m thoroughly missing you all.
A busy week, and lots of exciting plans for the future, so I’m looking forward to continuing our amazing work.

What we did on 21.02.22

I heard that the Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 1 went excellently, so I’m very pleased with how that’s coming along. Similarly, Movement 4 is almost there, so we’ll be looking forward to running these soon.
I was also told that the Slavonic Dance no. 2 and the Weber went well, so I look forward to hearing those on Monday.

What we will do on 28.02.22

I’d like to see where things are at, so we’ll be running the first half of the programme in the first half of the rehearsal, and then working on this all in the second half.

19:30-19:40 – Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 4, from Figure R (the Coda).
*Please note that this section will just be used as a warm up.
19:40-20:25 – Run the First Half (Invitation to the Dance, Slavonic Dances 2, 3, 8, Hungarian Dance no. 5)
20:25-20:35 – Break.
20:35-21:30 – Work on the First Half, according to the run.

The Spotify Playlist

is here. Hopefully it’s helpful in learning the music, and refining our interpretation of it.

Looking forward…

We’ll be running the Symphony on Monday 7th March, so please do have a look at any section of that you don’t feel comfortable with. I’m also hoping to arrange some sectionals, so will keep you updated with that.

See you all on Monday 28th!

– Ben

I hope you’re all managing to stay safe and well in this storm! Fortunately we’ve been okay, but are slightly apprehensive of moving our furniture tomorrow…
What a wonderful rehearsal on Monday! I’m so pleased with how the orchestra is sounding, and we’re making fabulous progress on the repertoire for the Spring concert.

What we did on 14.02.22

The Dvorak Slavonic Dances are really coming along nicely. I felt the first 10 minutes of the rehearsal were a ‘warm up’, but after that the 8th Dance really came to life and shone brilliantly! I’m so grateful for your efforts in dealing with the contrasts, especially in the 3rd Dance, which we spent a bit of time working on. Now to just finish those off.
Movements 2 & 3 of the Symphony are taking on an excellent character, and I’m very happy with how they sound.

What we will do on 21.02.22

Let’s do some work on the outer movements of the Symphony this week, as well as the Weber and Slavonic Dance no. 2:

19:30-20:00 – Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 1.
20:00-20:25 – Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 4.
20:25-20:35 – Break.
20:35-21:00 – Dvorak Slavonic Dance no. 2.
21:00-21:30 – Weber Invitation to the Dance.

This week’s listening

I’m afraid it’s still a shameless plug to watch the NYCGB 2022 Showcase, which is AVAILABLE HERE. I hope it’ll give you an insight into the incredible work of the organisation, as well as hearing some amazing vocal music composed by four incredible young composers.

And, the Spotify playlist is here.

Have a lovely weekend, and see you all on Monday 21st!

– Ben

Apologies for the delay in getting these notes posted – we’ve had the joy of moving house, so have been frantically packing and moving over the past week. A massive thank you goes again to Chris for taking Monday’s rehearsal. I had a great time recording down in London with the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain as part of the final event in my Fellowship year; more on this below.

What we did on 07.02.22

I’ve heard that there was some fantastic work on the 2nd and 3rd movements of the Dvorak Symphony and the Weber, including some great slow-practice of the fiddly parts – hopefully you’re all feeling a lot more confident with the harder passages. I can’t wait to build up the tempo and work on the stylistic points in the forthcoming weeks.

What we will do on 14.02.22

I’d love to keep building on these movements, so we’ll have a rehearsal in 2 halves again with the Dances in the first half, and the Symphony in the second.

19:30-20:00 – Dvorak Slavonic Dance no. 8.
20:00-20:25 – Dvorak Slavonic Dance no. 4.
20:25-20:35 – Break.
20:35-21:00 – Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 2.
21:00-21:30 – Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 3.

*Please note: Trombones will only be needed in the first half of the rehearsal.

This week’s listening is actually a watching event too – it’s the NYCGB Showcase 2022. This is the event for which we were recording on Monday, and it’s a fantastic chance to see the work I’ve been doing with NYCGB. Tickets are free and it’s available to watch online HERE.

Finally, the Spotify playlist is here too.

Oh it was so lovely to be back with you again! I missed you all dearly last week, so it was a pleasure to close off January with such a joyful rehearsal. I felt like I really push you hard this week in terms of developing colour and contrast with the Slavonic Dances and The Invitation to the Dance – it shows such promise for the forthcoming weeks.

What we did on 31.01.22

Lots of good work on ensemble and building the layers in Slavonic Dance No. 3. In Slavonic Dance No. 4 there was a great start to the finding the colours in each section. We’re beginning to show the incredible contrast in all of the Slavonic Dances, so keep working on that at home.
The Invitation to the Dance is coming along. Despite containing many repeats, it isn’t easy, and a small amount of personal practice will tidy up the tricky areas.

What we will do on 07.02.22

I’m away for my final event as part of the NYCGB Fellowship, so Chris is very kindly taking the rehearsal again. He’ll be taking you through:

19:30-20:10 – Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 3.
20:10-20:30 – Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 1.
20:30-20:40 – Break.
20:40-21:00 – Dvorak Symphony no. 8, Movement 2.
21:00-21:30 – Weber Invitation to the Dance.

*Please note: Trombones are not needed this week*
(You can go to the pub instead!)

This week’s listening is a shameless plug for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain’s latest album release on Spotify. It’s been a delight singing this amazing music by 4 incredible Young Composers, and is a glimpse into what I’ll be doing while you’re rehearsing this week! Listen Here.

I look forward to seeing you all again on the 14th, and again another massive thank you to Chris!

Ben