Personal Blog

Winter Activities (2018)

Activities, Blog, Concerts

Christmas et al

Two concerts prior to Christmas proved to be great fun.

Monday 4th December

Christmas 2018

The London Phoenix Orchestra performed in the newly restored Wren City Church of St Andrew’s Holborn with a mix of Carols and Christmas Music including Malcolm Arnold’s ‘The Holly and the Ivy’, Glazunov’s ‘The Seasons: Winter’ and that wonderful piece by Leroy-Anderson ‘Christmas Festival’.   The latter was frequently played by the Boston Pops Orchestra and includes ‘Sleigh Ride’.  Great fun, and it all ended rather too quickly.  The restoration of the church is impressive – I just hope they have got the heating working properly now!!

Coming up soon is the London Phoenix Orchestra’s Early Spring Concert on 27th February at St John’s Smith Square.  Full programme details can be found at:  http://www.phoenixorchestra.org/concerts

Monday  10th December

Rowan Preparatory School held it’s  ‘Carols by Candlelight’ service in Holy Trinity Church, Claygate.  I had been invited to perform with the Rowan Singers in the Swedish Carol, ‘Sankta Lucia’.  My friend and colleague, Angus Cunningham, wrote a cello obbligato to the Brownsey/Lanz arrangement for 2 part Choir and Piano.  The church was beautifully lit and decorated, the girls sang beautifully and it made for a very enjoyable day’s work.

Autumn Activities (2018)

Activity, Blog, Concerts

Saturday, 6th October

Concert at St Johns URC, New Barnet raising money for repairs to the organ.

Organ Concert Flyer

Tuesday, 30th October

London Phoenix Orchestra at St John’s, Smith Square.

Programme:
Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture
de Falle  Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherezade

Saturday, 10th November

This is looking very exciting with an invitation to play in
‘The Armed Man’ by Karl Jenkins, subtitled ‘A Mass for Peace’.
It is described as a powerful and compelling account of the descent into, and the terrible consequences of, war.
It was commissioned for the millennium by Britain’s Royal Armouries and dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo crisis. The Benedictus has a solo cello part, high up in the instrument’s register and will give me plenty to work on before the performances on Saturday 10th November!

It’s a very appropriate time to perform this piece as there have been many events throughout 2018 to mark 100 years since the end of World War 1.  Last year, I visited the Passchendaele Museum at Zonneke and was deeply moved.

Remembrance Hand 01

More info at: https://www.passchendaele.be/

Summer Activities (2018)

Activity, Blog, Concerts

August 4th to 11th

Escaped the heat of London to greener and cooler climes.

A week in Edinburgh, two rehearsals a day at George Heriot School, bang in the centre of the city and during the International Festival.  Free in the evenings to explore Fringe and other events.  What could be better!!


View of Edinborough Castle from George Heriot School

Some of the really great music played:

Bartók
Dance Suite
Strauss
Till Eulenspiegel
Stravinsky
Firebird Suite (1945)
Tomlinson
Suite of English Folk Dances
Williams
Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes
Beethoven
Leonore Overture no 3
Sibelius
Tapiola
Brahms
Academic Festival Overture
Debussy
Pelléas et Mélisande symphonie
Dvořák
Symphony no 8
Enescu
Symphony no 1
Prokofiev
Symphony no 3
Schumann
Symphony no 1


Foster & Partners ‘Quartermile’ development in the south of the city.

Monday, 27th August

Played for a Wedding at Farnham Castle


Helen and Martyn after the ceremony.

Music – Bob Chilcott’s ‘Like A Singing Bird’ for 3 part choir
and keyboard with the cello part specially arranged by
Angus Cunningham.

ooOoo