Newsletter, January 2005
The AGM of the Friends
This will be on Thursday March 3rd at Prestbury St Mary's Junior School, following a rehearsal and the AGM of the Orchestra itself. Formal notice will be issued later.
Promotion of the Friends
We would like to try to improve the link between the Friends and the Orchestra. If you have any thoughts on the subject, please contact me on 01242 675855, or email me at ron@nourse.fsnet.co.uk
Ron Nourse (Acting Secretary and Editor)
Concert programme for 2005
A copy of the Orchestra's schedule for 2005 is enclosed. Of the many noteworthy events throughout the year, please note in particular:
February 12th 2005 at St Philip and St James Church, Grafton Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham in aid of Sue Ryder Care, Leckhampton Court.
The soloist will be Melanie Armitstead, soprano, who lives locally and who has an outstanding reputation at home and abroad on the operatic stage and in the concert hall.
March 12th 2005 at Northleach Church in aid of Gloucestershire
Arthritis Trust
One of the soloists will be Jana Tabakova, the violinist who gave a dazzling
performance of the Mendelssohn Concerto with the orchestra in October last.
May 7th 2005 at Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham
The soloist will be the outstanding young pianist Samantha Ward, playing
the Grieg Concerto. Samantha won the Philip and Dorothy Green Award for
Young Concert Artists in 2004, a scheme administered and sponsored by Making
Music.
October 15th 2005 in Tewkesbury Abbey
The orchestra will give the world premiere performance of a Cello concerto
composed by Andrew Chapman, himself a cellist, and also the Orchestra's
Secretary.
A look back at recent concerts
October 2nd 2004 at the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury
A great success in every sense, with the Orchestra receiving a lot of positive
feedback. One comment spoke of a "fresh and lively approach to music
making." Alastair Chapman gave a fine performance as the Narrator
in "Peter and the Wolf", carrying the audience along with him
in this famous fairy tale.
David Curtis was especially complimented for his conducting of "Nimrod"
in Elgar's Enigma Variations - for example "rather than
throwing himself all over the place he let you play it yourselves".
The audience of close to 300 almost filled the Roses Theatre, and the concert
raised nearly £4000 for the Tewkesbury Branch of Save the Children.
October 30th 2004 at Pershore Abbey
The Orchestra has from time to time discussed the possibility of occasionally
engaging a guest conductor (not out of dissatisfaction with David Curtis,
who in fact supports the idea!) This actually had to happen in October,
when David was in Romania (see his article on Page 2). At very short notice
a friend and colleague of his, Nicholas Cleobury, was engaged to conduct.
He has a high reputation as a choral, orchestral and operatic conductor,
and has conducted many of the leading orchestras and performers in this
country and abroad. On this occasion his direction of the Elgar Enigma Variations
was particularly poetic and idiomatic.
The audience was around 250, and the net gain to FOAG (The Farmers'
Overseas Action Group) was about £1,000. There were enthusiastic comments
from the audience, including "it was a pleasure to hear a concert
in this beautiful building with its fine acoustic".
November 20th 2004 at St Andrew's Church, Cheltenham
The highlight was the performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto by
the talented young Czech violinist Jana Tabakova, who was in fact engaged
to play with the Orchestra only two weeks before the concert, when the intended
soloist was found to be unavailable. Jana played with considerable depth
of emotion for one so young, and her attack and brilliance in the bravura
passages was impressive indeed. She will be performing with the Orchestra
again on March 12th 2005 in Northleach.
The concert was very poorly attended, which was a disappointment for the
Orchestra and surely also for LINC (the Leukaemia and Intensive Chemotherapy
Trust), which must have gained little financial benefit.
December 19th 2004 at Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham
This was another enormously successful concert. Despite only seeing the
parts for the first time on the previous Thursday, the orchestra gave a
sparkling account of "Babar the Elephant", with David Fishpool
as Narrator, and also played Bryan Kelly's "Improvisations on
Christmas Carols" and Humperdinck's overture "Hansel and
Gretel".
The concert also included a fluent performance of Mozart's Concerto
for Flute and Harp, by Nicola Shorland (Gloucestershire Young Musician 2004)
and Jemima Phillips (GYM 2003, and now Royal Harpist to HRH the Prince of
Wales). It is a particular pleasure to us all to see Jemima doing so well
- she has been playing regularly with the orchestra for over eight
years.
The excellent choir from Leckhampton CofE Primary School again took part.
The children were in fine voice in four carols, two of them performed with
the orchestra.
Conductors' corner
From David Curtis, CSO's conductor since 1999
I was recently awarded an Arts Council Grant to study with the legendary Finnish conductor and teacher Professor Jorma Panula and I thought it may be interesting to share a few thoughts and observations.
Conductors trained by this "maestro of maestros" include Sakari Oramo, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Osmo Vänskä. Jorma Panula himself conducted orchestras in many parts of the world. In Finland, as a professor at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, he taught conducting until his retirement in 1993, and it is as a teacher that he has become best known in world music circles. Of his teaching he says "I never had any method to begin with. Everyone is an individual when he begins and it takes a while to figure out which way the student is headed. I wouldn't want anyone to be able to say at the end of it all: 'O, yes, that's Panula's training!' No way! Let everyone make music his own way; technique is only an aid to that end. Everyone has his own solution and must look for it. It's a longer way to go, but worth it. You have to have the courage to jump into the water before you learn to swim. I don't throw in the life-belt until someone is really drowning."
Panula is the most extraordinary person but how to describe his teaching
- imagine someone accustomed to breathing from their chest being told about
their diaphragm, only one simple change but it affects absolutely every
aspect of breathing; more depth, control, power, resonance etc. For breathing
read conducting....
The first week in Sweden last July was very difficult, he hardly says anything,
shows very little, but what he gives is quite remarkable. On the second
course, in Romania for 2 weeks, I began to understand what it is all about,
though putting it into practice is another matter, not for the faint-hearted.
It'll be interesting to see if it does really make a difference. I'm off
to Germany for another week with him in Jan/Feb, then a weekend in London
and perhaps another week in Finland later in the year.
It's mainly a question of listening, seeing and understanding what
he says and then trying to incorporate that; as he says, he doesn't have
a 'method' and he doesn't want people to imitate him. You must be true to
yourself at the same time as absorbing his ideals - very difficult to explain.
He appreciates honesty and integrity, self-examination and the willingness
to be open.
No doubt the members of the CSO will let me know if it's made a difference!
And from Mark Foster, conductor from 1970 to 1999
I was delighted to be asked to write something for the Newsletter, as I was privileged to be the CSO's conductor for many happy years. I am very pleased to hear that the orchestra is in such excellent musical health due to David Curtis' expertise. Often when the conductor of an orchestra changes sad things can happen but what a relief to me, especially, that all is going so well.
Of course we must all remember that without Douglas Smith's inspiration the orchestra wouldn't even exist today. I well remember my first rehearsal with what was then the Sunday Players at Douglas' house. What a thrill when twenty or so years later the occasional bar sounded like the Philharmonia, especially in a good acoustic! No, that is unkind - the orchestra really gave me immense pleasure with some really fine concerts. Peter Tomlinson's tapes continue to give me much satisfaction today.
Of course I have to have an orchestra to "boss about", so I formed an excellent chamber orchestra, the Brecknock Sinfonia, and we give several concerts a year with at most two rehearsals per concert. Several players come up from the BBC Welsh because they say they enjoy it so much. That's a real compliment to me. I am also very often invited to conduct an orchestra at the University at Aberystwyth. I always get a wonderful reception - that really will be a surprise to the CSO's players, won't it? I still also have Monmouth Choral Society.
Finally I must say how much I owe to my experience with the CSO. NEVER could I have conducted the London Mozart Players, the CBSO and other fine orchestras without the Cheltenham years. I am much in your debt for and thank you all most sincerely. Good luck. Mark.
Players' corner
A: What did you think of the conductor tonight?
B: Why do you ask?
A: Well, it wasn't the usual chap.
B: Oh.