Informal Orchestral Concert

The orchestra have been working under the direction of Mr Scamardella this term and on Monday evening they had the chance to show a small but appreciative audience the progress they have made.

The opening item was a string quartet consisting of Zach Kahn (First violin), Oliver Hermann (second Violin), Tom Widdicombe (Viola) and Hannah Savignon-Smythe (Cello). They played a spirited version of the first movement of Mozart’s Divertimento in D, written in 1772 when he was just 16 years old, a little younger than those playing it! String quartet playing leaves each part very exposed but they played with great panache.

This was followed by an extract from Delibes’ 1870 masterpiece Coppelia, played by the full orchestra. This is archetypal ballet music.

Next we had early Beethoven with the first movement of his Symphony No 1 in C Major, first performed in 1800. With the forces at his disposal being very similar to those Beethoven had in mind, Mr Scamardella produced a rousingly authentic performance from his young players.

The final piece was Joplin’s Elite Syncopations, written for the piano in around 1905. In an orchestrated version it formed the basis of Kenneth MacMillan’s 1974 ballet of the same name. The syncopated rhythm, Joplin’s hallmark, had the audience’s feet tapping and the piece was a fitting climax to a short, but highly entertaining, concert given by a remarkable group of young people.

Please note the photographs above were taken during afternoon rehearsals to avoid distracting the performers and their audience during the concert