WEEK TWO 9 – 16 August
Symphony Orchestra
Philip Ellis conductor
leader Elizabeth French
This exciting orchestra for experienced amateurs (grade 8+), music students and young
professionals is one of the summer school’s most popular and successful courses. The
repertoire is varied, often challenging and will include masterpieces from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some of which will be familiar and others not so familiar
“... the quality of the orchestra was exceptional and the conductor inspiring …”
Rehearsals will centre around Elgar’s amazing symphonic study ‘Falstaff‘ and the stunning ‘Third Symphony‘ by Rachmaninoff. Bax’s ‘First Symphony‘, the work that established him as a “symphonist of the first rank”, will sit alongside Prokofiev’s wonderfully colourful ‘Queen of Spades‘,’ music originally written for film in 1937 and subsequently arranged very successfully for the ballet by Michael Berkley. Our final work is the famed ‘Fountains of Rome’ by Respighi. The great popularity of Respighi’s music is not hard to understand, it is brilliantly evocative, well-crafted, and emotionally sincere musical pageantry!
A programme for the summer school’s final concert will be selected from the Symphony
Orchestra repertoire.
During the week some players will be invited to play in the repertoire orchestras, working with the conductors’ course and on Thursday evening, the symphony orchestra will take part in a public open rehearsal for conducting students directed by the eminent conductors : Colin Metters, Robert Houlihan and Natalia Luis-Bassa
Repertoire
Rachmaninoff Symphony No.3 in A minor, Op.44
Elgar Falstaff, Symphonic Study in C minor, Op.68
Bax Symphony No.1
Prokofiev arr. Berkeley Queen of Spades, Op.70
Respighi Fontane di Roma, Poema Sinfonico per Orchestra
Other orchestral courses at Sherborne this summer
Wind Ensemble (2 – 9 August)
Chamber Orchestra (2 – 9 August)
Sinfonia (2 – 9 August)