July 2011
Entertaining, funny and delightful Summer Concert
St John's Church in Marchwood was
the perfect setting for the Summer Rhapsody Concert in July. Even at
7:30pm, the sun still shone brightly on Marchwood Orchestra as they opened the
concert with the overture, Roman Carnival by Berlioz. This orchestral
work features a prominent and famous solo for the cor
anglais, which was performed beautifully by Tim Leighton. The
tone of the cor anglais was a perfect match with the acoustics of the church.
Next came Mozart's Symphony No.31 - "The Paris". The
first movement opens with a rising and accelerating D major scale in an effect
known in Mozart's time as the Mannheim
Rocket and Marchwood Orchestra were certainly all aboard that
rocket as it took off! The slow 2nd movement utilises far fewer players
and that combined with the pomp, drama and also the sweetness of the
composition presented a welcome break to relax and enjoy the sunshine still
bouncing round the alter. The final movement has many difficult and
dramatic rhythms, patterns and dynamics and the orchestra delivered on all of
these aspects.
After the interval, its fair to say
Marchwood Prelude totally stole the show! They first lulled the audience
into a false sense of security with a couple of medleys - but the 2nd of the
two ended with "Summer Nights" from the 1978 film, 'Grease'.
The audience were encouraged to dance and sing along - and they did!
Strangers became friends as the audience came alive with people turning
and smiling and laughing with one another. This was followed (after
rapturous applause) by "Windmills of Your Mind", from the 1968
film, The Thomas Crown Affair . But it
was "I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside" that was the real thieving
magpie! The saucy postcard seaside scene was set perfectly by the conductor
John Bell, beforehand as he explained the line, "where the brass bands
play: Tiddely!!" The subsequent delightful
arrangement/performance had the audience clapping, cheering and singing along!!
It was a joy to see people smiling and laughing to the music. And
finally, given the changeable and unpredictable nature of British weather,
Prelude concluded with "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows"!
Marchwood Orchestra then returned to
the stage and unashamedly attempted to cash in on Prelude's popularity with a
performance of the Can-Can by Offenbach. It was very well received but
no-one sang along or did the can-can!! Next came the delightful
Marche-Scherzo by Saint Saens, which gives strings, woodwind and brass a chance
to shine. The recurring theme was introduced magnificently by Liz
Stillman on oboe and the harmonies from the flutes, clarinets and bassoons were
definitely a highlight. The sunny Swedish Rhapsody by Alfven which came
next definitely got the feet a-tapping again - it was reported there was even
some thigh-slapping going on but we have unable to evidence that at the time of
printing. The big finale was Ravel's Bolero, loved and hated in equal
measure. An insanely difficult piece for many of the players but probably
none more so than Phil Rhodes who had the magnificent but unenviable
responsibility to keep the rhythm on the snare drum going from start to finish
- which he did perfectly. All under the baton of Tony Kitcherside.
5th March 2011
A well received concert in a fine venue.
Invitation to the Dance
The Cornerstone United Reform church in Hythe was the venue on Saturday March 5th for the latest joint concert of Marchwood Orchestra and Marchwood Prelude. Before an appreciative audience, Marchwood Prelude, conducted by John Bell, began the concert with Faure's Pavane before treating us all to renditions of familiar tunes re-written to use equally familiar, but different, rhythms, in keeping with the overall theme of the concert as 'Invitation to the Dance'.
Marchwood Orchestra, under the direction once again of Tony Kitcherside, then started the second part of the programme with the rousing Sousa march Semper Fidelis, followed by a waltz and a Polka and then the Perpetuum Mobile of Johann Strauss II.
During the interval the second violins re-tuned their instruments so that they were deliberately out of tune and then the Orchestra performed the Dance Macabre by Saint-Saens, which portrays a scene of the dead dancing over their graves on Halloween night. After re-tuning , the Orchestra then played a number of dance pieces, including the waltz from Jazz Suite No2 by Shostakovitch. Finally the Orchestra lead the audience in a rousing rendition of the Radetsky March by Johann Strauss II, with full participation from those seated.
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27th November 2010
Our Bach to Bernstein Concert. Was a success beyond our Expectations at St Johns Church Marchwood
We were also very lucky to have the lovely voice of Julie Matthews
(Soprano) singing along with Marchwood Prelude and the audience
expressed delighted appreciation at at the end of the first half of the concert.
After the interval, our soloists, Linda Crisp and her son Matthew, treated us to a beautiful performance of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, accompanied by the string section.
The Spinet Solo given by Liz Stillman created an atmosphere of
tranquility as she played Scarlatti's Sonata in D,L314
The wind section were not to be left out and played the Adagio, from Mozart s 'Grand Partita' arranged by Tony Kitcherside.
St John's Church was packed for the concert and at the end, many people commented on how much they had enjoyed the music,
performance and atmosphere (and the refreshments!)
Our thanks go to the audience for coming out on such a cold night to listen to our music.
Christmas Festive Concert: December 2009
It was cold outside, but the audience gave a warm reception to
Marchwood Orchestra at the annual Christmas Concert in St John’s
Church, Marchwood, on Saturday 12th December.
The programme was varied to suit all tastes, from classical, modern to
traditional music. Von Suppé led with the rousing Light
Cavalry Overture, then Bach’s Sleepers Wake ensured that everyone
was alert for The First Noël.
After the interval Team Two entertained, directed by John Bell, with In Dreams, then a Latin dance under the baton of burgeoning conductor Hilda Kinnis, followed by the Christmas favorite Drummer Boy, all enthusiastically received.
Calling All Workers, by Eric Coates, was remembered by those of a certain age and then the Mazurka from Delibes’ “Coppelia”. The rhythmical Calypso Carol, arranged by Conductor/composer Tony Kitcherside persuaded everyone that Caribbean beaches were just a smile away from the snowy tracks of Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, then the traditional “ We wish you a Merry Christmas” rounded off the evening.
Past Concerts - 2007/2008 Season
Saturday 18th October 2008, 7:30pm
This formal concert was held in the cosy Church Hall
attached to Colbury Church. The audience filled every space, and this
was, in part, due to the performance given by the experienced and
talented Anton Crout. He thrilled everyone with a lovely performance of
Concerto No.2 for clarinet by Bernhard Crusell. After a garrulous
interval accompanied by wine and a veritable feast of finger food, we
proceeded to show our guests our enthusiasm for performing with
confident and expressive renditions of classical music, including
Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance No.8.
Finally, the audience went into the starry night with the catchy Waltz No.2 by Shostakovitch still ringing in their heads.
Sunday 6th July 2008, 3.00pm
Leader: Mary Noble
This was our first ever Family Concert and we were pleased to fill
St John’s Church with many new faces, young and old.
Isabel Hampson, Ben Monk and Christian Harding from Foxhills Junior
School are all learning to play the saxophone. They performed two
unaccompanied pieces to an appreciative 150 strong audience. Later they
joined with the orchestra to play in the Toy Symphony and Star Wars
theme music. One of the highlights was the enthusiastic Pirates
of the Caribbean fight scene, enacted by Ben and Christian to live
music from the orchestra, ending with a dramatic dying finale by
Christian.
“.. a wonderful afternoon...
superbly organised... playing & singing was of a very high
standard. The event was obviously really thought through and offered
something to suit all ages.”
“.. we thought it was
excellent, perfect for a family, we thoroughly enjoyed it and will look
forward to next years!”
“I thought this new departure
for the orchestra was very interesting and on the whole a great
success...... I hope there will be more such concerts in the
future.”
Saturday 26th August 2008, 7.30pm
Concert at St. John's Marchwood
Tribute concert
Saturday 26th January 2008, 7.30pm
Concert at All Saints Botley
A varied program of music.
Guest Soloist:
Soprano: Christobel Thomas
Saturday 15th December 2007, 7.30pm
Christmas Concert at St. Johns Church, Marchwood
Our traditional pre-Christmas concert with a varied program of music and a selection of carols.
Autumn Concert: Saturday 13th October
2007, 7.30pm
Venue: Hanger Farm
Arts Centre
Featuring a Flute Concerto, written by our conductor, Tony Kitcherside
Flute: Gina Bryant
Soprano: Christobel Thomas