You are invited to be part of Wantage Orchestra’s Autumn Concert to be held at 7.30pm on Saturday 22nd November at Wantage Parish Church. The concert will be conducted by Christopher Fletcher Campbell with leader Piotr Jordan.
The first half of the evening’s concert has a theme of ‘Remembrance’ with Butterworth’s song-cycle ‘A Shropshire Lad’ inspired by the war poet A. E. Housman composed between 1909 and 1911. Butterworth destroyed many of his early works thinking that he may not be able to revise them in case he didn’t return from the war. Sadly, he died in the Battle of The Somme in 1916. The piece evokes the pastoral landscape and is beautiful and much loved.
The second piece is Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor which he composed in the aftermath of the First World War; this will be performed by Chris Terepin. Whilst initially Elgar’s Cello Concerto was not well received as it was described as too melancholy and too reflective when Jaqueline Du Pre performed this piece with such emotional intensity, it found an audience . It is now one of the most performed of the cello concertos.
Now a professional cellist, Chris Terepin (christerepin.com) is a regular soloist and a former player in the Wantage Orchestra having performed Saint Sains, Finzi and Haydn with them. When at school, he would come with his parents Jane Terepin (violin) and Steve Terepin (viola) . Chris has appeared at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Cadogan Hall, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, and many UK music societies, and his playing has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, both live and on record.
The Orchestra’s final piece for the evening is Saint-Saëns – “Organ” Symphony No 3. Saint-Saëns wanted a French sensibility to his music, and this piece was innovative and ground-breaking at the time, utilising the piano as well as the organ. The final movement has been used by Disney in the animation Babe and is much beloved.
Wantage Orchestra was found in February 1977 to provide opportunities for amateur local musicians of all ages including schoolchildren to play fantastic classical music together. For forty-eight years they have performed concert programmes developed through asking their players what pieces they would like to perform. Working with the knowledge of their Musical Director and Conductor Christopher Fletcher Campbell, they develop these suggestions into enjoyable concerts taking on talented local soloists and extra players as required.
The Wantage Orchestra meet at King Alfred’s Academy, West Site, on Tuesday evenings at 7.30 pm during school term. They also organise open music workshops separately for Wind and String players where they can explore different repertoires. These workshops are open to non-members and are a great way for newcomers to get a feeling for our orchestra. Sometimes the results of these workshops are programmed into our concerts.
Tickets can be bought in advance online from wantageorchestra.org.uk or the Wantage Bookshop or The Regent Bookshop Wantage at a price of £10 adults, £8 seniors with 18’s free of charge. If bought at the door on the night, there will be an additional £1 per ticket charge.
If you are interested in joining the Wantage Orchestra, please feel free to contact them at any time. You would be very welcome to come along to a rehearsal. Please contact the Membership Secretary, via membership@wantageorchestra.org.uk
