Around the UK

AROUND THE UK

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BRIGHTON & NEWCASTLE Life after adopting a composer

A thriving musical legacy

In 2018, the Fretful Federation Mandolin Orchestra’s (FFMO) collaboration with composer Esmeralda Conde Ruiz resulted in The other ocean, seven short movements to accompany pieces of local film footage from Screen Archive South East. The footage celebrates early 20th century life in Brighton and includes scenes of children sledging down snowy slopes and holidaymakers playing beach games.

Since its premiere performance, the orchestra has found ways to keep the piece alive by putting on several performances in and around Brighton. One of the intentions behind The other ocean is to stimulate memory and allow the audience to relate to it in a personal way. Esmeralda wrote the piece and chose the films after asking the orchestra about their own memories. ‘The film evokes a lot of reaction with the audience and it’s wonderful to hear them laugh or express amazement or to know they feel moved by the way it ends beautifully with humming. It connects us in a new and different way with the audience,’ says Lindsay Stoner, musical director of the FFMO.

Meanwhile, Newcastle-based group The Singers worked with composer Edmund Hunt, the result of which is the piece Vita Hominum. Also closely linked to location, Edmund’s piece uses medieval Latin texts by local figure the Venerable Bede, which evoke the sea. ‘It feels like something in which many people have a stake. It is not solely ‘my’ piece anymore,’ Edmund says. Since its premiere, The Singers have performed Vita Hominum no less than four more times, including at Coventry Cathedral. Read the project blogs: makingmusic.org.uk/news

Above:

The Fretful Federation Mandolin Orchestra performs The other ocean

“Music has given me lifelong friends from all walks of life. It is a tremendous leveller and brings a massive amount of enjoyment..”

Member quote from Making Music Together exhibition

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON As part of the International Pipe and Tabor Festival organised by member group the Taborers Society in September, a consort of tabor pipes played at Shakespeare’s burial place in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. This was possibly the first time a consort like this has been heard in England since Tudor times. Five hundred years ago tabor pipes were commonly heard at court, but during the next couple of centuries were replaced by recorder consorts and string ensembles. The consort performed two pieces of music published by Michael Praetorius – La Volta and La Bourree. As a result of the performance, a collection of music for tabor pipe consort is now being compiled and will be available through the Taborers Society.

pipeandtabor.org

DORSET The Solo Trust in Dorset has commissioned two pieces by the composer Peter Hope. Along the Shore is an 18-min choral work for solo soprano, choir and orchestra, and the other is a slightly shorter work, Tall Trees, for a similar ensemble plus children’s choir for particular verses. The text is based on the cycle of life as seen in Thomas Hardy’s home woodland. Both works are free for any leisuretime choir to perform, and are available to listen to on Youtube. For more info and to request free parts contact peter@ peterhopemusic.com and Anthony Gannon at antganon@

gmail.com

Member announcements New appointments, anniversaries, awards and projects

In early November, Harlow Chorus chose to programme a new and unusual piece, Mass of The Martyrs by Edward-Rhys Harry, which has a dramatic and operatic storyline acted by four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) between the standard movements of a mass service. The piece compares the spiritual repression of a bygone age with events of today, set to the words of Antoine Leiris’ press statement that addresses the perpetrators of the Bataclan terrorist attack in which he lost his wife. The choir chose the piece because they felt that the themes of tolerance and cross-culture misunderstandings sends a strong message in these politically unsettled times. harlowchorus.org.uk

The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra will celebrate its 40th anniversary as ‘tradition bearers’ for Scottish music by touring the US and Canada in 2020. The Orchestra was formed in 1980, its origins in fiddlers’ rallies which are held throughout the country. The group provides a series of concerts in the main

Wales and Northern Ireland We’re delighted to welcome two new members of staff who will be supporting and championing our member groups. John Rostron is our new Manager in Wales (see interview on p.27), and Stephen McNally is our new Manager in Northern Ireland. Scottish cities and aims to create the finest possible standard of orchestral fiddle playing with strong traditional roots. The opening concert of the US tour is in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 31 March 2020. sfo.org.uk/the-sfo In November, the Leicester Philharmonic Choir was joined by the Sinfonia Viva Chamber Orchestra, soloists from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and local Leicestershire Imam, Idris Alli, on stage at De Montfort Hall. Their highly successful, ‘A Quest for Peace’ concert included Karl Jenkin’s Armed Man, and members of the public who had been taking part in a ‘come and sing’ course with the choir were also invited to join on stage for the grand finale. thephil.org.uk

Yvonne Underhill, committee member, introduces the Whatlington Singers 60-second interview

60 second interview

When was the group formed? About two years ago. We are a new venture, a democratic group where every member’s voice is heard in terms of running the choir and choice of repertoire. We work very hard but have enormous fun doing so and a high level of commitment, which reflects the importance of the choir to its members. What sort of repertoire do you sing? A wide variety of music ranging from classical to contemporary. Where do you perform? We rehearse in our local church and have conducted several performances there attended by many locals, which has extended the use of the church and has brought it into the community. We are, however, rapidly outgrowing this space as our reputation and following grows, so we will be branching out into different venues in the future. The group is relatively new but you’ve already had a high profile performance locally. Tell us about it? The Battle Festival is held in the town of Battle in East Sussex in October. It has been running for a few years now and comprises many events encompassing art, music, literature, history and community events. We became involved when the chairman of the festival, David Furness, attended our very first public performance. He was so impressed with us that he invited us to sing at the festival. We are also hoping to make a recording of the choir, especially

of the song Sovereign Light Café by Tim Rice Oxley, a member of the band Keane. Tim’s father just happens to be one of our tenor singers and after a chance conversation with him at rehearsal one night, he asked his other son Tom to arrange the piece for our choir. The song is set in Battle and the surrounding areas and has a particular resonance. What else does the choir focus on? We are always trying to improve our technique. Our musical director, Liz Bryson, and accompanist, Alison Boyd, have brought us to new musical heights by teaching us how to sing and listen to each other, rather than just note bashing. What are you most looking forward to in the near future? We are looking forward to expanding the choir and always continuing to improve our technique with the help of Liz and Louise Winter, our President. whatlingtonsingers.com