Sussex Symphony Orchestra (30th May 2018)
It is very hard for many of us to believe that we are this year celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Sussex Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra has gone from performing just two concerts in its first year, up to nine at our peak and now we have a regular annual concert programme of six. Within two years of our existence, we were awarded a sizeable Lottery Grant that enabled us to purchase all our percussion equipment and a vehicle to transport it. We then went on to loan this to many like organisations in the region but also including Glyndebourne and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
The orchestra also mounted education workshops in many schools of all ages across the region which were really well received. The SSO has a policy of encouraging emerging talent in the shape of composers, singers and instrumentalists, giving them a vital platform for performance.
We have also been extremely fortunate to perform with many ‘household’ names, including Lesley Garrett, Katherine Jenkins, Blake, Aled Jones, Philip Fowke, and many stars of opera who have gone on to grace the stages of the world’s most prestigious Opera houses. Our biggest concert this year, to help us celebrate, is on Sunday July 15th, at 6.pm in the Dome Concert Hall, Brighton.
This concert is A Celebration of Puccini and follows a format that we have adopted in the past, by inviting a celebrity to play the composer; for this concert we have Coronation Street star, Richard Hawley, who is interviewed about his life and times by a good friend of the orchestra, Sally Taylor from BBC South Today. We have invited two of this country’s finest singers, who have sung with us on numerous occasions, Soprano, Joanna Appleby and Tenor, Andrew Rees.
We will start at the beginning of Puccini’s life in music, from his first opera, Le Villi, go on to visit most of his operas, including Madam Butterfly, La Bohème, Tosca and finishing with Turandot. We shall also be performing several purely orchestral moments that helped make Puccini one of the most favourite and well loved composers of all time. This concert will be conducted by the orchestra’s founder and principal conductor, Mark Andrew James.
For full booking details, etc. see here