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Orchestra North East at the Sage Gateshead, May 1st 2022.
Just a belated word of thanks to all those of our followers who joined us in The Sage Gateshead recently and we were very pleased to receive comment like this:
‘Congratulations to ONE and all on a magnificent Sage concert. The performance was enthralling and exhilarating. Words cannot capture the excitement of the music adequately. The emotional range of the Codebreaker was, literally, breathtaking, especially wonderful as it was a piece I had not heard before. I am familiar with Sea Symphony, having sung in it, and I enjoy its dramatic pictorial contrasts from Orchestra and chorus’.
The Orchestra was joined by Hertfordshire Chorus and Newcastle Choral Society in a concert originally planned for 2020 but postponed because of the pandemic. What transpired on May 1st was an exciting and very satisfying afternoon of music making for Orchestra and Choirs alike.
The audience was treated to two works: the first performance, in the North East, of Codebreaker by James McCarthy, and a performance of the Sea Symphony of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Codebreaker is a major work commissioned and premiered by Hertfordshire Chorus in 2014, and is a powerful and ultimately very moving reflection on the life of Alan Turing, the mathematical genius whose secret work during the Second World War saved millions of lives, but also led to the development of computers – machines that can think….. With a compelling narrative taken from various sources, from prime ministerial words to anguished poetry, the Orchestra was there to enhance the drama of the text, and all sections rose to the challenges. The overall performance had quite an impact and as one colleague remarked, given the seriousness of the issues raised by the ways Turing was treated in his later life, ‘it was such an honour to play the Codebreaker piece’.
The Sea Symphony is of course an orchestral tour de force, from that brilliant opening brass fanfare right through to the dying notes and profound silence that concludes the work. The colours and moods created by the full orchestra, wonderfully exploited by Vaughan Williams to underline the sentiments of Walt Whitman's poetry, make this symphony a very satisfying and enjoyable piece to play, and the audience’s enjoyment was clear enough is the reception the performance received.
We were pleased to welcome David Temple of the Hertfordshire Chorus and Mark Anyan of Newcastle Choral Society to conduct us and it was a particular pleasure to have Bradley Creswick as our guest leader for this concert. Bradley will be returning as the soloist in our next concert, on October 9th in the Gala Theatre Durham, when he will play the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
Many a post-concert comment was made on the sheer power of sounds that a full orchestra and two well-trained choirs can make together, and the pleasure in that for performers, players and singers alike, was real enough. However, It came as a surprise to at least some members of the audience that the Orchestra had had only about six hours of rehearsal, and yet still could reach such a high standard. The Orchestra was very well pleased with that and thanks to all who came to hear us!
Finally there is a formal review of the concert on:
https://www.culturednortheast.co.uk/2022/05/04/review-codebreaker-at-sage-gateshead/
Orchestra North East at the Sage Gateshead, May 1st 2022.
Just a belated word of thanks to all those of our followers who joined us in The Sage Gateshead recently and we were very pleased to receive comment like this:
‘Congratulations to ONE and all on a magnificent Sage concert. The performance was enthralling and exhilarating. Words cannot capture the excitement of the music adequately. The emotional range of the Codebreaker was, literally, breathtaking, especially wonderful as it was a piece I had not heard before. I am familiar with Sea Symphony, having sung in it, and I enjoy its dramatic pictorial contrasts from Orchestra and chorus’.
The Orchestra was joined by Hertfordshire Chorus and Newcastle Choral Society in a concert originally planned for 2020 but postponed because of the pandemic. What transpired on May 1st was an exciting and very satisfying afternoon of music making for Orchestra and Choirs alike.
The audience was treated to two works: the first performance, in the North East, of Codebreaker by James McCarthy, and a performance of the Sea Symphony of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Codebreaker is a major work commissioned and premiered by Hertfordshire Chorus in 2014, and is a powerful and ultimately very moving reflection on the life of Alan Turing, the mathematical genius whose secret work during the Second World War saved millions of lives, but also led to the development of computers – machines that can think….. With a compelling narrative taken from various sources, from prime ministerial words to anguished poetry, the Orchestra was there to enhance the drama of the text, and all sections rose to the challenges. The overall performance had quite an impact and as one colleague remarked, given the seriousness of the issues raised by the ways Turing was treated in his later life, ‘it was such an honour to play the Codebreaker piece’.
The Sea Symphony is of course an orchestral tour de force, from that brilliant opening brass fanfare right through to the dying notes and profound silence that concludes the work. The colours and moods created by the full orchestra, wonderfully exploited by Vaughan Williams to underline the sentiments of Walt Whitman's poetry, make this symphony a very satisfying and enjoyable piece to play, and the audience’s enjoyment was clear enough is the reception the performance received.
We were pleased to welcome David Temple of the Hertfordshire Chorus and Mark Anyan of Newcastle Choral Society to conduct us and it was a particular pleasure to have Bradley Creswick as our guest leader for this concert. Bradley will be returning as the soloist in our next concert, on October 9th in the Gala Theatre Durham, when he will play the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
Many a post-concert comment was made on the sheer power of sounds that a full orchestra and two well-trained choirs can make together, and the pleasure in that for performers, players and singers alike, was real enough. However, It came as a surprise to at least some members of the audience that the Orchestra had had only about six hours of rehearsal, and yet still could reach such a high standard. The Orchestra was very well pleased with that and thanks to all who came to hear us!
Finally there is a formal review of the concert on:
https://www.culturednortheast.co.uk/2022/05/04/review-codebreaker-at-sage-gateshead/
Save the Date
Sunday October 9th 2022, 3pm, Gala Theatre, Durham.
Our own full orchestral concert, to include the Beethoven Violin Concerto, with Bradley Creswick as soloist.
Further details to follow soon.
Sunday October 9th 2022, 3pm, Gala Theatre, Durham.
Our own full orchestral concert, to include the Beethoven Violin Concerto, with Bradley Creswick as soloist.
Further details to follow soon.
The Pen & Palette Club
The Orchestra is able to engage professional musicians for our concerts partly because of the generosity of individuals, but also because of generous and philanthropic organizations. One such group is The Pen and Palette Club from Newcastle, and we are very pleased to acknowledge their significant financial support for our concert in March.
The Pen & Palette Club was founded in 1900 in Newcastle by a group of professionals interested in art, literature, music, architecture, drama and related subjects. The Club meets about once a month in the Mansion House in Jesmond for lunch or dinner, to hear guest speakers on topics of cultural interest. Once a year the Club’s artists display their work and the writers entertain fellow members and friends with their poetry and prose. Musical evenings are given in the Mansion House by invited local professional players as well as by members of Orchestra North East.
The Pen & Palette has donated a considerable sum of money to the Community Foundation, which gives grants locally. In addition it gives financial support to local amateur and voluntary groups such as the Newcastle Lit. & Phil, the People's Theatre, Newcastle Chamber Music Society, as well as Orchestra North East.
The Club would be interested to hear from you if you would like to join or would simply like to receive further information. Full details of the history and activities of the Club, its future meetings, and its contacts can be found on the Club website: www.penandpalette.uk