News

News

Summer concert rehearsal starts 21st April 8pm Mechanics Institute, Whalley Bridge

Buxton Fringe Review for 14th July 2007
The High Peak Orchestra has now become a regular feature of the Fringe with a large following. So it was no surprise to find St John's almost full with enthusiastic supporters for an interesting programme.

The concert opened with Glinka's overture to Russlan and Ludmilla. The orchestra launched themselves into this well known work with tremendous energy creating a truly exciting introduction. A complete contrast followed with the Sinfonia Concertante by Mozart with soloists Louise Carter and Andrew Hodkinson, surrendering his baton to the Principal Horn, Patrick Gundry-White. It was a most sensitive performance with particularly fine playing by the soloists in the enchanting second movement bringing out all the subtlety of Mozart's composition.

And then a real treat, Shostakovitch's 10th Symphony. This is a marvellous work and one which places great demands on players. It is, perhaps, the most difficult piece this orchestra has ever tackled. But the orchestra and conductor rose to the challenge magnificently giving probably one of their best performances. The audience loved it.

Congratulations also to the programme designer who had provided extensive and very helpful programme notes including an extraordinary photograph of Shostakovitch in a fireman's helmet!

P.L."

Buxton Fringe Review for 15th July 2006

"HPO opened their 2006 Fringe concert with a rousing introduction -
John Ireland's Epic March. Commissioned by the BBC in 1942 to mark the launch of what is now Radio 3 this is a quintessentially English piece, a bombastic first subject dominated by the brass followed by a calmer melody for strings and wood wind with the pattern then repeated. The orchestra tackled it with great gusto.

For the main work, Grieg's Piano Concerto, HPO had found in Benjamin Powell another dazzling young soloist. Although still a postgraduate student at the Royal Northern College of Music Benjamin brought to the work a maturity that was astonishing. The Grieg concerto is not a piece for faint hearts. It demands a very high level of technical competence. So secure was Benjamin however that his playing seemed almost effortless. And better still he was able to capture Grieg's Nordic voice which is an essential component of this concerto. It was almost a privilege to hear such a wonderful performance

The programme concluded with Mahler Symphony No.1 (The Titan). Another demanding work which the orchestra played with an assured competence remarkable for amateurs, the small army of horns which the composer called-for filling St. John's with a ravishing sound.

t is some years now since HPO first came to the Fringe. We have watched the orchestra grow in ability so that now they can present programmes which would have been unthinkable hitherto. Much of this is due to the skill of their conductor, Andrew Hodkinson, who constantly urges his team to greater heights. We should be grateful that live music in the Peak is in such enthusiastic hands.

P.L.

The HPO have already announced their programme for

July 14 in next year's Fringe, Glinka- Russlan and Ludmilla, Mozart- Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola and Shostakovich 10. Make a note in your 2007 diary!"

Valley of Song

Every Wednesday at 8.30pm on BBC FOUR starting on November 15^th

"A new series starting on BBC FOUR that follows an amateur Symphony Orchestra based in rural West Wales called Symphonica Tywi. The series called Valley of Song is a six part series and follows the orchestra over a year as they struggle to fit in rehearsals and some ambitious concerts into their day-to-day lives. As a company we really value amateur orchestras and their contributions to making music in the community and as a result worked extremely hard in persuading the BBC to commission a series. We really hope you will watch and support the series so that more series of this strand can be made for Network television. 6 x 30 minutes observational documentary series starts on BBC FOUR November 15 ^th 2007 at 8.30pm.

Rev. Mike Cottam started the orchestra 10 years ago because he wanted to bring symphony music to the valley. Since then, the orchestra's talent and repertoire have thrived. Mike's main aim was to make music accessible in an area where there isn't much opportunity to play and perform. There are certainly no ideal concert venues for a full Symphony Orchestra, meaning that each concert is always a challenge due to a lack of space!

The orchestra meets once a month at a local school, but they rarely have a full turn out, or enough time to fully rehearse all the pieces. As their repertoire gets increasingly challenging every year, each performance is done with a small amount of wishful thinking and a huge dose of adrenalin! Our cameras don't miss a thing - the giggling choir hidden behind the curtain as the performance begins, the wincing faces of the orchestra members as they miss a note, the proud smiles at the end of a performance.

The series follows the characters' lives beyond the orchestra and the choir, seeing them at home and at work. Seeing these musicians in a different setting will allow us to understand just how important the orchestra and choir are in their lives.

These stories are played out against the stunning backdrop of the beautiful Tywi Valley, from which the orchestra takes it name. This does fit the Welsh stereotype - the rolling green hills, the lilting rooftops, the imposing castles overlooking the black streak of the river, the unpronounceable place-names with seemingly no vowels, Llangadog, Llandovery and Rhandirmwyn."