Almost Christmas Concert this Friday

Yesterday I received the following email from St Paul's Sinfonia previewing this Friday's concert. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first two concerts of the season I can confirm the standard is as high as ever:

"I am writing to invite you to the Sinfonia's last concert of 2009. Not strictly Christmassy, but festive and joyful nonetheless, the December concert is full of fun and high spirits entirely appropriate to the season. The programme is as follows:

Mozart - Symphony No. 31 'Paris'
Matt Rogers - exile
Bizet - Symphony in C

We present two brilliant symphonies, and in the middle, the first work by our Composer in Residence. exile is a concerto for French horn and orchestra, and we are thrilled to be able to welcome Timothy Jackson, co-principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra, to play the solo part with the Sinfonia's accompaniment. The work exploits the ritualistic history of the horn, and includes a virtuosic movement for the orchestral horns alone, 'shadowing' the soloist as he careers through the music.The concert starts, as usual, at 7.30 p.m., and tickets are available on the door any time from 7 p.m. We hope very much to see you there!"

St. Paul's Sinfonia on Tour

It's the final concert of the season for St. Paul's Sinfonia on Sunday, and the first away from Deptford - at the Broadway Theatre, Catford. Culminating in Beethoven's ninth symphony, it's an event no Lewisham based music lover should miss!

St Paul's Strings

A heads up for this concert at St Paul's on Friday evening. The programme includes Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams and one of my favourite pieces. Its etheral melodies transcend the centuries; as one Fuller Maitland summed up the work of V-W, "one is never quite sure whether one is listening to something very old or very new." In recent years it seems to have experienced a resurgence in popularity, judging by its rise up the Classic FM Hall of Fame and its use or derivation (a fantasia on a fantasia?) in several films.

Update: A fantastic concert performed to packed pews. We were even treated to a extra piece - a spirited rendition of Happy Birthday for leader James Widden.

Julia Hwang

Returned a couple hours ago from another excellent Sinfonia concert at St Paul's church. We are extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated young orchestra based in Deptford! The final work - an energetic rendering of Beethoven's Fifth - is still resounding around my head, however the evening belonged to young Julia Hwang. Making her London debut the 12 year old performed Mozart's Violin Concerto No.3 to rousing acclaim, then treated us to an additional item - the popular Ladies in Lavender theme by Nigel Hess, incidentally a film I only got round to watching this October. The next concert featuring St.Paul's Strings is on Friday 16 January at 7.30.

High Culture in Deptford

It's the first concert in the St. Paul's Sinfonia season tonight. It should be a most enjoyable evening...