BSO news

BSO concert reminder - note change of venue!

2012-01-08T18:21:50Z

Concert Saturday 21st January 2012 at 7:45pm

Ravens Wood School, Oakley Road, Bromley BR2 8HP

Note change of venue

Hector Berlioz

Walton ‘Crown Imperial’

Elgar ‘Sospiri’

Arnold Clarinet Concerto No. 2
Soloist Hale Hambleton

Berlioz ‘Symphonie Fantastique’

For 2012, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, we open with Walton’s 1937 coronation march. The poignant ‘Sospiri’ (sighs) cools the mood, ready to be revived by Arnold’s jazzy concerto, originally written for Benny Goodman. In 1830 Berlioz took the musical world into new realms with his vivid picture of passionate but unrequited love that eventually turns into a wild nightmare.

Dear Concertgoer

Happy New Year! I had not expected to write so soon, but I bring you some bad news, some good news – and some even better news.

The bad news is that in early December, we learned that the Great Hall at Ravensbourne School, our regular concert hall since at least the 1950s, would not be available to us for our January or March 2012 concerts. This has obviously caused us some headaches in seeking to find somewhere else in Bromley for these concerts at such short notice.

The good news is that not so far away the Ravens Wood School, in Oakley Road, just off Bromley Common, has just completed construction of a new hall. We have held one of our orchestra rehearsals there to confirm that it is suitable for us, and some orchestra members have also attended Bromley Youth Music Trust concerts and can confirm that the audience experience in the hall is good. So our next two concerts will take place in this hall and not at Ravensbourne School.

Our original published programme for March had included Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony, but we have decided that the slightly drier acoustic of the Ravens Wood hall would not show this magnificent work at its best since Bruckner’s musical style always benefits from a degree of resonance. Therefore we have decided to postpone the Bruckner symphony until our 2012/13 season when we can do it full justice and therefore to change the March 2012 programme. We have been most fortunate in that the superb pianist Masa Tayama, who received such an ecstatic response from our audience on both the recent occasions he performed with us, is available on this date to perform Beethoven’s most well known piano concerto, the “Emperor”. This will be coupled with the Overture and Polovtsian Dances from “Prince Igor” by Borodin, whose music has been so often plundered for use in lighter popular genres - eg “Stranger in Paradise”, “Bau bles, Bangles and Beads” and the musical “Kismet”. He could really write good tunes! The other item on the programme is Bartok’s great “Concerto for Orchestra”, a true 20th Century classic which really puts the various sections of the orchestra through their paces.

The even better news is that we have decided to move the final concert of the season in May to the brand new Legacy Hall, Bromley’s first ever purpose designed concert hall. Its construction is due to be completed this month. It was designed with specialist acoustical consultants and has fully tiered seating for the audience, giving an excellent view of the orchestra from all seating areas. We had previously planned to move our concerts to Legacy Hall in November 2012, but performing the May concert there will give you an earlier opportunity to see the hall and decide where you would like to sit for future seasons.

Writing to you now also gives me an opportunity to let you know about an extra event we have just planned for June at Legacy Hall: our summer workshop. These workshops are when the orchestra assembles for a day to work on something special which we might not otherwise get a chance to play. The day concludes with an informal performance in the early evening, and audiences may attend this at no charge, although a collection is made to help us recover some of our costs.

The work we have chosen is amazing and virtually unknown, since although completed in 1880, it was only rediscovered in1989. It is the Symphony in E by a fellow student with Mahler, Hans Rott, who unfortunately went mad shortly after finishing it and died at the early age of 25. Mahler greatly admired this symphony, and his own symphonies, the first of which was written 8 years later, show strong influences. If you appreciate Mahler’s music you will enjoy Rott’s Symphony. It’s well worth hearing.

This marks an exciting new era for BSO and we look forward to seeing you at our concerts.

Yours sincerely

John Carmichael
For Bromley Symphony Orchestra

PS – You may like to know that you can hear a very good complete performance of Rott’s Symphony on www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNep21n90yk

BSO concert reminder

2011-11-01T13:21:38Z

Reminder: Our next concert is on Saturday 12^th November.

Full details of location, ticket prices, future concerts etc. are on www.bromleysymphony.org. Tickets are selling well and the carpark is likely to fill, so please allow time to park in nearby streets.

Saturday 12^th November 2011 at 7:45pm

Franz Liszt

Elgar ‘Pomp & Circumstance March No. 4'

Barber ‘Adagio for Strings’

Liszt Symphonic Poem ‘Tasso’

Elgar ‘Violin Concerto'
Soloist Sasha Rozhdestvensky

We celebrate Liszt’s 2011 bicentenary with one of his great tone poems. Barber’s well-loved Adagio was originally part of his second string quartet. But we begin and end with Elgar. This march is less familiar than the famous No 1, but no less memorable. The Violin Concerto, premiered in 1910, gained immediate popularity and has remained a firm favourite on concert programmes ever since.

We hope to see you there!

Invitation to friends of Bromley Symphony Orchestra "Music Tea and Cakes"

2011-10-23T14:00:07Z

Hello to you all,

I would like to invite you to a recital given by Tracey Renwick ( performed Mozart piano concerto 23 with BSO in 2006 ) and myself, on the 6th November at 15:00 in St.Mary's Church, College road, Bromley. Entry is free.

The program is as follows:

Debussy. Sonata for Violin and Piano Khachaturian " Chant - Poeme "

Finzi.                Romance
Ravel.              Sonata for Violin and Piano

Plus some small solo pieces for both instruments.

The whole program should last no longer than 60 mins and will be followed by a chance to sample the Tea and Cakes on offer.

I do hope to see you there.

Best wishes

Bernard Brook.
Leader. BSO

Bromley Symphony Players concert 8th October

2011-09-14T16:48:49Z

Hello to you all.

This is just a note to inform you that the Bromley Symphony Players ( Chamber orchestra ) is to give a concert at St.Mary's church, College road, Bromley at 20:00 on the 8th October.

The ticket price remains at £6, available on the door.

As usual all proceeds will go to the supported charity which this time is Christian Aid.

The program is a mixture of Baroque and late Romantic music with Concerto Grossi by Locatelli and Corelli plus the Bach E major violin concerto performed by me and in the 2nd half of the concert we have the Serenade for strings by Tchaikovsky conducted by Andrew Condon.

I do hope to see you on the 8th of October for an evening of fine music.

Bernard Brook

BSO concert reminder

2011-05-16T17:54:33Z

Reminder: Our next concert is on Saturday 21^st May.

Saturday 21^st May 2011 at 7:45pm

Jean Sibelius

Schubert ‘Symphony No. 8’ (Unfinished)

Paul Creston ‘Marimba Concertino’
Soloist Alexander Main-Ian

Sibelius ‘Symphony No.2'

This Schubert symphony has remained one of the most well loved in the concert repertoire in what seems a perfect unfinished state, though others have tried to complete it. Creston’s Concertino is distinctly tonal in the modern American idiom and possessed of a strong rhythmic sense. Sibelius’s Second is by far the most popular of his symphonies. Its style is characteristic Sibelius, with marvellous dark-hued sonorities, expansive brass chorales, passionate expressiveness, and at the end, with screwed up tension leading to a glorious triumphant conclusion.

We hope to see you there!

BSO concert reminder

2011-03-07T14:10:17Z

Reminder: Our next concert is on Saturday 19^th March.

Saturday 19^th March 2011 at 7:45pm

Carl Nielsen

Walton ‘Spitfire Prelude and Fugue’

Sibelius ‘Violin Concerto’
Soloist Anna-Liisa Bezrodny

Nielsen ‘Symphony No.5’

The opening item comes from Walton’s music written for the 1942 film ‘The First of the Few’. Sibelius’s only concerto, in turn stormy and tense, quiet and lyrical, and with a dazzling dancing finale, demands forceful dramatic playing from the soloist. Nielsen’s Fifth, widely regarded as his greatest masterpiece, portrays conflict with disturbing but exhilarating power: the contrast between darkness and light, ominous militarism and peace, evil and good, which eventually leads to an affirmative conclusion.

We hope to see you there!

BSO concert reminder

2011-01-09T16:53:54Z

Reminder: Our next concert is on Saturday 22nd January.

Saturday 22nd January 2011 at 7:45pm

Igor Stravinsky

Rimsky-Korsakov ‘Capriccio Espagnol’

Richard Strauss ‘Oboe Concerto’
Soloist Caroline Marwood

Stravinsky ‘Petrushka’

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol captures the warmth and exuberance of Spain in brilliant technicolour, a free rhapsody based on folksong tunes. The Strauss concerto uses only a small orchestra and provides a wonderful showcase for our principal oboist. Stravinsky’s charming ballet depicts the colourful atmosphere of the Shrovetide Fair and draws on Russian folk melodies to tell the story of a puppet unsuccessful in love.

We hope to see you there!

BSO concert reminder

2010-11-02T23:32:19Z

Reminder: Our next concert is on Saturday 13th November.

Saturday 13th November 2010 at 7:45pm

Gustav Mahler

Beethoven Overture ‘Coriolan’

Berlioz ‘Reverie et Caprice’
Soloist Bernard Brook

Mahler Symphony No. 5

After Beethoven’s tensely dramatic overture and Berlioz’s elegant romance, we celebrate Mahler’s 150^th anniversary year with the vast musical canvas and emotional scope of his Fifth Symphony. Its moods include grim and funereal, savage and angry, ebullient and dancing, lyrical and romantic, and finally radiant and triumphant. Its famous adagietto has become particularly well known through its use in Visconti’s classic film ‘Death in Venice’.

We hope to see you there!

Bromley Symphony Players concert, 9th October

2010-08-29T22:55:30Z

Dear Friends,

I would like to invite you to the next BSP concert on 9th October at St.Mary's church, College road, Bromley BR1 3QG at 19:30. Entrance fee £6.

The last concert in May was a great success and we were able to donate £392 to The Woodland Trust, so thank you to those who attended.

We are supporting AGE CONCERN BROMLEY this time.

The program is as follows:

Vivaldi	Concerto for orchestra. RV 159
Allessandro Marcello	Oboe concerto. Played by John Bessell.
Telemann	Suite no.1 in A minor
Interval
Finzi	Romance Op.11, conducted by Andrew Condon
Corelli	Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.7

I do hope you can come along and support the orchestra and this worthwhile cause.

Thank you.

Bernard Brook

BSO concert reminder

2010-05-28T19:49:56Z

Dear BSO mailing list subscriber,

This is a quick reminder about our Day Workshop on Sunday 13th June. Unfortunately we have had to change the location to Bishop Justus School at short notice - please inform any friends of yours who might not be on this mailing list.

Sunday 13th June 2010

Day Workshop at Bishop Justus School BR2 8HZ Note change of location

Richard Strauss Symphonia domestica

Adrian will introduce the work at 6pm, followed by an informal performance at about 6.30pm.

The session is free, but donations are welcome; no tickets will be issued.

BSO concert reminder

2010-05-12T22:59:14Z

Reminder: Our next concert is on Saturday 22nd May.

Saturday 22nd May 2010 at 7:45pm

Sergei Prokofiev

Masa Tayama

Kabalevsky Overture ‘Colas Breugnon’

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1
Soloist Masa Tayama

Prokofiev ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (Selection from suites 1 & 2)

Kabalevsky’s sparkling overture brilliantly captures the carefree moods of an exuberant hero in the mould of Till Eulenspeigel and Robin Hood. The Tchaikovsky concerto was famously rejected by its original dedicatee Nikolai Rubinstein as being worthless, unplayable and vulgar. How very wrong this has proved to be! Ever since its premiere in 1875 it has been overwhelmingly popular with audiences – and a challenge for pianists. Prokofiev’s celebrated ballet is so full of the most wonderful tunes and orchestral colour that it is a pity that time does not allow us to play it all, but only a generous selection.

We hope to see you there!

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Bromley Symphony Players concert 8th May

2010-03-17T01:42:17Z

Dear friends, following on from the success of our October concert, I would like to bring to your attention our next concert.

Bromley Symphony Players is a chamber orchestra put together by some of the members of the string section of the main symphony orchestra and all proceeds from the concerts go to charity.

The next concert is on the 8th May at St. Mary’s church, College road, Bromley and the program is as follows:

Handel.           Concerto Grosso. Op6 no.3
Vivaldi.           Concerto for two violins op3 No8 ( Soloists Bernard and Ruth Brook )
Traditional.     Greensleeves

Interval ( Refreshments available )

Mouret.           Rondeau from Sinfonies des Fanfares
Locatelli.         Concerto Grosso Op1 no.1
Mozart.           Divertimento no.1 in D major K136.

We are supporting The Woodland Trust this time.

I am sure the concert will be very enjoyable and I look forward to seeing you there.

Thank you.

Bernard Brook

BSO concert reminder

2010-01-07T18:02:36Z

Reminder: Our next concert is on Saturday 23rd January.

Saturday 23rd January 2010 at 7:45pm

Antonin Dvořák

Janice Watson

Elgar ‘In the South’

Strauss ‘Four last Songs'
Soloist Janice Watson

Dvořák Symphony No.8

Elgar’s most luxuriant and expansive concert overture shows his facility with music on both the grandest scale and the most intimate. Strauss’s final completed work deals with death, but with a wonderful sense of calm acceptance, and features soaring melodies for the soloist against full orchestra. Dvořák’s symphony has a warm and optimistic tone, full of tunes inspired by the Bohemian folk music that he loved

We hope to see you there!

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From Adrian and Margaret

2009-11-17T21:20:48Z

Dear Members of BSO and all those many Friends in our audience,

Thank you so very much for the great honour you bestowed upon me on the occasion of my 60^th Birthday Concert. The warmth of appreciation shown to Margaret and me was overwhelming. Thank you for the gifts, treasured musical things but most thanks for the wonderful words from our chairman and all the simple moments of kindness throughout the evening.

The orchestra is thriving, happy and our concerts a success. That is due to a fine team and all the support we are blessed with.I am sure our music-making will continue to be stimulating, fun, I hope from me wiser and full of love for the greatest art, music.

Thank you so very much.

Adrian Brown

Dear Roy,

Thank you for your kind words on Saturday. Please pass on my thanks to everyone for my lovely bouquet of flowers and for helping to make the BSO the highlight of Adrian’s week. I always look forward to his return in a positive mood from Monday evening rehearsals, culminating in wonderful concerts, due to the dedication and enthusiasm of everyone in the orchestra supporting him at all times throughout the years.

Best wishes

Margaret

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BSO concert - keys found

2009-11-15T16:39:37Z

We hope you enjoyed our concert last night - we certainly enjoyed performing it to such a large and enthusiastic audience. We'll need to find a larger hall if the trend continues!

A set of house keys was found in the car park afterwards. Please contact us if you think they may be yours.

Bromley Symphony Players concert

2009-09-02T14:31:23Z

Dear friends of Bromley Symphony Orchestra,

May I bring to your attention, a concert to be given by Bromley Symphony Players (Chamber orchestra) on the 7^th November at 7.30 pm at St.Marys church, College road, Bromley BR1 3QG.

The orchestra has been performing twice per year since 2001 and is made up of members of the Symphony orchestra and directed by myself and sometimes conducted by my good friend Andrew Condon.

We are supporting the Musicians Benevolent Fund in November and we are privileged to have Adrian Brown conducting.

Adrian has sent the following note to you concerning the concert.

A Concert for the Musicians Benevolent Fund

For my 60^th Birthday I wanted to make music with my favourite players for the Musicians Benevolent Fund! I have been the ‘Friend’s’ Representative for North London for some years and I know what excellent work is done in supporting musicians who have fallen on difficult times, for those starting out and for many in old age without adequate care. Musicians give us so much pleasure.

Wonderful music by CPE Bach, Schubert and stunning playing from Bernard Brook as soloist in Mozart’s Fifth Concerto for Violin will all add up to an evening well worth supporting as, with much generosity, all proceeds will go to the MBF a charity I myself wish to support at this time more than any other.

Adrian Brown.

The program is as follows:

CPE Bach	Symphony in D
Mozart	Violin concert no.5 ( Turkish)
William Boyce	Concerto Grosso in E Minor
Schubert	Symphony No.5

Please come along and support us on the 7^th Nov.

Tickets will be available on the door (£7) and refreshments will be available during the interval.

Thank you.

Bernard Brook

Leader. BSO

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Bromley Symphony Orchestra free concert reminder

2009-06-13T16:28:06Z

Dear BSO News subscriber,

This is a quick reminder that there is a free BSO performance tomorrow at Ravens Wood School (not the same location as our normal concerts or last year's workshop). Click the postcode link below for a map and directions, and the speaker symbol for a sample of a commercial performance of this work.

Sunday 14th June 2009

Day Workshop at Ravens Wood School BR2 8HP

Dmitri Shostakovitch Symphony No. 7 ('Leningrad')

Adrian will introduce the work at 5.50pm, followed by an informal performance at about 6.15pm.

The session is free, but donations are welcome; no tickets will be issued.

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BSO concert reminder

2009-05-11T23:58:48Z

Reminder: The final concert of our 2008-9 season is on Saturday 16th May.

Full details of location, ticket prices, future concerts etc. are on www.bromleysymphony.org

Saturday 16th May 2009 at 7:45pm

Robert Schumann

Philip Rowson

SchumannSymphony No.3

Mozart Flute Concerto No.1 in G major
Soloist Philip Rowson

Strauss ‘Till Eulenspiegel’

Schumann's "Rhenish" is perhaps his brightest and most optimistic work. Its tunefulness and folk-like character quickly made it one of his greatest successes and its popularity has endured to the present day. Despite Mozart's well known claim to dislike the flute, he wrote very well for it, including this delightful concerto. Strauss's tone poem chronicles the misadventures and pranks of a mischievous German peasant folk-hero. We hear him upsetting market stalls, poking fun at the clergy, flirting with girls and mocking academics. But eventually he is captured and sentenced to death for blasphemy!

We hope to see you there!

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Bromley Symphony Players concert next Saturday

2009-05-04T11:30:34Z

Dear friends.

May I bring to your attention a concert to be given by members of the String section and principle members of the wind sections from Bromley Symphony orchestra on Saturday the 9th May at
St. Mary's church, College road, Bromley BR1 3QG at 7:30pm

The concert features two fine soloists from the orchestra, Jane Crawford and Roy Banks, performing the Telemann Flute concerto in B Minor and Mozart's 4th horn concerto made famous by Denis Brain.

The concert also includes Haydn Symphony no.6 " Le Matin" and Geminiani concerto grosso op3 no.2.

You would all be most welcome.

Regards

Bernard Brook
Leader.

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BSO concert reminder

2009-03-12T13:35:51Z

Just to remind you all that Bromley Symphony Orchestra willl perform Mahler's Symphony number 9 on Saturday March 21st at Ravensbourne School, Hayes lane, Bromley BR2 9EH.

This intensely romantic symphony has long been regarded as Mahler's swansong - his farewell to life, as he had been told by his doctor that he had a fatal heart condition. The mystery of death had always preoccupied him, but now it was within sight. The music powerfully expresses his torment, but also affirms his unquenched belief in life. The symphony follows the pattern of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique, ending with an impassioned slow movement.

We are all looking forward to performing this monumental symphony, and hope you will join us.

The conductor is Adrian Brown and the concert starts at 7.45pm.

Please note there will be no interval.

Tickets are available at 020 8464 5869

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BSO concert reminder

2009-01-13T21:36:30Z

Reminder: The second concert of our 2008-9 season is on Saturday 24th January.

Full details of location, ticket prices, future concerts etc. are on www.bromleysymphony.org

Saturday 24th January 2009 at 7:45pm

Hector Berlioz

Eurico Pereira

Berlioz ‘Roman Carnival’

Ravel ‘Rapsodie Espagnole’

Rodrigo ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’
Soloist Eurico Pereira (Guitar)

Respighi ‘Roman Festivals’

This programme burns with Mediterranean heat and passion, opening with an exuberant overture, one of Berlioz's most popular works. Ravel's Spanish "Rapsodie" has three short movements of sensuous colour and elegance and a dazzling finale. Staying in Spain, the Rodrigo is perhaps the most well known of all guitar concertos, especially its evocative slow movement. Respighi said that "Roman Festivals", his vivid celebration of ancient Rome, represented his absolute peak of orchestral sonority and colour. It's certainly that!

We hope to see you there!

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