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As in the 2006-7 season, this season we shall have
played six concerts under five different conductors (our December concert had
no conductor).
It is part of the philosophy of this self-governing orchestra
that this diversity of conductors enhances our musical development.
We receive lots of “cold calls” from conductors who want
to conduct us, but we would much prefer to engage them on the personal
recommendation of members. Therefore, if you have played elsewhere under a
conductor who impressed you, please let anyone on the Admin team know, so that
he/she may be considered.
Provisional
details overleaf.
For your diaries, our first meeting will be a
"repertoire rehearsal" (an informal playthrough unrelated to any
concert) on Thursday 18 September 2008. We hope to try Franck's D minor Symphony, under a new conductor. We will play
through, regardless of missing instruments.
If you would like to invite a fellow player to try the
Herts Phil, this is a good opportunity, as it leads to no commitment on either
side. More Grade 8+ string players would be welcome; please invite any you
know!
As in recent seasons, we have avoided ambitious concertos
with big-name players. Although top-line soloists do attract extra audience, the
extra ticket income is swallowed up by the extra cost of the soloists. We
therefore usually prefer to engage emerging soloists, who can be rewarding to
play with, or home-grown excellence, such as our very own Angela Crispe on 16
May 2009.
Choosing concert venues:
The
“centre of gravity” of our members and audiences is approximately St Albans,
and three of our six concerts in 2008/9 will be there. One of these will be at
Homewood Road Church, which favourably impressed us when we played there in May
2007.
Our other 2008/9 concerts are at Potters Bar. The church (St
Mary's) there is very welcoming and audiences are usually good, but it means a
lot of work for our Potters Bar members
Sadly, when we tried Hitchin (St Mary's Church) this
March, a lovely historic building, it proved to be inconvenient for a
large-scale concert, for reasons of access, inconvenient car parking and lack
of facilities in the church itself.
Missing a concert?
Looking
at the calendar overleaf, if you know you will be unable to do a particular
concert, please let your section fixer know; it helps them to plan ahead.
The advantage of this new pattern is that the same
conductor takes all the rehearsals for a concert, and we don't have to appoint
a second conductor for the "other" sectional. This second conductor
had to do a lot of preparation and co-ordination with the main conductor, all
for just one evening's rehearsal.
Admin Meetings are open to any member of the orchestra. They are
usually on the Thursday following each concert. Please ask anybody listed
below, for details of when and where.
You
will be very welcome if you want to take an active role, perhaps by attending
Admin meetings or putting yourself forward for election as a trustee at the
AGM… Just to reassure you if you do, the
Herts Phil carries the usual public-liability and employer's liability insurances,
to protect us all.
Trustees
(until the AGM):
Chairman: Ian Brown (violin)
Treasurer: Jeremy Goggins (bassoon)
Orchestra
Manager: Stef Fano (violin)
Publicity [and Front-of-House]: John Cox
Librarian: Stephen Latham (cello)
Secretary: Peter Neville (bass)
Seventh
trustee: Stuart Walker (violin)
But
you don’t have to be elected as a trustee to help! The following are some of our volunteers, and we welcome
all help:
Rehearsal refreshments: June Martin (violin)
Fixers: (see
current rehearsal schedule)
Advance Tickets: Penny Leach (viola)
Gift-Aid Convenor: Ken Melbourne (cello)
This
is your notification that the Herts Phil's AGM, to review this season's results
and to elect next season's trustees, will be at Applecroft School, WGC, at
about 9pm on Thursday 25 September 2008.
HP Newsletter, July 2008, page 2 [revised 20 July]
Latest
position is as shown, but all details are still subject to change
All rehearsals (unless otherwise announced)
are at Applecroft School, Applecroft Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
AL8 6JZ., from 7.30pm to 10.15pm. All on Thursdays,
plus 13 January and 3 March
All concerts start at 7.30pm and are
preceded by a final rehearsal, at
the concert venue, 2.30pm-5.30pm.
18 September 2008: Playthrough evening
New conductor:
Ben Palmer.
Applecroft School, 7.30pm "Repertoire rehearsal" playthrough, followed
(after coffee break) by AGM
|
Franck |
Symphony in D minor |
2 2+1 2+1 2; 4 4 (2+2) 3 1;
(t hp) str |
1 November 2008 at Homewood Rd Church, Homewood Rd, St Albans [at corner with Sandpit Lane]
Conductor: Jacques
Cohen. Soloist: Fenella Humphreys
First rehearsal
25 Sep, followed at about 9pm by Annual
General Meeting
Subsequent rehearsals: 2 Oct (string
sectional), 9 Oct (wind sectional), 16 Oct, 23 Oct, then (please note) at Homewood Road Church on 30 Oct
|
R Strauss |
Serenade for Wind in
Eb op 7 |
2 2 2 2+1; 4 0 0 0 |
|
Mendelssohn |
Violin concerto in Emin op
64 |
2 2 2
2; 2 2 0 0; t str |
|
Vaughan-Williams |
Symphony number 5 in D |
2/1 1+1 2 2; 2 2 3 0; t str |
6th December 2008 at St Mary’s Church, The Walk, Potters Bar EN6 1QQ (east end of The Walk, south side) Probably
Chamber-sized orchestra only.
Rehearsals: tbc. Possibly 20
Nov, and probably 27 Nov and 4 Dec, all at Applecroft
|
Concert with local choir |
(provisionally) to include
Rutter |
7th February 2009 at St Saviours Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1
4DF (near Walton Street)
Conductor: Patrick Bailey. Soloist to be confirmed
Rehearsals: 8 Jan, 13 Jan
(string sectional), 15 Jan (wind sectional), 22 Jan, 29 Jan, 5 Feb
|
Wagner |
Tannhäuser – Introduction
to Act 3 |
2+1 2 2 2; 4 3 3 1; t str |
|
Strauss |
4 Last Songs op 64 |
4 3 3 2; 4 3 3 1; t hp str |
|
Tchaikovsky |
Symphony number 6 in B min
op 74 (Pathetique) |
3/1 2 2(+1) 2; 4 2 3 1; t
1p str |
28th
March 2009 at St Mary’s Church, The Walk, Potters Bar EN6 1QQ
(east end of The Walk, south side)
Conductor: Adrian Brown.
Rehearsals: 26 Feb, (possible
additional Tuesday rehearsal 3 March), 5 Mar, 12 Mar, 19 Mar, 26 Mar
|
Elgar |
Introduction and Allegro for Strings op 47 |
Str + str quartet |
|
Brahms |
St Anthony Variations op 56(a) |
2+1 2 2 2+1; 4 2 0 0 ; t p str |
|
Sibelius |
Symphony no 4 in A minor op 63 |
2 2 2 2; 4 2 3 0; t p str |
16 May 2009 at St Saviours Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF (near
Walton Street)
Conductor: Rufus
Frowde Soloist: Angela Crispe
Rehearsals: 23 Apr, 30 Apr, 7 May, 14 May (4 rehearsals
only, with no sectionals)
16 May 2009 at St Saviours Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF
(near Walton Street)
Conductor: Rufus Frowde Soloist: Angela Crispe
Rehearsals:
23 Apr, 30 Apr, 7 May, 14 May (4 rehearsals only, with no sectionals)
|
Arvo Pärt |
Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten |
str 1p (bell) |
|
Mozart |
Clarinet Concerto in A min K622 |
2 0 0 2; 2 0 0 0; str |
|
Beethoven |
Symphony no 1 in C op 21 |
2 2 2 2; 2 2 0 0: t str |
11th July 2009 (now definite): at St Mary’s Church, The Walk, Potters Bar (east end of The Walk, south side). Conductor:
Bjorn Bantock. Soloist being chosen by
the Conductor (and playing at
no cost to the orchestra)
Rehearsals: 4 Jun, 11 Jun, 18 Jun, 25 Jun, 2 July, 9
July (6 rehearsals;
11th July 2009 at St Mary’s Church, The Walk, Potters Bar (east end of The Walk, south side). Conductor: Bjorn Bantock. Soloist being chosen by the Conductor (and playing at no cost to the orchestra)
Rehearsals:
4 Jun, 11 Jun, 18 Jun, 25 Jun, 2 July, 9 July
(6 rehearsals; detailed evening-by-evening schedule to follow later)
|
Beethoven |
Coriolan op 62 |
2 2 2 2; 2 2 0 0; t str |
|
Schumann |
Cello concerto op 129 |
2 2 2 2; 2 2 0 0; t str |
|
Brahms |
Symphony no 3 in F op 90 |
2 2 2 2+1; 4 2 3 0; t str |
Peter
Neville, Secretary, 01438-714394