Hastings Sinfonia at St John the Evangelist earlier this year.

Hastings Sinfonia for your pleasure

The Hastings Sinfonia present a concert of ‘Midsummer  Melodies’ for your enjoyment, writes Chris Cormack. The orchestra consists of local talented amateur and professional musicians, who meet twice a month throughout the year. The conductor is Derek Carden, who travels from London especially to conduct the Hastings Sinfonia, and the leader is professional violinist and teacher Peter Fields, who has played in many of the great English orchestras.

The concert includes many well-known works:

Also Sprach Zarathustra (opening) by Richard Strauss
Overture to Light Cavalry by Franz von Suppé
Hazy Days by Polo Piatti
Csardas by Vittorio Monti, with Nuri Köseoğlu (violin)
Second Movement’ from Piotr Tchaikovsky’s 6^th Symphony (Pathétique)
Porgi Amor from Le Nozze Di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Thomasin Trezise (soprano)
Intermezzo by Sir Patrick Moore
Finlandia by Jan Sibelius
Overture  from Die Zauberflӧte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Oronte’s Aria from I Lombardi by Giuseppe Verdi, with Gediminas Varna (tenor)
The Funfair by Polo Piatti
Penguin Parade and The Hurricane by Sir Patrick Moore, with Christopher Beaumont (xylophone)
Ut Mot Havet by Edvard Fliflet Bræin
Schindler’s List by John Williams, with Nuri Köseoğlu (violin)
First Act Duet from Carmen by Georges Bizet, with Thomasin Trezise and Gediminas Varna
Thunder and Lightning Polka by Johann Strauss the Younger

Thomasin Trezise and Gediminas Varna.

Guest soloists include Lithuanian tenor Gediminas Varna, who studied at La Scala and has performed worldwide including New York and Milan; the delightful Thomasin Trezise, professional soprano from Brighton currently performing with Glyndebourne Opera, so if you were lucky enough to get tickets for Carmen, you might get your preview or sneak a second viewing here! Last but not least we shall see local virtuoso violinist Nuri Koseoglu who is indeed ubiquitous in the Hastings music scene. Nuri also co-operated with composer Michel Duvoisin in the music soundtrack to the film Tony Benn: Will & Testament – 2014. Both Michel and Nuri will be present at the Composers Festival this September – will we hear some of this music at the film music concert on 26 September at the De La Warr?

Christopher Beaumont with Patrick Moore.

The concert will also include Christopher Beaumont performing three very exciting orchestrations of music by Sir Patrick Moore on the xylophone which were ‘restored’ by Christopher, namely Intermezzo from Perseus, the Penguin Parade (orchestrated by Ron Goodwin with xylophone solo) and The Hurricane (orchestrated by John Bell with xylophone solo). Chris has become the archivist for all of Patrick’s sheet music scores and  is determined to keep Patrick’s music preserved and played well into the future – not to be missed!!  Refreshments will be available during the interval.

Midsummer Melodies concert by Hastings Sinfonia: Saturday 27 June at 7.30pm at St John the Evangelist Church, Brittany Road, St Leonards-on-Sea TN38 0RD. Tickets  £10 in advance or £12 on the door, children under 12 free. Advance tickets may be bought at the Tourist Information Centre, Aquila House, Hastings TN34 3UY, Phoenix and Plum, 13 Kings Road, St Leonards-on-Sea TN37 6EA and Imagen Art Gallery, 20 Claremont, Hastings TN34 1HA (opposite Hastings Library).

Further information  and Facebook.

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