Hastings Sinfonia (photo: Peter Mould).

Valentine music for the heart, from Hastings Sinfonia

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Hastings Sinfonia, along with five soloists, have arranged a Valentine Concert – Music for the Heart – consisting of many well-known pieces of music suitably full of passion. Nick Terdre reports.

Hastings Sinfonia has built a reputation and loyal following for performing popular, well-known classics alongside exciting new works, giving a balanced programme suitable for all. They are regular performers at community events such as Pirates Day and the Hastings Mid Summer Fish Fest.

For this year’s Valentine Concert they have arranged a programme of well-known pieces full of passion under the title Music for the Heart. The programme includes:

• Piano Concerto No.2 (Mov. 2) (Rachmaninov)
• Preludio from La Traviata (Verdi)
• Vissi d’Arte from Tosca (Puccini)
• Scene and Valse from the Swan Lake Orchestral Suite (Tchaikovsky)
• O Soave Fanciulla from La Boheme (Puccini)
• Salut D’Amour ( Elgar)
• Brindisi from La Traviata (Verdi)
• A Fairy Tale (Piatti)
• Warsaw Piano Concerto (Addinsell)

Five familiar soloists will be participating: Howard Southern (piano), Thomasin Trezise (soprano), Polo Piatti (piano), Matthew Scott Clark (tenor) and Daisy Noton (flute).

Matthew Scott Clark

Thomasin Trezise

Polo Piatti

Daisy Noton

Howard Southern

Adrian Charlesworth has been appointed the new orchestra leader – he has freelanced in many professional orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra and English National Ballet, and will bring energy and enthusiasm to the orchestra, says chair Sandra Goodsell.

Opera specialist Derek Carden remains the conductor and local composer Polo Piatti, who continues to write fabulous pieces for the orchestra, the artistic director.

The orchestra consists of local professional and talented amateur musicians, who meet twice a month throughout the year. Please contact them if you are interested in joining – there are no auditions and  they are very welcoming, Ms Goodsell says. The orchestra is particularly interested in increasing the ranks of its string and brass sections.

A couple of summer dates should also be noted. On Saturday 25 June the orchestra will make a welcome return to Hastings Mid Summer Fish Fest on the Stade. And on Saturday 16 July, with pianist Oliver Poole, they will give a performance of the Queen Piano Concerto, arranged by Simon Proctor, at St Mary in the Castle. This work contains all of Queen’s greatest hits arranged for a large orchestra with plenty of percussion. The concert will also include film music such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Music for the Heart: Hastings Sinfonia’s Valentine Concert 7.30pm, Saturday 12 February. St John the Evangelist, Brittany Road, St Leonards-on-Sea TN38 0RD. Admission £12 in advance or £15 at the door, children under 18 free (ticket required). Tickets are available from TicketSource (booking line 0333 666 3366 or online) or from Hastings Bookshop, 5 Trinity Street, Hastings TN34 1HG (tel 01424 905410).

For further information on Hastings Sinfonia please visit their website or Facebook page.

Hastings Sinfonia flute section

Also in: Music & Sound