The Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra with ESO patron John York
Concert at the the new Birley Centre Eastbourne
The Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra with Dominic John, winner of the Young Soloist Competition
Haydn's Creation in Chichester Cathedral with: Graham Jones (conductor), John Hancorn, Helen Dolton, Pascal Charbonneau and Kishani Jayasinghe
Result of the 25th ESO Young Soloist Competition (final round took place Sunday 5 February) Joint first winners (ESO YSC prize and Cox Memorial Prize) Naufal Mukumi (piano), Katy Smith (violin)Third prize (Col Howes Award) Alexandra Vaduva (piano) Runners-up Molly Cockburn (violin), Maria Setiadi (piano)
The Duke of Devonshire Award for the best performance by a competitor under the age of 18 was awarded to Daniel Shao (flute)
Naufal Mukumi, Molly Cockburn, Merton Cox (sponsor), Alexandra Vaduva, Paul Lucas (ESO president), Katy Smith, Graham Jones (chairman of the judges), Maria Immaculata Setiadi
Autumn Con Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra is alive and well Robin Gregory reviews their first concert in the new Birley Centre
It’s hard to believe that for nearly thirty years the great English composer Gustav Holst chose to be Director of Music at St Paul’s Girls’ School in London. Ninety-eight years ago the girls there played his new St Paul’s Suite for strings. Graham Jones is now in his 36th year at Eastbourne College and has been its Director of Music for 20 years, during which he has found time to bring the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra to its present high level of achievement. It was particularly apt that the first item he chose to conduct on Sunday 23rd October in the concert hall of the splendid new Birley Centre was the St Paul’s Suite. The very first note demonstrated two things: that the ESO strings can play in tune – vital in this deceptively simple work; and that the acoustic of the hall was sympathetic. All four movements are utterly delightful; and Graham and his leader, Lisa Wigmore, relished the opportunity to share that delight with the audience. Mozart’s 23rd piano concerto introduced 23 year-old Gamal Khamis, who is already well-established as a soloist. Superficially this concerto is in standard three-movement form (fast – slow – fast), but it has the added interest of a thoughtful and indeed wistful second movement separating two of Mozart’s happiest Allegros. It received a performance which went far beyond mere note-spinning: each melody was passed between piano and orchestra as if handing over a beloved treasure. Every player was clearly enjoying the music, and this enjoyment was conveyed to an appreciative full house.
Summer Concert 2011
The Orchestra, led by Lisa Wigmore (left in the picture) and expertly conducted by maestro Graham Jones (pictured), started with Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas which contrasted slow majestic chords from the wind and brass with some exuberant fast passagework from the strings. Then Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, which was taken at a sprightly tempo throughout and allowed the woodwind soloist the opportunity to shine, not least in the famous birdsong ending of the slow movement.
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cert 23 October 2011
Dvorak’s New World Symphony is far from easy to bring off. Tune succeeds tune; and the texture utilises every part of the orchestra. Many a solo is very exposed: and a badly judged account can so easily move from sentiment to sentimentality. Graham Jones kept the vital impetus under excellent control, allowing the many solo passages to shimmer while remaining part of the whole. The first couple of minutes were tentative; but thereafter it was all magic. The ravishing cor anglais solo in the second movement was perfect; indeed all the woodwind (who get many chances to shine or fluff) were exemplary. There were some exquisite moments from the flutes, oboes and clarinets; and the horns were equally at home whether gentle or at full blast. The drums get many a pounding in this work, and they were throughout plum in time and tune. All these details would count for nought without a good body of strings. The double basses kept many a rhythm firm, the cellos and violas sang sweetly, and the violins hovered or soared as required. This was a performance which showed beyond doubt that the ESO is a musical treasure in the town. I long to hear them, now, in something equally ravishing but less well-known: a symphony by the English composer best known for his film music, William Alwyn, perhaps. They could do it!
The Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra’s recent summer concert provided a platform for a stunning performance of Tchaikowsky’s Violin Concerto by Korean violinist Joo Yeon Sir (centre in the picture). Winner of the ESO’s prestigious annual young soloist competition, 20-year-old Joo Yeon’s virtuosic performance provoked a standing ovation at the end of one of the ESO’s best concerts in its 30 year history. Her warm vibrant tone was evident at the outset in a strong but sensitive performance of the first movement. The gentle muted folk-like second movement evoked a yearning quality, sympathetically accompanied by the strings with some beautifully shaped wind phrases. The finale was taken at a rapid but exhilarating pace, bringing the concerto to a triumphant conclusion.