PRESS RELEASE - September 2006
Vivaldi by Candlelight
Anyone suffering from “Proms withdrawal” – or who just enjoys a romantic musical evening – should enjoy Ely Sinfonia’s production of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Candlelight, taking place in Ely Cathedral on Saturday 16th September 2006.
As the daylight fades, the cathedral’s candlelit choir and
presbytery will provide a magnificent atmospheric setting for the Four Seasons, as well as Bach’s lyrical solo cantata, Ich habe genug and Stravinsky’s short and witty Dumbarton Oaks concerto.
"This concert builds on the huge success of last autumn’s Schubert by candlelight concert in Ely Cathedral, which played to a capacity audience,” says Ely Sinfonia manager Robin Moore. “We are lucky enough to have two highly talented musicians, the violinist Steve Bingham and Paul Trepte, the cathedral’s director of music, to lead the event. Steve Bingham will lead and direct the Four Seasons, while Paul Trepte will conduct Ich habe genug and Dumbarton Oaks. Robin Moore will, himself, sing the baritone solo in Ich habe genug.
The evening should be one of delightful contrasts. Each of the three composers, working in a different period or milieu, had a strong influence on the others. In composing his hauntingly beautiful Ich habe genug, Bach was strongly influenced by Vivaldi, while Stravinsky’s Dumbarton Oaks, written in 1937, was directly inspired by Bach’s third Brandenburg Concerto, first composed in 1713.
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PRESS RELEASE
Three Centuries in One Night!
The Ely Sinfonia is continuing to prove that it is one of the most innovative non-professional orchestras in the county. This exciting chamber orchestra is barely five years old, yet it has tackled more contemporary or rarely played works during that time than most similar orchestras would dare to attempt. Its productive partnership with the professional Britten Sinfonia continues in September with a concert in Ely Cathedral, but meanwhile chamber groups from the Ely Sinfonia are keeping up the good work with a concert in St Andrew’s Church, Sutton on Saturday 3rd July.
The concert, entitled ‘Three Centuries: Chamber Music from Haydn to the Threepenny Opera Suite’, offers music from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, providing an opportunity for string, wind, brass and percussion players to mix and match their talents in a programme to suit everyone’s tastes. It includes Spohr’s famous Nonet in F, Milhaud’s wind quintet ‘La cheminée du roi René’, Haydn’s String Quartet Op 76 No. 1 in G, and Kurt Weill’s Suite from The Threepenny Opera, his dark and jazz-influenced work based on John Gay’s Beggar’s Opera, featuring the famous theme ‘Mack the Knife’.
Ely Sinfonia to accompany
Cathedral Choir on Easter Sunday
The recently formed local East Cambridgeshire orchestra, the Ely Sinfonia, has been chosen by the Cathedral Choir’s Director of Music, Paul Trepte, to accompany the choristers in their traditional Choral Eucharist for Easter Sunday. Paul Trepte will conduct the choir in Haydn’s St Nicholas Mass, with orchestral accompaniment rather than the usual organ support. There has been a long tradition of orchestral masses in the Cathedral for important festivals such as Easter and Christmas, but this is the first time that the Ely Sinfonia has been chosen to take part since its formation in 2000.
“We’re privileged to have been chosen to take part in this very special Service,” said the orchestra’s chairman, Robin Moore. “The Ely Sinfonia already has a good relationship with the Cathedral through its involvement in a number of Cathedral concerts alongside Britten Sinfonia, but this is the first time the orchestra has actually taken part in a Service to support the Cathedral’s choristers and the players are looking forward to it. We hope it will be the beginning of a very fruitful relationship with the Cathedral Choir.”
PRESS RELEASE
March 2003
Britten Sinfonia principal players to lead ensembles masterclass
Kate Hill (flute) and Miranda Dale (violin), two of Britten Sinfonia’s Principal players, will be offering their advice and expertise to small chamber groups from the Ely Sinfonia on Saturday March 15th.
This masterclass, which is part of a programme of activities by the Ely Sinfonia funded by the National Lottery’s Awards for All scheme, will enable several small ensembles, including adult string quartets and trios, wind quintets, and junior flute and string groups from Ely and the surrounding fenland area, to perform short works and be coached in technique, musicality and ensemble playing by musicians from the east of England’s premier chamber orchestra. Both Kate Hill and Miranda Dale are international soloists in their own right and both teach at the highest level in as music colleges both in the UK and abroad. This is a unique opportunity both for the players themselves to improve their technique at the hands of specialists and for the audience to share in the experience.
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