Family fun is promise – Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Simon Wilkins is looking forward to an exciting season with Chichester Symphony Orchestra – a season when they will be doing things perhaps just a little bit differently.
They have their family concert on Sunday, January 28 at 3pm at Bishop Luffa School, on the theme of rhythm and then a concert on Saturday, April 20 at 7.30pm at St Paul's Church with music by Butterworth, Holmes, Taylor-coleridge and Sibelius. But they will also be tackling some female composers this year – all part of life post-covid.
“We have come back really strongly after Covid and we have really hit the ground running. Musically things are absolutely fabulous. There have been some really memorable andexcitingconcertsthatwe've done and we've had some new members which is really great. Of course, during the pandemic we weren't able to rehearse though we did have a few moments in the summer of 2020 when it was possible and then we got back together and did a concert in the summer of 2021. And I think people were just really eager to come back to it. I do think that there was a feeling of wanting to make up for lost time.
“Everybody had more time during the pandemic and I'm pleased with the way I used the time I had. Musically I had a lot more practice time and I spent quite a bit of time making resources for my teaching butalsolisteningtomusic.and I do think that I'm a bit more mindful now about the way I use my time, about being really efficient in preparation. Some of it is circular and it comes with experience but I feel like I've had time to evaluate how I prepare for things, and I think I'vetriedtobemorecalmabout how I do things. I went through period of saying yes, yes, yes to everything and I was charging around all over the place. And I could do that in my 20s but then it stopped being fun and I do think I'm now more judicious in what I take on.”
And inevitably that feeds through into the orchestral work: “And I do think things are particularly good with the Chichester Symphony Orchestra at the moment. It's going to be an exciting season, particularly including music by a lot more female composers. We are always keeping our ears open for members’ suggestions and this was a suggestion. We were not sure about doing an entire concert by female composers but it's something we might consider again at some point.”
As for the family concert, it's about fun: “I must admit it's an idea that I shamelessly stole from the City of Southampton Orchestra who are really excellent and it's just a different kind of concert. It's more informal. More families go, and the atmosphere is much more relaxed and we really don't mind ifthekidsgetupanddance.and we always have a theme. We've done various things over the years including film music and around the world and this time we'vedecidedthatourthemeis rhythm. Somebody suggested dance and we decided to broaden it to rhythm more generally. There will be lots of Latin and South American music. Every other piece is a tango or a rumbaoracongaandit'sreallygood fun to play.”