Festive concerts
Following their highly successful concerts in the autumn, Stane Street Sinfonietta return to St Mary’s Church, Horsham with a concert of seasonal treats for three performances on Saturday, December 12 at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm. With socially distanced seating limiting each performance to 75 tickets, the concerts will be held in a Covid-secure environment. The orchestra’s conductor Steve Dummer said: “It’s been a hard time for both performers and audience and although it’s very heartening to see the enterprise in online concerts, whether prerecorded or live-streamed, they don’t come close to having the real, live experience. In the concerts we gave in the autumn the connection between players and listeners was almost tangible and they were special and memorable occasions after a long break so it’s great to be back playing again.” Stane Street Sinfonietta is made up of professional musicians who mostly live in or have a connection with Sussex and who play regularly with top orchestras and ensembles in the country. In these concerts they’ll be playing two festive baroque classics -– the Christmas Concerto by Corelli, “made for the night of Christmas” in 1690 and Vivaldi’s ever-popular Winter from The Four Seasons. Also included in the programme are Frank Bridge’s arrangement of Roger de Coverley, traditionally the closing dance of a Christmas Ball, some new arrangements of well-known carols and other festive songs plus some fitting readings. The performances, lasting about an hour, will follow Government safety guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 including hand sanitisers on entry and a requirement for audience members to wear facemasks. Tickets are £12 and £5 for under 18s, only available in advance. www. stanestreetsinfonietta.com