Nottingham Youth Orchestra – Winter Concert November 2023

Intermediate Orchestra

Conductor

Christopher Hoggarth

Repertoire

  • 1. Montagues and Capulets
    — Prokofiev (arr. Isaac)
  • 2. Sleigh Ride
    — Delius
  • 3. Jeux d'enfants - March - Duo - Gallop
    — Bizet (arr Ling)
  • 4. The Nutcracker - March - Pas de Deux
    — Tchaikovsky (transcribed Armstrong)

Programme notes

NYIO have prepared a varied and challenging programme demonstrating a range of musical styles. The first term is always particularly demanding with many new players and the orchestra taking time to gel together. It's been great to see the orchestra's progression this term!

1. Montagues and Capulets

prokofiev-c.1918
Prokofiev, c. 1918

We begin with music from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet. Used widely in TV and film including as the theme tune for the BBC's The Apprentice, the Montagues and Capulets music conveys the angst and bitterness of the two fighting families. Prokofiev takes traditional harmonies and supplements them with deliberate dissonances to create a tense atmosphere. Following a tranquil middle section, the battle again resumes.

2. Sleigh Ride

Born in Bradford in 1862, Frederick Delius had a unique compositional style that did not earn recognition until later on in the composer's life. Originally titled 'Winter Night', Sleigh Ride begins quietly with the sound of distant sleigh bells and a piccolo solo. As the sleigh approaches, the music gets louder and the piccolo theme is taken up by the whole orchestra. After a more reflective, lyrical middle section, the sleigh returns before disappearing into the night.

3. Jeux d'enfants - March - Duo - Gallop

Originally composed for piano four hands, Bizet orchestrated several movements from his Jeux d'enfants (children's games). The March evokes a toy trumpet and drum, naturally portrayed by the trumpet and percussion sections, which play military rhythms. The warm, calm Duo is followed by the energetic dash of the Gallop with its single theme repeated in various guises.

4. The Nutcracker - March - Pas de Deux

We end the concert with two dances from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. Set at Christmas time and now traditionally performed during the Christmas period each year, the ballet tells the tale of Clara and an enchanted toy nutcracker. The two dances we will be performing come from Act II and Clara's adventure in the Land of the Sweets. The March begins with a repeating brass fanfare, alternating with stately strings and sudden interjections from the whole orchestra. The fanfare later returns over the top of rapid scalic figures passing through the whole string section to a flute and piccolo flourish. The music for the Pas de Deux is built from a descending scale that begins quietly over a harp accompaniment and builds up to a grand climax for the whole orchestra.

next-concert

Orchestra

Violin 1
Jas Demir - Wong *
Elsie O'Connor
Lucy Jackson
Norah Flavin 
Evie Cox
Amelie Almond 
Isaac So
Isla Williams
Rujula Anand

Violin 2
Noah Wright
Angel Bhandal
Phoebe Neate
Anya Hume
Jessica Griffiths
Karimah Muhammad
Lera Lazarenko
Sebby Caulton
Harleen Gosal
Lucia Zhu 

Violin 3
Shakeel Muhammad
Emanuel Talmain

Viola
Julia Phillippe
Ayesha Pocock 
Moira Taylor
Isabel Kelly

Cello
Christian Hackett
Cedric Lam
Jasper Duff
Katherine Zhu 
Liam Brown
Darren Wong
Hannah Newman
Rebecca Stavrinides

Harp
Faith Ward

Flute
Hattie Jamieson
Kitty Haworth
James Golding 
Chloe Wong
Tobey Lai 

Piccolo
Kitty Haworth
Hattie Jamieson

Oboe
Kaylyn Young
Evie Gooding 
Gregory Agafonov 

Cor Anglais
Kaylyn Young

Clarinet
Amelia Cocker
Lavinia Scurtu
Isobel McIntyre
Chiara Empringham 

Bass Clarinet
Isobel McIntyre

Bassoon
Edward Leeming

Trumpet
Jacob Ingram
Esther Mackay
Charlie Tallant
Tobias Gooding
Charlotte Simmonds
Dylan Siew Grainger
Daniel Golding

Trombone
Bella Dobson
James Leung

Percussion
Albert Beesley - Collingwood
Paige Kirya
Daisy Price
Jasmine Price

*Leader

Tutor Thanks

Dora Chatzigeorgiou - 1st Violin
Sarah Cresswell - 2nd Violin
Juliet Ward - 3rd Violin / Viola
Matthew Barks – Double Bass / Cello
Charlotte Reavley - Woodwind
Lilla Di Miceli - Brass
Steve Bennett - Brass
Alex Lucas - Percussion
Roisin Hickey – Harp

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NYO would like to thank the Danny Morris Memorial Trust Fund for their support.

Peter Horril Scholarship
We are very grateful to the Horril family for their donation in memory of Peter Horril. Peter was a local schoolmaster and music lover.

Friends of NYO
Prof & Mrs D F Brailsford
Mr & Mrs A Foster
Mr R Hammond
Mr & Mrs Hands
Professor S & Mrs H Hodkinson
Mrs F Keetley
Mrs Emily Kenefeck
Mr & Mrs A MacDiarmid
Mrs Elisabeth Mills
Mr & Mrs R Nicolle
Mr & Mrs A C Powell
Prof & Dr Polnay
Mr & Mrs K Pryer
Mr & Mrs R Skinner
Drs A & M D Smith
Mr H & Mrs E Watkinson
Mrs Witcombe

French Horn Chair - In memory of Don and Betty Adamson
Double Bass Chair - In memory of Corin Long and Pam Thomas