Category: latest-news
SASO’s New Year’s Day resolution is to “keep dancing”!
From the cha-cha-cha and Hungarian czardas, to the mambo and Viennese waltz, St Albans Symphony Orchestra intends to “keep dancing” at its annual New Years Day concert in St Albans Cathedral (7pm, Friday 1st January). Its programme of classical dance favourites ranges from the exotic Bacchanale that Camille Saint-Saens composed for his opera Samson et Delilah, to pulsating jazz …
“…some truly great sounds”: critic praises SASO in Dvorak Requiem
“Few who heard it in St Albans Cathedral on Saturday could fail to agree that this powerful and dramatic work should be heard far more often” writes Herts Advertiser critic John Manning , reviewing the 2015 St Cecilia Festival Society performance of Dvorak’s Requiem. in St Albans Cathedral. “With a choir of around 120 drawn …
St Cecilia Festival seeks new friends for Dvorak’s neglected masterpiece
When Alex Flood raises his baton to conduct Dvorak’s Requiem in St Albans Cathedral on Saturday October 31st (7.30pm) it will be 125 years to the day since the great Czech composer completed the orchestration of one of his least-familiar masterpieces. Premiered a year later in Birmingham, the work displayed the combination of drama, tender lyricism and memorable …
Wanted: Little Monsters (and other furry friends) for SASO’s children’s concerts
Little monsters (furry friends as well as fiends) are wanted on Sunday October 11th for St Albans Symphony Orchestra’s popular annual concerts for children (2pm repeated at 3.30pm, St Saviour’s Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans). Children are invited wear their best fancy dress for a concert featuring the best-loved story ever set to classical music: Serge …
“…one of the best performances…ever”
SASO’s summer concert of English music was one of its best ever, according to John Manning, music reviewer for the Herts Advertiser. He reports that in a highly-polished account of Elgar’s Enigma Variations “every member of the orchestra gave of their very best”, providing a fitting farewell for Bjorn Bantock, the orchestra’s Principal Conductor for …
SASO’s summer celebration of English music
St Albans Symphony Orchestra (SASO) celebrates English music at its best for its summer concert on Saturday 27th June – with leader Jennifer Wigram and her son David both featuring as soloists (7.30pm St Saviour’s Church, Sandpit Lane, AL1 4DF). Jennifer, who has been SASO’s leader since 1981, will perform The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan-Williams. …
Bjorn Bantock leaving SASO after five years at the helm
St Albans Symphony Orchestra (SASO) is preparing to appoint a new principal conductor, following a decision by Bjorn Bantock to step down next month after five years at the helm. Bjorn, 42, is credited with achieving an all-round improvement in the orchestra’s playing standards, attracting talented new players and drawing audience and critical approval for …
Vacancy for a Principal Conductor
Bjorn Bantock will be leaving St Albans Symphony Orchestra at the end of its 2014/15 season, creating a vacancy for a Principal Conductor. The orchestra, which brings together amateur and semi-professional players, welcomes applications for the post from experienced and inspiring musicians whose leadership will maintain and surpass its current high standards of performance. A …
Orchestra’s “all-Scandinavian success story”
Herts Advertiser critic, Geoff Ward reviewing SASO’s May 9th concert writes that the orchestra has “improved immeasurably under their dynamic conductor, Bjorn Bantock” “The concert began with the popular Karelia Suite, which was Sibelius’s first commission for nationalist music. This was a very satisfying performance, especially by the brass section. There was a nice cor …
Grieg, Sibelius and Nielsen lead SASO’s Nordic spring celebration
Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto – popular even before Morecambe and Wise hilariously put “the right notes in the wrong order” – will provide the centrepiece of the St Albans Symphony Orchestra’s spring concert on Saturday May 9th, featuring favourite works by Scandinavian composers (7.30pm, St Saviour’s Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans AL1 4DF). All joking …
