Category: Uncategorized
Monster mayhem and mystery at SASO children’s concerts
Little monsters are invited to put on their best fancy dress and indulge in a spot of musical mayhem on Sunday October 12th at one of St Albans Symphony Orchestra’s popular annual concerts for children (2pm & 3.30pm, St Saviour’s Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans). Children are, as usual, invited to dress up as their …
Kieran McGuirk 1949-2014
With great sadness, St Albans Symphony Orchestra (SASO) records the death of its chair, Kieran McGuirk, aged 65. An accomplished musician, Kieran not only played violin with SASO for more than a decade, but also performed regularly with the Hertfordshire Philharmonia. As a singer, he was a valued member of both the St Albans Chamber …
“Remarkable” Rachmaninov provides the triumphant climax to SASO’s season
John Manning, music critic of the Herts Advertiser, was bowled over by Alissa Firsova’s thrilling performance of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto on June 28th that brought SASO’s 2013/14 season to a triumphant conclusion. He writes: “Rarely can I remember being so excited and at the same time so emotionally drained…Not only did she thrill the …
‘Rising star’ returns to partner SASO in Rachmaninov
St Albans Symphony Orchestra (SASO) ends its season with a rousing summer finale on Saturday 28th June performing Beethoven’s sunny Symphony No 8 and Rachmaninov’s spectacular Third Piano Concerto (7.30pm, St Saviour’s Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans). The Rachmaninov concerto is loved by audiences for its romantic sweep and the beauty of its ‘big tunes’, but also places extravagant …
“The whole concert was a delight…”
Critic Geoff Ward, writing in the Herts Advertiser, says that he has never heard SASO play better than at its ‘Orchestral Colours’ concert in St Saviour’s Church on May 10th. He praises an “impeccable” brass performance of Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral from Wagner’s Lohengrin, the “full rich sound” in Strauss’s Serenade for Winds and …
SASO’s colourful spring bouquet…
St Albans Symphony Orchestra (SASO) is set to celebrate spring on Saturday May 10th with music exhibiting a palette of exotic orchestral colours – including Scheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov’s magical portrayal of tales from the Arabian Nights (7.30pm, St Saviour’s Church, Sandpit Lane, St Albans). The 19th century Russian composer’s suite contains some of his most thrilling and inventive …
“Completely dazzling” – critic praises Mendelssohn and Strauss concert
John Manning, critic of the Herts Advertiser, found Charlotte Scott’s performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto at SASO’s March 8th concert “breathtaking” . He as also full of praise for the orchestra’s playing in Strauss’s epic Alpine Symphony which “did full justice to the work. Click here to read more from his review.
SASO seeks new heights with Mendelssohn and Strauss
St Albans Symphony Orchestra are set to perform one of their most ambitious programmes on Saturday March 8th, matching an all-time favourite violin concerto with a spectacular symphony composed on an epic scale (St Albans Abbey, 7.30pm). Award-winning virtuoso Charlotte Scott will be the soloist in Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto – a work packed with memorable tunes, …
“…a tremendous evening with some outstanding performances…”
SASO ‘Music from the Movies’ concert “proved once more that the Abbey and St Albans Symphony Orchestra’s traditional concert is the place to be on January 1,” according to John Manning, music critic of the Herts Advertiser. He adds that: “Anyone who was there will endorse the fact that it was a tremendous evening with …
SASO celebrates New Year with music from the movies
James Bond, The Little Mermaid, Superman and the Pirates of the Caribbean will be helping St Albans Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the start of 2014 with a musical trip to the movies. The orchestra’s traditional New Years Day family concert in St Albans Abbey (7pm, Wednesday January 1st) is dedicated to favourite film scores, including music from blockbusters such as …
