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October 2006
Corn Exchange, Cambridge
The 76 members of the English Schools’ Orchestra travelled this year to Cambridge to give their annual concert in the Corn Exchange with a challenging programme of music by Tchaikovsky, Gershwin and Jonathan Dove.
As in previous years, the orchestra, drawn from schools all over the country (and one from Spain) rehearsed at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School at Elstree in Hertfordshire to prepare the notes and to interpret the colourful musical content of the pieces chosen for this year’s programme, Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F and Jonathan Dove’s Overture In Praise of London. In addition, the orchestra paid tribute to one its most distinguished patrons, Sir Malcolm Arnold who died earlier in the year, by playing two movements from his Little Orchestral Suite No. 2.
The customary structure of the five-day course with a plentiful number of sectional rehearsals under specialist instrumental tutors, interspersed with full rehearsals under musical director Robert Pepper, ensured that by concert day all was soundly prepared. Technical difficulties that had seemed rather daunting at the first rehearsal had been overcome and players were able to give confident and convincing expressive performances of all the music.
Twenty four hours before the concert, news came through that caused considerable unease in that Martin Roscoe was unwell and unable to perform as soloist in the Gershwin Piano Concerto. This fine concerto is not in every concert pianist’s repertoire and a very uncomfortable two hours were endured before eventually the 26 year-old pianist, Chiao-Ying Chang, was contacted and at very short notice and to much relief agreed to play. In spite of having played the concerto only once before she travelled to Elstree to rehearse with the orchestra and immediately all concerns were allayed as she soon showed everyone just why she is steadily building a fine reputation as a concert pianist of the highest calibre and why she was a prize-winner at the Leeds Piano Competition three years ago.
On concert day the orchestra travelled to Cambridge, arriving in some style with a police escort to negotiate the increasingly pedestrianised streets of the city and quickly settled into the concert venue. The players soon adjusted to the larger dimensions and different acoustics of the Corn Exchange and the afternoon concert was a huge success, probably one of the best yet, and fully justified the prolonged applause and warm reception accorded to players and conductor by the large audience. During the interval a presentation by the orchestra’s President, Sir Robert Balchin DL was made to percussion player Oliver Lowe in recognition of his long service to the orchestra and his success in reaching the final of the BBC Young Musician Competition.
The 2006 course, as always, was a happy course with a great deal of hard work and plenty of fun enjoyed by players and staff and we look forward with optimism to next year when in all probability the orchestra will return to London to display its considerable musical talents and take a further step towards confirming its reputation as one of the most accomplished of youth orchestras in the country.
Alan Taylor,
Course Director, English Scohols Orchestra and Choir