After two years of silence, the Burgess Hill Symphony Orchestra is warming up again. Their first live concert took place in November last year, and they chatted with CommunityAd about their plans and excitement for 2022.
Can you tell me a little about the Orchestra?
We are an amateur orchestra made up of an eclectic mix of ages from teens to octogenarians. All musicians are of a high standard and we perform a wide selection of music from Mahler to John Williams to Mozart.
The Orchestra was founded in 1979 as the Martlets Sinfonietta. The original conductor was Stephen Evans, who is still one of the Orchestra’s Vice-Presidents. Stephen was succeeded in 1982 by Mike Wood, our current Conductor. The May Concert this year heralds the 40th Anniversary of Mike being our conductor.
It must be very exciting for the Orchestra to play again after such a long hiatus?
The excitement of working towards a concert last November was exhilarating. From our first live rehearsal in June 2020 at Adastra Hall, it was very obvious that the orchestra had missed playing together. We are a close-knit supportive group that help each other musically and personally. Some members of the group found coming back to live rehearsals very frightening with the threat of COVID-19, but all problems were listened to, and the rehearsal space adapted to give all members the space and confidence to carry on playing.
What does the Orchestra have planned for 2022?
We have the usual two concerts planned. On 14th May 2022 we will be performing the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto and Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. We are delighted to announce that for the cello concerto we will be joined by Aglaia Carvalho-Dubost, a very talented young local cellist. The orchestra had the delight in being joined in 2019 by her father Pavlos Carvalho for the Dvorak Cello Concerto; this concert was one of the highlights of the orchestra repertoire.
We are also looking forward to performing at the Cuckfield festival on 18th June. This is a new venue for the orchestra and we are all looking forward to playing in the festival.
The Autumn concert is booked for 19th November 2022 and the programme is yet to be decided.
This year, being the 40th anniversary of Mike Wood being our conductor, we are planning a celebration event in the summer.
How can people help out the orchestra in these uncertain times?
Our patrons’ schemes really help the Orchestra. In return for your support, we guarantee our Patrons tickets for each concert (and send them out in advance!), and offer you suitable acknowledgement in the concert programme. Also, as a special “thank you”, we put on an extra concert each year, just for our Patrons. It takes the form of a “Sunday tea” event, with a variety of musical entertainment, afternoon tea and a musical quiz. The Patrons’ Tea is usually held in March.