We would like to tell you about our Summer Concert, Dreams and Discoveries. It’s a programme of music that ranges from the depths of the bronze age to the boulevards of Paris, from a moonlit Athenian forest to the unfinished dreams of a genius cut short.
No passport required — just an evening to escape.
We are particularly excited to be performing the world premiere of a work we commissioned from Vahan Salorian HOARD for Orchestra. It’s inspired by the remarkable Bronze Age hoard discovered in Havering. Ancient voices speak through modern orchestral writing as the orchestra re-imagines what life — and music — might have sounded like in our own corner of London three thousand years ago.
From the deep past we travel to the enchanted forest, as the orchestra performs Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream — a work the composer wrote at just seventeen, conjuring fairies, moonlight and mischief with seemingly effortless brilliance.
Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor, the “Unfinished”, brings a moment of profound reflection. Left with only two movements at Schubert’s death, it is among the most moving and mysterious works in the orchestral canon — a reminder that some of the greatest discoveries are incomplete ones.
And on to one of the most important works of the 20th century, Gershwin’s An American in Paris — a joyful, jazz-soaked romp through the French capital that brings the audience home via a taxi horn, a café terrace, and a swinging dance floor. It is the perfect ending to an evening of musical discovery.
The Concert is on Saturday, 4th July at Frances Bardsley Academy, Brentwood Road, Romford, RM1 2RR.