Britain's What's On Event Guide
40-Strong Saxophone Orchestra Concert
Two saxophone orchestras - Phoenix Saxophone Orchestra from central England and Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra from the north of Scotland - who found each other through Making Music and built up a lasting friendship online during the Covid lockdown, will be performing together live this summer for the very first time!
The 40-strong combined orchestra will perform three joint pieces, with the grand finale being a rousing arrangement of Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, better known as Fingal’s Cave, that’s been specially commissioned by the groups from Scottish musician and arranger Catriona Melville-Mason.
The two groups will also play a selection of music from their own repertoires, which cover a mix of musical styles that ably demonstrate the versatility of the instruments, including classical, folk, choral, jazz and rock. The musicians will be performing on seven different types of saxophone, from the tiny sopranino, through the more commonly seen soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, to the giant bass and contrabass.
These live concerts are the next step in an exciting story for these two orchestras, who in 2021 were jointly nominated for a prestigious national Royal Philharmonic Society Inspiration Award for a joint lockdown recording of Julius Fucik’s ‘Entry of the Gladiators’. A joint live rendition of this exhilarating piece will also form part of the concert.
The 40-strong combined orchestra will perform three joint pieces, with the grand finale being a rousing arrangement of Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, better known as Fingal’s Cave, that’s been specially commissioned by the groups from Scottish musician and arranger Catriona Melville-Mason.
The two groups will also play a selection of music from their own repertoires, which cover a mix of musical styles that ably demonstrate the versatility of the instruments, including classical, folk, choral, jazz and rock. The musicians will be performing on seven different types of saxophone, from the tiny sopranino, through the more commonly seen soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, to the giant bass and contrabass.
These live concerts are the next step in an exciting story for these two orchestras, who in 2021 were jointly nominated for a prestigious national Royal Philharmonic Society Inspiration Award for a joint lockdown recording of Julius Fucik’s ‘Entry of the Gladiators’. A joint live rendition of this exhilarating piece will also form part of the concert.
Saturday 3 Jun 2023
The Acorn Centre, West High Street, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire AB51 3SA
The 1.5 hour concert starts at 7pm. Tickets are £7.50 each and free for under 16s. Refreshments are available.
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