Wolsey Orchestra
Promoting Musical Excellence in Ipswich

To mark the Wolsey Orchestra’s thirtieth season we have chosen a popular and varied set of programmes, with something to  appeal to all lovers of orchestral music.  In order to ensure a memorable opening to this special season we have also commissioned a work to be written by local composer, Chris Wright.

12 October 2002

Our first concert sees the inaugural performance of Chris Wright’s new piece, Manoeuvres.  This is a work for full symphony orchestra including triple wind and harp, and is a commentary on the contemporary world where nothing is quite what it seems.  The idea of ambiguity is also present in the second half of this concert as we will perform Elgar’s Enigma variations.  We start the concert with Brahm’s beautifully crafted set of variations on a theme by Haydn, the St Anthony Variations.  We are pleased to welcome Martin Pring back to conduct this concert, and look forward to working with him again after last year’s successful concert of English music.

8 February 2003

The season’s second concert gives us the opportunity to showcase the talents of another local musician, Sophie Appleton, who will be performing Brahms’ First Violin Concerto.  We are also pleased to welcome the conductor Harry Curtis to preside over the orchestra for the first time.  The concert starts with the overture to Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, and is completed by a performance of Neilson’s opus celebrating the struggle   with, and eventual victory over, darkness, his Fourth Symphony - The Inextinguishable.

17 May 2003

In our May 2003 concert, conducted by John Traill, we perform music from two ballets and one pagaent.  The evening  opens with a performance of Sibelius’ Kareila Suite, a work originally written for a patriotic historical pageant to be presented by students of Helsinki University in Viborg, Karelia.  This is complemented by music from Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, Swan Lake.  In the second half of this concert  we can hear music written by Prokofiev for an equally famous story, Romeo and Juliet. The work was originally commissioned for the Kirov Ballet and then reassigned to the Bolshoi Ballet.  Such was its success that Prokofiev went on to make ten piano pieces, and no less than three orchestral suites from the music.As you can see, we have chosen some wonderful music with which to celebrate our thirtieth year.  We are sure  that you will enjoy the concerts as much as we will enjoy playing in them, and we look forward to seeing you in the audience.

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