Programme Notes
Sleigh Ride
Sleigh Ride is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had formed the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and he finished the work in February 1948. The original recordings were instrumental versions. The lyrics, about riding in a sleigh and other fun wintertime activities, were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950. The orchestral version was first recorded in 1949 by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra. A selection of the artists who have recorded it include Herb Alpert, The Andrews Sisters, The Carpenters, Bing Crosby, The Boston Pops Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, the amazing Debbie Gibson, The Muppets, and Andy Williams.
West Side Story Symphonic Dances
West Side Story was originally conceptualised by choreographer Jerome Robbins, who pitched a modern day adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to Leonard Bernstein, along with playwright Arthur Laurents Bernstein and Robbins had already shared a close personal and professional relationship for the past 6 years, having met as Robbins was looking for a composer for Fancy Free. Robbins greatly admired Bernstein, finding inspiration from the “kinetic motor” in Bernstein’s works, and eventually developed a habit of touching Bernstein’s hands when he was composing on the piano. In addition to this, their sexual and Jewish identities formed a specific part of their working process on West Side Story: both internally (the play was originally about antisemitism rather than racism), and externally (they were both targeted as homosexuals by the FBI whilst working on the production).
West Side Story is an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in modern day New York City, featuring two rival gangs in place of the Montagues and the Capulets: the Jets (Italian Americans) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants). Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances form a medley of both incidental music and songs from West Side Story, with Somewhere, Mambo, Maria, and Cool forming the main themes presented in the piece. Throughout the piece, Bernstein showcases his inspiration from a wide variety of music from the Americas, showing special attention to music of Latin America: the Afro-Cuban influence is very obvious in Mambo, and is later portrayed much more subtly in the 3+3+2 metre of Maria,
(although, interestingly, the Sharks are written as Puerto Rican immigrants: it appears that Bernstein was not fully aware of the difference) In regards to the Jets, Bernstein used rock themes and, in the case of Cool, cool jazz. This was all in addition to his own Jewish influence that makes everything he writes unapologetically his own The balance between his appreciation for the various different musics of the Americas, and the overall messages of liberation and tolerance, sum better than no other Bernstein’s views on America as a whole.
Programme note written by Amelia Awan - Viola
Selection
of Christmas Songs
Let it Snow
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) sung by Adah Charles
A few words from Adah:
‘When Chris approached me with the idea of singing two Christmas songs with the orchestra I was a combination of incredibly flattered and mildly perplexed. I rarely sing outside of a choir setting, let alone a solo with a whole orchestra! However, excited by the prospect of stepping to centre stage, alongside Chris’ masterful conducting plus my favourite orchestra, I embarked on the more than terrifying task of preparing my nerves for this moment
The two songs I will be singing are perfectly Christmassy in every way, and should hopefully encapsulate some of the sounds of the swing era reflected in the rest of the program. I am so excited to share them with you! (Almost as excited as I am to finally play West Side Story). Hopefully you can revive your Christmas spirit one last time through the magical sounds of this wonderful orchestra. I’m so grateful to Chris for thinking to include me in this wonderful opportunity, and the whole CSYO team for inspiring me for five years now, I wouldn’t be stood here in front of you today without them ’
Adah Charles - Clarinet
American in Paris
An American in Paris is a piece, at its core, about longing. The original idea of the piece came from George Gershwin’s love of the Hudson River, and the feeling of homesickness towards it when he was staying in Paris. Everything else stemmed from there: the horns at the start, mirroring the Place de la
Concorde during the rush hour, the “Subito con brio” section, designed to show the American arriving at the Left Bank, the blues in the middle, mirroring both the external vibe of a French café and the internal feelings of homesickness and longing, the allegro, which continues the feeling of yearning (albeit this time with a much more formal American feel, as it goes into a twelve bar blues), and the ending, which reflects the opening In addition to all of this, early drafts of this piece show stories of a “meets girl” segment, implying a more romantic underlying theme. All of this is built to imitate, in Gershwin’s own words, “ a lanky American walking down the Champs-Elysées”
Gershwin actively attempted to write in as French a style as he possibly could, directly taking inspiration from Claude Debussy as well as Les Six, all the while he kept his themes original. In addition to this, he also used influences from the Americas: he was especially enraptured with Duke Ellington, having listened to many of his records, and it has been poised that themes from his Creole Love Call possibly made their way into this piece. The relationship between these two cultures that our main character is experiencing is very deliberately balanced throughout the piece, with the current “Paris” scenes featuring more duple meters and vocal rhythms, and the nostalgic “New York” scenes being more bluesy. The fact that the end of the piece mirrors the beginning is written to symbolise the (at least current) triumph of Paris: as Gershwin himself describes; “Home is swell! But after all, this is Paris so let’s g !”
Programme note written by Amelia Awan - Viola
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Adah Charles (voice)
Adah Charles is a music student at the University of Cambridge, aspiring to be a clarinettist. She attends Guildhall School of Music and Drama to have clarinet lessons with Joy Farrall She originally started playing the clarinet at school with lessons provided by the Sheffield music hub, and progressed to joining Sheffield music academy, which she attended between 2016 and 2023, having clarinet lessons from Keith Slade. She joined CSYO in 2019 for the Christmas course During her time at Sheffield music academy she was also a member of several award schemes including Awards for Young Musicians (now Young Sounds UK), playing in awards programs in chamber and orchestral music, as well as performing in private concerts for their donors; the Christine Brown Trust; and the Universal Music UK Sound Foundation. Now in her second year at Cambridge, she performs regularly in the Cambridge University Orchestra, and with her clarinet quintet as part of the Instrumental Awards Scheme for chamber music. On the side, Adah also sings several times a week in the Emmanuel College Chapel Choir, and has singing lessons from James Oldfield She enjoys the many chances to perform in Cambridge’s vibrant musical scene, and will forever be grateful for the musical opportunities provided to her by Sheffield Music Academy and CSYO.
Christopher Gayford (conductor) studied at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music with Timothy Reynish He has worked with many major orchestras and opera companies, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as assistant conductor, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera North and Scottish Opera A founder member of the new music group Psappha, he was involved in education project work that now forms one of his chief areas of interest. He has conducted CSYO since 1994. From 2000 until 2003 Christopher worked on a project called Feeling Sound, hosted and partially funded by Trinity College of Music and led a series of three Feeling Sound concerts at the Barbican with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conducting Mozart's last three symphonies. Internationally, he has taken part in master classes with Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Ilya Musin and Peter Eotvos and competed in two international conducting competitions, winning second prize In Cadaques and joint first in Besancon.
The City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra (CSYO) believes in the power of shared music-making to inspire leadership, self-confidence and critical thinking in young people For nearly 45 years this unique youth orchestra has been providing opportunities for young people from Sheffield and the surrounding areas to be involved in high-profile performances of the most challenging and exciting orchestral repertoire in inspiring concert venues in the UK and Europe Open to young musicians aged 13 -21, CSYO provides intensive courses three times a year including two residentials and a tour abroad every other year. Members are challenged in a supportive and nurturing environment, focussing on developing an individual’s skills and confidence
Over the years the orchestra has toured extensively around Europe, including a tour to Croatia in 2005 playing Swan Lake with the Royal Russian Ballet to an audience of 4,000, a concert televised in seven countries. The orchestra recorded the backing track of John Lennon’s last song at Abbey Road Studios in London They have also toured in the Czech Republic, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Poland, France, The Netherlands and most recently Italy, Germany and Spain Soloists have included famous names such as John Lill, Martin Milner, Anna Markland, Nigel Kennedy, Peter Donohoe, Lesley Garrett, Ronan O’Hora, Eleanor Bron, Matthew Barley, Natalie Clein, Peter Cropper and Katya Apekisheva. The orchestra has an enviable esprit de corps due largely to the staff members who, besides their musical roles, care for the members in a pastoral way. All members are looked after by an excellent mentoring system. The resulting high morale has led to some memorable performances, which we hope will be evidenced in this concert
CSYO's Bursary Scheme is generously supported by The Radcliffe Trust, The Freshgate Foundation and The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation
