* Section Leader ** Soloist
oxFoRdSHiRe mASSed eNSemBle
gReATeR gWeNT YoUTH STRiNg eNSemBle
FiTZWilliAm STReeT
The Oxfordshire County Music Service is part of the Children Education and Families Directorate, providing tuition and activities for children, young people and adults. The service is nationally and internationally recognised for providing ensembles of the highest standard that maintain accessibility for all and encourage the individual to aspire to their full potential. Tonight’s premiere of John Traill’s Oxonia has been commissioned by the service and comprises thirty two Oxfordshire primary schools, the music service choirs and the County Youth Orchestra, amounting to 650 performers.
The Greater Gwent Youth String Ensemble consists of pupils from the Greater Gwent four unitary authorities. The string orchestra is for the most part based on the string section of the Youth Orchestra. The group enjoys performing a wide range of repertoire from all eras and have given peformances most recently of works by Shostakovich, Elgar, Gorecki, Leifs and Mahler. The group has been fortunate to have played in Poland as part of the Greater Gwent Youth Orchestra tour. They are delighted to have been able to commission a work by the young Welsh composer Christopher Lloyd George Petrie based on an old Welsh song.
Fitzwilliam Street are a newly formed vocal harmony group that train at the Oscars Theatre Academy in Huddersfield. There they are all trained in the Bel Canto vocal technique combined with dance, drama and musicianship skills. Musically, they work hard to make new and fun arrangements of existing songs with all members of the group contributing to the creative process and providing live accompaniment wherever possible.
Oxonia is written for choir, orchestra, offstage brass and chamber choir accompanying a solo cello on an island stage. The first of three songs, I, ISIS, divides the choir into four columns, each a spoken round that charts the journey of the River ISIS/Thames through Oxfordshire. The sung material describes the Ancient Egyptian goddess, ISIS, and the motto from the City Council’s coat of arms, Fortis est Veritas (Truth is Strength). The second song comically answers the Socratic question of why we study, by celebrating the many achievements of people from Oxfordshire. The final song rejoices in the past, present and future, incorporating text from an ancient Sanskrit poem, Today Well lived, concluding in a triumphant chorus of Oxonia, the Latin form of Oxfordshire. Choir Aston Rowant Church of England Primary School, Bayards Hill Primary School Oxford, Botley Primary School, Buckland Church of England Primary School, Caldecott Primary School Abingdon, Carswell Community Primary School Abingdon, Checkendon Church of England Primary School, Church Cowley St James Church of England Primary School, Ducklington Church of England Primary School, Dunmore Primary School Abingdon, Enstone Primary School, Gateway Primary School Carterton, Hornton Primary School, Manor School Didcot, Nettlebed Community School, Northbourne Church of England Primary School Didcot, Pegasus Primary School Oxford, Rush Common School Abingdon, Sandhills Community Primary School Oxford, St Andrew's Church of England School Oxford, St Barnabas' Church of England (Aided) Primary School Oxford, St Edmund's Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School Abingdon, St Francis Church of England Primary School Oxford, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Thame, St Nicolas Church of England Primary School Abingdon, St Peter's Church of England Primary School Cassington, Stadhampton Primary School, Standlake (Church of England) Primary School, West Kidlington Primary School, William Fletcher Primary School Yarnton, Windmill Primary School Oxford, Woottonby-Woodstock Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Oxfordshire Youth Chamber Choir, Oxfordshire Young Singers City, South Oxfordshire Young Singers
The subject of this composition is an old Welsh song of the same title which was originally written by Joseph Parry. The subject of the poem deals with a man’s struggle as he contemplates separating from his lifelong partner. Despite the separation between these two people one can nevertheless construe that the love they once felt for one another still exists, but as a tender memory. Offstage Sextet Violin Heidi Forde*, Jonathan May Viola Allysha Perryman, Sophia Rigby Cello Matthew Brown, Bethan Reed
The programme opens with Hounds of Love by Kate Bush, taking inspiration from a recent arrangement by indie band The Futureheads and reworked for the group especially for Music for Youth’s 2011 season. The group is very excited to conclude its programme with a tribute to the late Amy Winehouse. Her music has provided great inspiration to young musicians and singers and as a result the group is very excited to be performing a medley of songs in her honour tonight. Performers Rachel Clements, Maddie Cookson, Thomas Cotran, Abigail Cupples, Evie Hunter, Jamaal Lewis-Simpson, Lucie MacGragor, Fiona McDonagh, Craig McDonald, Scott McDonald, Laura Saxton, Oscar Zito
Violin 1 Siobhan Clough, Amy Hayes, Victoria Humphries, Harriet Lawton, Hannah McDonnell, Michael Olivier, Joe Warmington, Eluned Williams* Violin 2 Julia Abbott, Hannah Bethune, Aylar Dallali, Aysena Dallali, Emma Halford, Louisa Hasler, Lucy Irvine, Jenny James*, Natalie Jones, Lucy Rigby, Louise Taylor, Angharad Thomas, Ffion Tun, Charles Whittaker Viola Nicholas Bolton*, Louise Bull, Emma Cleeve, Joseph Hindle, Thomas Stoneman, Rachel Tucker Cello Charlotte Grew, Gareth Ryan Hansford*, Hannah-Ffion Harris, Ryan Lowe, Samuel Smith, Robert Whittaker Double Bass Gemma Crowley, Erin Jacques*, Benjamin Smith Harp Lauren Bennett, Lowri Sian Edwards, Gabriella Sara Jones* Percussion Lowri Lewis, Aled Vaghela* Gwent Voices Tobias Barker, Josiah Barker, Maya Burchell-Haslett, Rhian Cocker, Harriet Davis, Lewis Ham, Seren Harbon, Rhianwen Head, Cerys Head, Ursula Hughes, Hannah Elizabeth Lewis, Rhiannon Lewis, Lloyd Pearce, Bethan Thomas, Mathew Verallo, Martyn Waters, Sara Jane Waters
Instrumentalists Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra
ScHoolS PRom 2011
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