At ERSO we’re looking back at 2021 and wishing you all a Happy New Year for 2022.
Although 2021 wasn’t always as planned, it kicked off with us making our second “forgotten voice” film which explored the amazing life of Mel Bonis and her beautiful Danse Sacree.
We were so pleased that we were able to to get back playing live in front of an appreciative audience in the June Waterloo Festival at St John’s Waterloo. Our amazing soloist Grady Hassan astounded the audience with his lyrical and virtouso performance of the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto, followed by a very well received performance of Beethoven’s joyful and energetic 8th Symphony expertly conducted by Christopher Stark.
In October we held our Welcome Back concert at St Andrew Holborn which featured Schubert’s lovely 5th Symphony and a rousing welcome back to out much missed brass section who regaled us with some stirring pieces.
November was an exciting month for ERSO. We held an afternoon workshop with hugely talented young composer, Alex Papp, the winner of ERSO’s competition for emerging composers. Alex is one to watch – he is the most recent winner of the Rushworth Composition Prize and his piece The Myth of Bertie and Bella was premiered by the Liverpool Philharmonic in October 2021. Alex created Flashes of Light in a Hall of Mirrors for Grady Hassan and we had an amazing afternoon working on this fabulous new piece as well as Alex’s winning overture Eurythmia. We can’t wait to premiere these pieces in our 90th Birthday concert in March!
We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with the talented young members of the Camden Training Orchestra and their conductor Ian Brookman. During the afternoon workshop, adults and children worked side by side on arrangements of two well-loved classics – Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King and Copland’s Hoe Down from Rodeo. This was followed by an informal concert for family and friends. The event was a huge success and the ERSO members were so impressed by the children’s playing and the attention they paid to Ian, ERSO’s conductor Christopher Stark and the adult players working with them. They were a pleasure to work with and we can’t wait till next time!
ERSO 