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Last night’s final concert of the season was truly special!  Soloist Henry Hargreaves, the winner of our 2019 ERSO Soloist of the Year

competition, gave an incredibly poised and characterful performance of the Schumann Cello Concerto.  At ERSO we are so proud of Henry who is also our fabulous Principal Cello.

 

The audience clearly loved his playing and were highly appreciative and the the orchestra had a ball too!  We caught up with Henry and he said: “It was wonderful last night, thank you so much for the amazing opportunity to perform that incredible piece with orchestra. I enjoyed it very much and the rehearsal process was also very rewarding.”

The evening ended with a stirring performance of Mahler’s epic 1st Symphony, expertly conducted by Christopher Stark.

At ERSO we were delighted to be a part of the Waterloo Festival and loved performing to such a packed and enthusiastic audience!

 

Did you know we have some amazing cello stories in ERSO’s past?

Jacqueline du Pre gave her first performance of the Elgar Cello  Concerto with ERSO (known then as the London Senior Orchestra) back in December 1959 at the age of 13.

And another famous first was Guy Johnston’s earliest solo experience, playing the Lalo Cello Concerto with ERSO at the Royal Festival Hall.  Guy said: “I’ll never forget it – Thank you ERSO”

We’re proud to continue the tradition of offering solo opportunities to young musicians through our ERSO Soloist of the Year competition.  Will this year’s fabulously talented winner Henry Hargreaves follow in the footsteps of these famous cellists?

Come and hear him perform the Schumann on Sunday 16th June at our final concert of the season.

Normally the orchestral conductor’s job description involves musical activities such as picking repertoire and working with the orchestra to deliver a great performance.  Not so frequently asked is to cycle 100 miles on the Prudential RideLondon which includes some truly massive hills………

Lucky for ERSO that our Principal Conductor Christopher Stark is such a great sport and has volunteered to be one of the fab four who make up Team ERSO, alongside trumpeter Jonathan, oboist Dan and long-term supporter John.  They are undergoing this massive challenge to help raise money for ERSO’s charitable work in our big 90th birthday season, providing opportunities for Camden children and young professional musicians at the start of their careers.

If you are able to help us at all, in any way, your contribution will mean so much to the orchestra and the young musicians we work with.  Click here to donate to our 90th birthday campaign

Is this you?

1. You would die without Mahler
2. You love a fabulously played cello concerto
3. You enjoy a sweet treat
4. You like to contribute to worthy causes
5. You live in or near London

Then ERSO  have the perfect evening for you in the final concert of our season, with Mahler’s epic 1st Symphony plus a stunning performance of the Schumann Cello Concerto by our 2019 ERSO Soloist of the Year, Henry Hargreaves. We will also be raffling over £400 of delicious premium chocolate made by ethical producer MIA (Made in Africa) who provide opportunities and benefits to the communities who grow the cocoa and make the chocolate.  The first prize is 60 bars of delicious goodness – and tickets are only £1!

All proceeds will go towards our charitable work with children and emerging professional musicians during our big 90th birthday season, together with the money we raise from the epic 100 mile cycle ride that will be undertaken by Team ERSO (conductor Chris Stark,  trumpeter Jonathan, oboist Dan and long-term supporter John).

 

 

The Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra (ERSO) is one of London’s leading and longest established amateur orchestras.  We’re a friendly group playing to a very high standard and perform 5 Sunday concerts a year with Sunday rehearsals in Camden.  We’re proud to work with Principal Conductor, Christopher Stark, best-known as co-founder and Musical Director of the RPS Award-winning Multi-Story Orchestra. Our professional leader, John Crawford, is a Professor at Trinity Laban, and young professionals lead the string sections.

Anyone who plays in at least once concert in the season, including the rehearsals, will be eligible to enter our ERSO Soloist of the Year competition.  The prize will be to play a concerto with ERSO in June 2020.

We are always keen to hear from experienced (grade 8+) string or brass players who might be interested in joining us.  Check us out on erso.london and  get in touch on ersoinfo@gmail.com.

The Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra (ERSO) was founded in 1931 by Ernest Read, the pioneer in the development of music education and youth orchestras during the first half of the 20th century.

On Read’s 85th birthday William Cole wrote in the Musical Times: “It is hard to over-estimate the influence of Ernest Read on musical education and on professional and amateur musicians”.  He was also described by Yehudi Menuhin as: “a prime example of what one inspired man can do with single hearted devotion decade after decade in awakening the passion for music in successive generations.”

Nearly 90 years on, the community of musicians who make up ERSO strives to continue Ernest Read’s legacy through our symphonic concerts, work with children and with emerging professional musicians.

Our 2020/21 season will mark the orchestra’s 90th birthday and we have big plans to celebrate the orchestra’s amazing history and Ernest Read’s contribution to music.  Watch this space to find out more…….

This exciting paid opportunity may be of interest to music student/post grads or recent graduates.  Find out more about the  Brass Section Leader role here.

Closing date is June 1.

 

 

We caught up with Henry Hargreaves, our winner of the ERSO Soloist of the Year competition.  He will be playing the Schumann Cello Concerto in the 2018/19 season Grand Finale concert which is part of the prestigious Waterloo Festival.

Yesterday’s Final of the 2019 ERSO Soloist of the Year saw us quite overwhelmed by amazing options for the soloist in our June concert.  We all loved rehearsing with Joe, Henry, Bella and Emily and the afternoon as very special.  Each of them was fantastic and would have done a fantastic job as our soloist which made the choice almost impossible!

In the end, and after a great deal of deliberation, we’re able to announce that  this year’s winner is ERSO Principal Cello Henry Hargreaves who wowed us with his superb rendition of the Schumann Cello concerto.  We’re so excited to perform with Henry at the 2018/19 season Grand Finale – join us for a wonderful evening!

 

So its only 2 weeks until our Final of the 2019 ERSO Soloist of the Year competition and we wanted to find out more about the Schumann Cello Concerto which will be played by Finalist Henry.

He said: “I chose the Schumann as it is the piece that really made me want to pursue cello playing. I love all the different emotions that the piece embraces, and the incredible journey it takes the listener on.”

It was written in 1850, towards the end of the composer’s life when he had just taken on the role  of music director in Düsseldorf, having experienced a series of severe emotional and artistic crises in the previous years.   Sadly, things didn’t go well due to his mental health, inexperience as a conductor and troubled relationships with the musicians and after only two seasons he was asked to resign. He attempted suicide early in 1854 and spent the rest of his life in an asylum.

But back in 1850, Schumann was full of energy and optimisim and in three months he completed two major orchestral works, the “Rhenish” Symphony and the Cello Concerto which he composed in only 2 weeks. However, while Schumann soon conducted highly acclaimed performances of the symphony, the concerto remained unperformed in the composer’s lifetime.

Clara Schumann’s said of the work: “I have played Robert’s Violoncello Concerto again and thus procured for myself a truly musical and happy hour. The romantic quality, the flight, the freshness and the humor, and also the highly interesting interweaving of cello and orchestra are, indeed, wholly ravishing — and what euphony and what sentiment are in all those melodic passages!”

The cello concerto is in three movements, to be played without interruption – not only to unify the work into a single span of music from its beginning to its end, but because Schumann hated the fact that 19th-century audiences clapped after every movement!

The Concerto’s first two movements are expressive and largely contemplative and the finale has a playful virtuosic verve which concludes the piece with a flurry of high spirits.

Come and hear Henry!