A VERY special concert was held in Reading on Saturday night, as an orchestra marked its 21st anniversary.
The Aldworth Philharmonic went in the Great Hall at the University of Reading’s London Road campus, where they performed a broad selection of works.
Pieces by black composers Florence Price and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor helped mark Black History Month, while Malcolm Arnold’s Cornish Dances helped Tom and Caroline Brett, two orchestra members, celebrate a significant milestone of their own.
And the programme ended with their choice: Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestral showpiece, Scheherezade, named after the storyteller in the Arabian folk tales better known as One Thousand and One Nights.
The concert went down well with audiences.
Andrew Taylor is the group’s musical director, who conducted the concert, said: “The band played their socks off.
“It’s one thing to cope with the technical demands of a piece like Scheherezade, but another to so vividly bring the stories behind the music to life.
“The enthusiasm of the audience reaction said it all – everyone should be justly proud of the performance, especially Chico, whose violin solos were so beautiful.”
The orchestra have two events on Saturday, February 10: a family concert at 4pm, introduced by young presenters, and an evening concert which will include the world premiere of a piece called Apollo, composed by Daisy Ashworth.
For more details, log on to: www.aldworthphilharmonic.org.uk
