Concert - 4th December

Despite the freezing temperature (both outside and inside the Church!), our Christmas concert was well attended, by regulars and some new audience members.

Here's what we played:

Programme

'Sinfonia' & 'Choral' from 'Christmas Oratorio' by J. S. Bach (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort

'Maya' by Ian Clarke

Heather Loebl, Helen Brammer (Flutes) & Angela Ayton (Piano)

'Adagio, Vivace & Allegro' from Trio Sonata in G Minor by Gottfried Finger

Maureen Snell (Treble Recorder); Lucy Devereux (Flute) & Imogen Locke (Piano)

'Andante in C' by W. A. Mozart (Arr. H. Brammer)

Heather Loebl (Flute); Emily Johnson, Kath Russell, Rod Lackey (Violins); Polly Kaufmann (Viola); John Marshall ('Cello) & Diana Locke (Double Bass)

'Ain't Misbehavin'' by Thomas “Fats” Waller

Nicola Thompson, Helen Brammer, Theresa Hitching (Clarinets) & Mike Winterburn (Bassoon)

'Flutation' by Clare Grundman

&

'The Little Red Monkey' by Jack Jordan

Penny Layland, Judy Skelton, Alison Shaw (Flutes) & Angela Ayton (Piano)

'Troika' from 'Lieutenant Kije' by Prokofiev (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort featuring:

Theresa Hitching (Sleigh Bells & Tambourine)

'The Toy Symphony' by L. Mozart (Arr. H. Brammer)

The Broken Consort featuring:

Imogen Locke (Toy Trumpet); Angela Ayton (Cuckoo); Judy Skelton (Bird Whistle); Nicola Thompson (Triangle) & Emily Johnson (Rattle & Chime Bar)

As is traditional, we enjoyed a post-concert gathering wonderfully hosted by Mike & Angela, with lots of delicious food & drink, and fabulous company. Videos of all of the performances from the concert can be seen here on our YouTube Channel.

Class - 27th November

We had a run-through of our concert programme this evening...the running is as follows:

• 'Sinfonia' and 'Choral' from 'Christmas Oratorio' by J. S. Bach (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'Maya' by Ian Clarke - Heather, Helen & Angela
• 'Adagio, Allegro & Vivace' from 'Trio Sonata in G Minor' by Gottfried Finger - Maureen, Lucy & Imogen
• 'Andante in C' by Mozart (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Emily, Kath, Rod, Polly, John & Diana
• 'Ain't Misbehavin'' by Thomas "Fats" Waller - Nicola, Helen, Theresa & Mike
• 'Flutation' by Clare Grundman & 'Little Red Monkey' by Jack Jordan - Alison, Penny, Judy & Angela
• 'Troika' from 'Lieutenant Kije' by Prokofiev (Arr. H. Brammer)
• 'The Toy Symphony' by Leopold Mozart (Arr. H. Brammer)

Class - 13th November

Large ensemble pieces:

• 'Toy Symphony' by Leopold Mozart
• ''Sinfonia' & 'Chorale' from 'Christmas Oratorio' by J. S. Bach
• 'Troika' from 'Lieutenant Kije' by Prokofiev

Small group items:

• 'Andante in C' by Mozart (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Emily, Kath, Rod, Polly, John & Diana
• 'Ain't Misbehavin'' by Thomas "Fats" Waller - Nicola, Helen, Theresa & Mike
• 'Flutation' by Clare Grundman & 'Little Red Monkey' by Jack Jordan - Penny, Alison, Judy & Angela

Class - 6th November

Large ensemble pieces:

• 'Toy Symphony' by Leopold Mozart
• ''Sinfonia' & 'Chorale' from 'Christmas Oratorio' by J. S. Bach
• 'Troika' from 'Lieutenant Kije' by Prokofiev

Small group items:

• 'Trio Sonata in G Minor' by Finger - Maureen, Lucy & Imogen
• 'Flutation' by Clare Grundman - Penny, Alison, Judy & Angela
• 'Salut d'Amour' by Elgar - Heather, Theresa & Mike
• 'Minuet' from 'Divertimento No. 2' by Mozart (Arr. H. Brammer) - Kath, Polly, John & Diana

Class - 24th November

We had another 'whistle stop tour' through our pieces for next week's concert at our class last night. In addition to working on our large ensemble pieces...which I filmed and will be adding to our YouTube channel as soon as I find the time...we managed to get through most of the small group items too.

Here's what we played:

• 'Caprice for Clarinets' by Clare Grundman - Helen, Theresa & Dermot
• 'Subjects Obey Army Farm' by Donaldson & Kahn (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Emily, Kath, Polly, Diana & Imogen
• Woodwind Trio by M. Hedien - Penny, Judy & Mike
• 'Serenade for Seven' (with 6 players this week) by Ronald Hanmer - Penny, Judy, Annabel, Theresa, Dermot & Mike
• 'Chants sans paroles' by Tchaikovsky (Arr. Sobrielo) - George, Margaret & Angela
• Trio in D minor by Boismortier - Emily, Diana & Kath
• Quartet in D minor 'Tafelmusik' by Telemann - George, Imogen, Heather, Margaret & Joan
• Something by Handel that I didn't catch the name of... - Annabel, Polly & Angela

Class - 17th November

With only two classes left before our end of term concert, we were busy, busy, busy last night! We whizzed through our large ensemble pieces...which were all sounding much better now we're not so top heavy...and through two rotations of small group items too!

Here's what we played:

• 'Caprice for Clarinets' by Clare Grundman - Helen, Theresa & Anya
• 'Subjects Obey Army Farm' by Donaldson & Kahn (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Emily, Kath, Polly, Diana & Imogen
• Woodwind Trio by M. Hedien - Penny, Judy & Mike
• Trio Sonata in G Minor by Boismortier - Annabel, Polly, Imogen, Margaret, Angela & Joan (though not all at the same time!)
• 'Serenade for Seven' (with 6 players this week) by Ronald Hanmer - Penny, Judy, Annabel, Theresa, Anya & Mike
• 'Fantasy' by Faure (Arr. L. Moyse) - Heather, Helen & Angela
• Trio in D minor by Boismortier - Emily, Diana & Kath

Class - 3rd November

We were still missing a few players this week...it's amazing how everything sounds so different with just a few missing parts...and it left some people feeling rather exposed! We spent quite a bit of time on our large ensemble pieces this evening, because we're not going to be able to do those next week as we'll be split over two locations next time...that should be fun!

Small group items:

• 'Caprice for Clarinets' by Clare Grundman - Helen, Theresa, Dermot & Anya
• 'Subjects Obey Army Farm' by Donaldson & Kahn (Arr. H. Brammer) - Heather, Emily, Kath, Diana & Imogen
• Quintet in D Minor by Keller - George, Judy, Penny, Annabel & Joan

Class - 15th September

A new term usually means new music, but this evening we 'revisited' an old favourite...a selection of movements from J. S. Bach's 'Christmas Oratorio'. We first played it in 2005, and will be performing it, along with some new arrangements, in our concert at the end of term. We also welcomed a new member this evening (Anya on clarinet), and we may have another couple of prospective members coming for a taster session soon!

Small group items:

• Concerto No. 5 in C Major by Pepusch - George, Heather, Penny, Diana, Margaret & Imogen
• Trio Sonata in G Minor by Boismortier - Polly, Mike & Angela
• Trio Sonata in G Major by Telemann - Judy, Kath & Joan
• 'Caprice for Clarinets' by Clare Grundman - Helen, Theresa, Dermot & Anya

Class - 19th May

We had a visitor this evening...Anya (on clarinet) joined us for a free 'taster' session...she enjoyed the evening, and we didn't scare her off, so she'll be back again next week! We continued working on all our large ensemble items, which (despite a few ropey moments) are all coming along nicely.

Small group items:

• 'Caprice for Clarinets' by Clare Grundman - Helen, Theresa & Anya
• Loeillet Sonata in D Minor - Heather, Annie, Penny, Judy, Mike & Joan
• Keller Sonata in G - George, Imogen, Diana, Kath, Margaret & Angela
• Telemann Canonic Sonata No 1 - Annabel & Polly