Class - 6th June

We continued working on all of our large ensemble pieces...and we're even beginning to pick up speed in the 'Brandenburg'...much to Heather's relief! We're looking forward to welcoming a visitor next week...a composer that we may be looking to comission a piece from.

Small group items:

• 'Send in the Clowns' by Stephen Sondheim (Arr. H. Brammer) - Theresa, Nicola, Kath, Rod, John, Helen, Margaret, Diana & Angela
• Sonata for Three Flutes by Quantz - Alison, Judy & Heather
• Trio Sonata in G Minor by Finger - George, Imogen, Mike & Joan

Class - 31st May

We were greeted by a bellowing organ on arrival in the Church last last night...I thought we'd attracted a new member, but it was merely the Church's organist trying to get to grips with the new electric beast before this Sunday's service! There were lots more notes to get through this evening...with yet more 'Crown Imperial' and a finalised 'Olympic Fanfare & Theme'. I seem to have created a couple of monsters...but I'm sure with a bit of practise, they'll come good in the end!

Small group items:

• 'Allegro' (from 'Sonata K279') by Mozart (Arr. James 'Red' McLeod) - Helen, Theresa & Dermot
• Trio Sonata in D minor by Quantz - Heather, Annabel, Mike & Angela
• Concerto No. 5 by Pepusch - Imogen, Penny, Diana, Kath, Margaret & Joan

It's half-term for us next week...so, see you in a fortnight.

Class - 17th May

We weren't in our usual rehearsal venue this week. Instead, we were split between two of our members' houses...which meant that we were unable to rehearse as a whole group, but that didn't mean that we were slacking:

At Angela & Mikes:

• Cocerto in C by Vivaldi - Heather, Theresa, Polly, Mike & Angela
• 'Minuet' from Divertimento No. 3 by Mozart - Polly, Theresa & Mike
• 'Aria' by Ibert; 'Valse Harmonique' by Simon Ballard; & 'Tarentelle' by Gaubert - Heather, Helen & Angela

At Kath's:

• Sonata by Marcello - Judy, Diana, Kath, Margaret & Joan
• 'Mandoline' by Debussy; 'Two Cuban Dances' by Cervantes; 'Sailor's Hornpipe' by Wyver; and 'The Swan' by Saint-Saens - Penny, Dermot & Imogen
• Trio Sonata in C minor by Quantz - Penny, Diana, Margaret & Imogen
• Sonata in D minor by Boismortier - Judy, Kath, Dermot & Joan  

Class - 7th July

There was a touch of deja vu about this evening's class...the final rehearsal before next week's concert. We even had a small audience for our 'dress rehearsal', of family members and one very confused gentleman who didn't seem to know why he was there! They seemed to enjoy our large ensemble items, and we now know that if we want louder applause, we need to play faster!

Small group items:

• 'General Radetsky goes Cuckoo' by Michaelson - Heather, Annie, Helen & Mike
• Telemann Trio Sonata in F Major - George, Imogen, Margaret & Joan
• 'Trois Duos de Mendelssohn et Lachner' - Judy, Diana & Angela
• 'Summertime' by George Gershwin - Penny, George, Annabel, Kath, Theresa, Polly, Mike, Margaret & Joan
• Trio Sonata in D Minor by Quantz - Annie, Annabel, Margaret & Joan
• 'Shimmering Flutes' by John Cacavas - Annie, Judy, Penny & Imogen
• Trio Sonata in G Major by C.P. E. Bach - Diana, Kath & Imogen
• 'Salut d'Amour' by Elgar - Penny, Theresa & Mike
• 'Pavane pour une infante defunte' by Ravel - Heather, Polly & Angela
• Telemann Trio Sonata in D Minor - George, Judy & Angela

Phew! I think that must be a record for the most number of pieces rehearsed in one class!

Class - 30th June

It was good to be back nearly up to full strength last night, and our large ensemble pieces are sounding good, even though we'd picked up some speed in the 'Marriage of Figaro' which took a few people by surprise! With only a couple more classes before our concert, we had a 'whistle-stop' tour through (nearly) all the other concert items too...a dress rehearsal for all the room & personnel changes in next week's final rehearsal!

Small group items:

• 'General Radetsky goes Cuckoo' by Michaelson - Heather, Annie, Helen & Mike
• Telemann Trio Sonata in F Major - George, Imogen, Margaret & Joan
• 'Trois Duos de Mendelssohn et Lachner' - Judy, Diana & Angela (with substitutions of Heather & George!)
• 'Summertime' by George Gershwin - Penny, George, Annabel, Kath, Theresa, Mike, Margaret & Joan
• Trio Sonata in D Minor by Quantz - Annie, Annabel, Margaret & Joan
• 'Shimmering Flutes' by John Cacavas - Annie, Judy, Penny & Imogen
• Trio Sonata in G Major by C.P. E. Bach - Diana, Kath & Imogen
• 'Salut d'Amour' by Elgar - Penny, Theresa & Mike

Class - 9th June

I don't know if it was the week off...or lots furious practising over half-term...but our large ensemble pieces sounded so much better this evening...lots of contrasts in dynamics...and we're picking up speed in 'The Marriage of Figaro'...didn't realise the metronome went up that high!

Small group items:

• 'Scherzo & Trio in G Minor' by Schubert - Heather, Penny, Polly, Helen, Theresa, Dermot & Mike
• C. P. E. Bach Trio Sonata in G Major - Diana, Kath & Imogen
• Quantz Trio Sonata in D Minor - Annie, Annabel & Joan
• Telemann Trio Sonata in C Major - George, Judy, Margaret & Angela

Class - 5th May

We had a full house this week...and a special guest in the form of Diana's Double Bass...so we now have a full compliment of strings! We whizzed through quite a lot of full ensemble pieces: 'La Marseillaise'; the Overture to 'The Marriage of Figaro' (by Mozart); the two movements from Shostakovich's 'Jazz Suite No. 1'; and also 'Tahiti Trot - Tea for Two' by Shostakovich.

Small group items:

• 'Minuet in F' by JS Bach (Arr. David Farnon) - Theresa, Dermot & Mike
• 'Pavane pour une infante defunte' by Ravel - Heather, Polly & Angela
• Trio Sonata in D Minor by Quantz - Annie, Annabel & Joan
• Concerto in A Minor by Telemann - George, Penny, Judy, Diana, Kath, Helen, Margaret & Imogen