Summer Music @ Nicola's

We had our first Summer Music gathering of the holiday last Thursday...hosted by one of our newest members, Nicola. There were several other Summer Music 'first-timers' too...and I'm not sure that they knew what they were letting themselves in for! The music was selected by lucky dip (as always), and we played a wide variety of composers' works, although Vaughan Williams made several appearances!

Here's what we played:

• 'The Old Castle' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition' by Mussorgsky 
• 'English Dance No. 1' by Malcolm Arnold
• 'Pavane pour une infante defunte' by Ravel
• 'Hallelujah Chorus' from 'The Messiah' by Handel
• 'Hebrides Overture' by Mendelssohn
• 'Fantasia on Greensleeves' by Vaughan Williams
• 'Folk Songs from Somerset' from 'Folk Song Suite' by Vaughan Williams
•  'Toccata' from 'Pulcinella' by Stravinsky
• 'Sicilienne' by Faure
• Overture to 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Mozart
• 'My Bonny Boy' from 'Folk Song Suite' by Vaughan Williams

We of course enjoyed some delicious food & drink afterwards...I think we'd earned it after playing all of that in the sweltering heat! Thank you to Nicola for a lovely evening!

Our next gathering is in on the 22nd at Diana's...looking forward to seeing you there!

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 - 16th June

We have a new member! Emily brought along baby Jemima to see us all...and it was lovely to meet her, but at only 7 weeks old, it may be a little while before she's joining in, but mummy has plans for those 'pianist's fingers' so it's only a matter of time!
Despite being a little thin on the ground, our large ensemble items were sounding good this evening...we may be in danger of 'peaking too soon'!

Small group items:

• Vivaldi Concerto in G Minor - George, Judy, Margaret & Imogen
• Boismortier Trio Sonata in D Major - Diana, Mike & Joan
• 'Allegro Brilliante' by Mozart - Penny, Annabel & Theresa
• 'Pavane pour une infante defunte' by Ravel - Heather, Polly & 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