MenuWe are a friendly amateur orchestra and registered charity based in Streatham, South London. We are conducted by prize-winning conductors from the Royal Academy of Music, where many of our soloists come from too.
We enjoy playing from a wide repertoire, and perform 3 or 4 concerts a year, mainly in local concert venues, although past locations include Southwark and St George's Cathedrals, Arundel Castle, Croydon Clocktower and Fairfield Hall. We also take part in concerts with St Bartholomew's Polyphony Choir. We raise money for charity through our concerts, and have raised tens of thousands of pounds during the 40 years we've been established. During the last year we have played for charities feeding infants in Sudan, helping restore St John's Church Upper Norwood (one of our venues), and opening up opportunities and training for young musicians in Madagascar.
Click here to read about the works performed in our past concerts.
If you are looking for a lively, welcoming orchestra that enjoys making music to a high standard and at the same time helps others, this is the orchestra for you. We have low subscriptions, and full-time students are completely exempt. We also enjoy ideal rehearsal facilities with easy access.
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If you wish to find out more about our orchestra or are interested in joining, please do get in touch.
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Our winter concert took place at St Philip’s in Norbury on December 2nd. The church was gratifyingly full; the concert was very well-received, and many people commented very positively afterwards.
This was Nick Kohn’s second concert with St Bart’s, and Mario Basilico continued as leader. The programme consisted of young men’s music; the ages of the composers at the time the pieces were written ranged between 15 and 21. We started with Rossini’s very engaging overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers, written when he was 21. This piece showed off the orchestra’s various sections and colours and includes, of course, several trademark crescendos.
We were lucky to have prize-winner Luiz de Campos to play the solo in Mozart’s Oboe concerto. After an accomplished and sensitive performance his encore consisted of an expert burst of beatboxing. This may be the only time St Bart’s has used amplified sound! After the interval the woodwind section was showcased with Richard Strauss’s wind serenade. This is a complex, surging, lyrical work, remarkable from the pen of an eighteen year old. It was fun to have the benefit of a guest contra-bassoonist from the Royal Academy to add depth and tonal variety. We closed with Mendelssohn’s first symphony, written when he was 15. This piece is full of adolescent passion, tempered with a surprisingly mature compositional technique. By popular demand, as they say, we offered an encore “lollipop”; Salut d’Amour.
This was a very enjoyable close to the musical activities of 2018, the orchestra’s 43rd year. The large size of our audience ensured a substantial amount was raised for charitable purposes. Our next concert on March 31st will include Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and his first piano concerto as well as Haydn’s Clock symphony. We are proud to have Rustam Khanmurzin as soloist for the piano concerto. To whet your appetite you can see him playing on YouTube or visit his website.
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