Wymondham Symphony Orchestra welcomes you to attend a truly special Double Celebration Concert on Saturday 1st July at 7pm in Wymondham Abbey, when we will be playing music by Brahms, Dvoark and our Musical Director Andrew Parnell.
Our first celebration will be 20 years of working with our fantastic Musical Director Andrew Parnell. Andrew has conducted choirs and orchestras since his student days in Cambridge and now directs the Ely Choral Society and Ely Youth Choir as well as our WSO. He has worked tirelessly and patiently over 20 years to bring our playing standard up to its present level and is largely responsible for the overall sound, setting balance, tempo and phrasing and bringing out the composer's intentions in the performance.
Standing in front of the audience waving his baton is only a very small (though vital) part of the Musical Director's work, which starts at least a year ahead of the concert, helping to choose a balanced programme of items that are within the capability and resources of the orchestra. He then plans his approach to the pieces, before taking around 24 hours of intensive rehearsals with the WSO over the term leading up to the concert.
Andrew's talents don't end there - he is also highly in demand as an organist, playing in recitals and deputising at cathedrals all over the country and across Europe, as well as composing for the groups he leads. In fact our celebration concert begins with his fanfare Living Stones originally written for the 900th anniversary of Wymondham Abbey in 2007, and performed here for the second time in its original venue. It really encapsulates musically the struggles between monks and parish that set the tone for the first 400 years of the Abbey's history.
We are delighted to welcome back the Venezuelan violinist Juan Gonzalez who performed with us last summer when we were "on tour" in Norwich. This time he will be playing Brahms’ Violin Concerto, one of the hardest in the repertoire. Juan trained in Venezuela and now works regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, London Mozart Players and the London Contemporary Orchestra. He has lived in Germany, playing with many professional orchestras there and was invited to lead the Berliner Symphoniker. As a soloist and chamber musician Juan has performed across the world and has recorded for most of the major labels.
He has recently been working with the BBC Concert Orchestra and was honoured to be selected to play in the Coronation Orchestra at Westminster Abbey on May 6th. His biggest passion is spending time with his wife Natalia, sons Camilo and Felix and his mum Belkis, and he is a keen photographer of flowers and landscapes.
The second half will feature the incredible and ever popular New World Symphony by Dvo?ák and will give us a chance to celebrate a second milestone, and sadly bid a fond farewell to our leader Ceri Peterson who has been with us for 10 years.
Ceri studied music at Birmingham University gaining an LTCL in violin performance, leading the university orchestras and performed as a soloist in Bach’s fourth Brandenburg concerto. After working as a peripatetic violin and viola teacher in the South Humberside area she then moved to Norfolk to teach for the Norfolk Music Service, becoming String Co-ordinator for the Norfolk County Youth Orchestra. Ceri has played with the Norwich Philharmonic, the Academy of St Thomas and the Norwich Pops Orchestra. The WSO have been lucky enough to have her expert and inspiring leadership for 10 years and wish her well in her future endeavours.
Tickets are available online via links on Facebook and our website, and directly at trybooking.com/uk/eventlist/wso. There will also be some availability on the door and in advance from the Abbey shop. Due to the anticipated demand, we recommend booking in advance to guarantee a good seat.
Prices are £15, Friends of the WSO £13 and Under 18s are free.
More details about the orchestra can be found at wymondhamsymphonyorchestra.org.uk or on our Facebook page.
