Saffron Walden Symphony Orchestra (SWSO) is a community orchestra formed of both professional and amateur players based in and around Saffron Walden in the district of Uttlesford. The Saffron Walden Orchestral Society also oversees the Saffron Walden Children's Orchestra (SWCO).
Swinging rhythms, soaring melodies and buzzing excitement will come to Saffron Hall on Sunday 10th February 2019 at 3pm, with our next concert - an afternoon of American classics.
First on the programme is Gershwin’s Cuban Overture which was composed just after a trip to Havana in 1932 and features irregular rhythms, exotic harmonies and an extensive range of percussion that Gershwin encountered in Cuba.
Barber’s beautiful, calm and passionate Adagio for Strings follows, before the pianist Jérôme Sadler joins the orchestra to play Gershwin’s ever-popular Rhapsody in Blue.
This piece was commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman in 1924 and was an immediate success. The clarinet glissando at the beginning came into being during a joke on Gershwin, who then wrote it into the composition.
The concert concludes with Hanson’s “Romantic” Symphony No.2, commissioned in 1930 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the orchestra’s 50th anniversary. Surprisingly, the symphony is not played often, yet it includes some beautiful melodies in the “Hollywood” style.
Ticket information:
- Saffron Hall – BOOK NOW online, tel. 0845 548 7650 or in person at the box office
- Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market St, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1HR, tel. 01799 524002
- On the door
For more details, please do feel free to contact us by email, or follow us:
Saffron Walden Symphony Orchestra (SWSO)
Saffron Walden Children's Orchestra (SWCO)
If you are interested in joining the orchestra, please do get in touch - we are always happy to hear from new players. Many of our members travel some distance to play with us; however we are of course particularly keen to hear from musicians living near Saffron Walden or in the district of Uttlesforde.
