Sunday, April 29, marks the beginning of Armidale Symphony’s concert season for 2012, conducted by Bruce Menzies.
There are two special reasons for this concert; the first being the celebration of the life of French hornist Kerry Hawkins who sadly past away recently. Kerry was a regular member of the orchestra for the last 35 years. Her contribution not only to the orchestra but to the musical community of Armidale will be sorely missed. The second is a performance of Concerto Antico by Richard Harvey, a prominent international composer who holds Armidale dear to his heart. Teamed with Mozart’s “Jupiter’ Symphony No 41 and Richard Wagner’s Siegfried-Idyll, the concerto bring warmth and excitement to a wonderfully rich program and a brilliant start to what will be a successful year for the ASO. In this performance Armidale is fortunate to feature local virtuoso guitarist Stephen Thorneycroft to play the solo guitar part in Concerto Antico. Stephen has been a composition and performance lecturer at UNE for the past eight years, which has reinforced his own successful solo career. Thorneycroft is a well known name throughout the New England having played a wide range of genres with many ensembles from pub gigs and solo recitals through to concerti.
“This is probably my favourite guitar concerto, if I have to listen to one, it’s this one,” said Stephen Thorneycroft.
“Unlike most common orchestral instruments the classical guitar is an intimate instrument, which makes balancing a successful concerto a challenge.
“The clarity in the orchestration enables the guitarist not to have to compete for space and I love the fact that we get to accompany lots of great melodies and other instruments throughout as well as playing some of the fun bit.”
Armidale Symphony’s first concert of the season will be at Lazenby Hall on Sunday, April 29, at 3pm. Tickets at the door.
