Violinist and Orchestra Leader, Zoë Beyers, curates a mixtape concert of music that straddles continents and centuries - American melodies combined with classical favourites, from Purcell to Caroline Shaw, Barber to Bartók - when the English String Orchestra make a hotly anticipated visit to one of Bristol’s newest performance spaces, the atmospheric acoustic of The Mount Without.
In addition to paid tickets, there are free tickets for under 18s, and carers are provided with a complimentary ticket when accompanying another concertgoer in need of assistance and with a paid ticket.
Some of the most admired compositions for string ensemble have been brought together for the programme. One of the most recognisable pieces for string orchestra written by any composer, Samuel Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings’ was transcribed for string orchestra from the second movement of the composer’s String Quartet and has found fame through inclusion in film and television and performance on solemn state occasions.
As a child prodigy, Benjamin Britten said of his ‘Simple Symphony’ that it was based on material which he wrote between the ages of nine and twelve. With engaging titles such as Boisterous Bourrée, Playful Pizzicato, Sentimental Saraband, and Frolicsome Finale, it has not surprisingly become an audience favourite.
Béla Bartók collected dance tunes in Transylvania which became the source for his ‘Romanian Folk Dances’, and which has become one of his most evocative and popular compositions.
Completing the programme are contemplative string miniatures by composers working today; Rosalie Burrell, and Caroline Shaw - who “moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed”.
With the sense of an ethereal abandoned church yet sympathetically rebuilt following extensive fire damage, The Mount Without celebrates 900 years of history and is now a beautifully modern yet atmospheric creative space in the heart of Bristol.
Firmly established as ‘The International Orchestra of Elgar country’, the English Symphony Orchestra, under their Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Kenneth Woods, has become synonymous with artistic excellence, innovative and visionary programming, distinctive commissioning, ground-breaking recording, a welcoming and immersive concert experience, transformative youth programmes and service to the community.
Each year, the English Symphony Orchestra headlines an ambitious series of concerts across the Midlands’ region and beyond. Full details of the orchestra’s current schedule can be found at on their website
Photo Of Zoe Beyers, by Gail Secker