The strings of the English Symphony Orchestra play the beautiful Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No 5 and Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, arranged from his Quartet No 8. Béla Bartók collected dance tunes in Transylvania which became the source for his Romanian Folk Dances, and the programme ends with another folk inspired work, this time from English shores: Holst’s toe-tapping ‘St Paul’s Suite’.
African-American composers also feature, with Nadine Benjamin joining the Orchestra hot-foot from English National Opera to perform works by Florence Price and Undine Smith-Moore. The programme also includes the contemplative Lyric for Strings by George Walker, dedicated to the composer's grandmother, who was formerly enslaved.
The English Symphony Orchestra has recently announced Michael Karcher-Young as Associate Conductor and Zoe Beyers as Principal Artist and Leader, who both feature in the programme.
Firmly established as ‘The International Orchestra of Elgar Country’, the English Symphony Orchestra, under its 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 String Orchestra headlines an ambitious series of concerts in Worcester, Malvern, Hereford, across the Midlands, and as far as Oxford, Bristol and London. Full details of its current schedule can be found on the orchestra's website.