In the Autumn, we renewed our collaboration with the Shrewsbury-based Cantata Choir by giving a performance of Puccini’s “Messa di Gloria” in October.  The soloists on this occasion were John Bowley (tenor), and Alexander Ward (bass-baritone).

The choral theme to our season was also reflected in our second concert of the season which saw the first of two concerts featuring the Shrewsbury Choral Society.

Our Mid-Summer Spectacular that took place in June 2002 in Oswestry Leisure Centre was a great success.
Joined for the first time by soprano soloist Carolyn Chadwick (left), the centrepiece of the concert was her performance of Nuits D’été by Berlioz – a series of songs based on the love poems of Théophile Gautier.

To start the concert, the orchestra gave a performance of Bach’s Passacaglia in its orchestral version by Respighi.
The second half was devoted to the performance of just one work:  Symphony No. 4 by Tchaikovsky.

In November, 2002 – for the first time in two years – Oswestry Sinfonia featured one of its own principal players as soloist in a major concerto.
Jan Lumley, principal flautist with the orchestra since 1990, played the Mozart Flute Concerto in D as the centrepiece of our Autumn programme.

The full programme comprised:
Wagner  –  Prelude:  “Die Meistersinger”
 Mozart  –  Flute Concerto in D
Bizet  –  Symphony in C

The concert was Sinfonia’s first venture to take place on the new staging facilities in Holy Trinity Church, Oswestry, and proved to be a very successful fund-raiser for the next stage of the developments there.

History:  2001-2003

This was the first time that Oswestry Sinfonia had worked with the Choral Society.  In the first of these, two works were featured:  Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio“  and Vaughan-Williams’s ”Fantasia on Christmas Carols”.
The success of this venture led to an invitation in the New Year to provide the orchestra for their Diamond Anniversary Concert:  Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”.  This massive work was performed at the inaugural concert of Shrewsbury Choral Society 60 years ago, and one member of the audience this time had sung in the original performance as a 16-year-old!

In March, 2003, the second collaboration between Oswestry Sinfonia and Peter Bradley-Fulgoni took place in the Hall of The Marches School.  Playing the Brahms 2nd Piano concerto, Peter’s performance formed the centrepiece and undoubted highlight of the evening.
The full programme comprised:
Wagner – Grand March: “Tannhauser”
Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 2 (Peter Bradley-Fulgoni – piano)
Dvorak – Symphony No. 8 in G

In November 2001, Oswestry Sinfonia was the orchestra for a special Remembrance Day Service at St Oswald’s Parish Church. In association with St. Oswald’s Church Choir, the centrepiece was a performance of Fauré’s “Requiem” - an appropriate piece, given the occasion.  Biblical and war poetry readings were interspersed with the movements of the Requiem.

In March, 2002,  by special invitation, Oswestry Sinfonia performed for the first time at Wrekin College, Wellington.
 The programme featured two major works by Dvorak, and gave the orchestra a useful opportunity to widen our audience catchment.  That said, we also received welcome support from friends from the Shrewsbury and Telford areas.
The complete programme was: -
Rossini  –  William Tell Overture
Dvorak –  Serenade for Strings
Holst –  Suite No. 2 for Wind
Dvorak –  Symphony No 9 (From the New World)