Previous concerts

Summer 2024

13th July 7.30pm, Shirley Methodist Church

• Bizet’s Arlesienne Suites
• Franck’s Symphony in D minor

Winter 2024

10th February 7.30pm, St Francis’s, Bournville

• Humperdinck’s Overture to Hansel and Gretel
• Reinecke’s Flute Concerto, with Emma Brown
• Brahms’ First Symphony

Summer 2023

8th July 7.30pm, St Francis’s, Bournville

• Carwithen’s Overture – One Damn Thing after Another
• Bridge’s The Sea
• Elgar’s First Symphony

Winter 2023

11th February 7.30pm, Shirley Methodist Church

• Shostakovich’s Festive Overture
• Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, with Charlotte Moseley
• Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony

Summer 2022

Saturday, 9th July 2022, 7.30pm, St Francis’s, Bournville

• Nielsen’s Second Symphony “The Four Temperaments”
• Grieg’s Symphonic Dances
• Sibelius’ Finlandia

Winter 2020

Saturday, 8th February 2020, 7.30pm, St Hilda’s Church, Warley Woods, Smethwick

• Beethoven’s Egmont Overture
• Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, with Liang Shan
• Brahms’ Third Symphony

Summer 2019

Saturday, 13th July 2019, 7.30pm, St Francis’s Church, Bournville.

• Tchaikovsky’s Suite from Swan Lake
• Khachaturian’s Spartacus Suite No. 2
• Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre
• Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, from Prince Igor
• Rossini, orch. Britten: Soirées Musicales

Winter 2019

9 February 2019, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Grieg’s Peer Gynt
• Brahms’ Double Concerto, with Michael Bochmann and Peter Adams
• Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony

Summer 2018

13 July, 7.30pm, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
• Walk to the Paradise Garden
• Rhapsody on A Shropshire Lad
• Suite from A Perfect Fool
• Suite for Winds
• Walton’s Suite for Henry V

Winter 2018

10th February, 7.30pm, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain
• Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia
• Rachmaninov’s Isle of the Dead
• Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony

Summer 2017

15^th July, 7.30pm, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Wagner’s Prelude to Tristan und Isolde
• Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, with Paula Sides
• Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony

Winter 2017

11^th February, 7.30pm, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Elgar’s Prelude to The Dream of Gerontius
• Franck’s Le Chasseur Maudi
• Sibelius’ Karelia Suite
• Elgar’s Enigma variations

Summer 2016

16^th July 7.30pm, Shirley Methodist Church

• Beethoven’s overture, Leonore number 3
• Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, with Thomas McMahon
• Brahms’ Fourth Symphony

Spring 2016

12^th March, 7.30pm, Shirley Methodist Church

• Janáček Lachian Dances 1,2,6
• Tábor and Blaník from Má Vlast by Smetana
• Symphony number 5 by Dvořák

Autumn 2015

28^th November, 7.30pm, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Mendelssohn: Overture “Ruy Blas”
• Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor (soloist Liang Shan)
• Schumann: Symphony No. 4 in D minor

Summer 2015

18^th July, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Shostakovich’s Scherzo for orchestra in F sharp minor
• Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, with Michael Bochmann
• Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony

Winter 2015

7^th February, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz
• Dvořák’s Tone poem ‘Polednice’ (The Noonday Witch)
• Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique

Summer 2014

19^th July, 7.30pm, Ruddock Performing Arts Centre

• Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs, with Paula Sides of the English Touring Opera
• Mahler’s First Symphony

Winter 2014

25^th January 2014 at Shirley Methodist Church, and 1^st February 2014 at St Francis’ Church, Bournville.

• Sibelius’ Finlandia
• Grieg’s Symphonic dances
• Sibelius’ Second Symphony

Summer 2013

13^th July 2013 at Shirley Methodist Church, and 20^th July 2013 at St Francis’ Church, Bournville.

• Wagner’s Overture “Rienzi”
• Liszt’s Tone poem “Les Préludes”
• Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin
• Brahms’ Second Symphony

Winter 2013

2^nd February at 7.30pm in Shirley Methodist Church, and 9^th February 7.30pm in St Francis’, Bournville.

• Schubert’s Eighth Symphony (unfinished)
• Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony

Summer 2012

• Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture
• Coates’s Westminster (Meditation), from London Suite
• Walton’s March from Crown Imperial
• Vaughan-Williams’ A London Symphony

Winter 2012

• Sibelius’ Valse Triste
• Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, with Michael Bochmann
• Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony

Summer 2011

• Verdi’s Overture La Forza del Destino
• Liszt’s Faust
• Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony

Winter 2011

• Rimsky-Korsakov’s Overture on Russian Themes
• Rachmaninov’s The Rock
• Rachmaninov’s Capriccio on Gypsy Themes (“Caprice bohémien”)
• Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto, with Philip Fowke

Summer 2010

• Elgar’s Bavarian Dances
• Elgar’s Chanson de Nuit
• Elgar’s Chanson de Matin
• Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony

Winter 2010

• Dvořák’s Carnival Overture
• Dvořák’s Five Slavonic Dances:
  1. Op. 46 no. 3 Polka
  2. Op. 72 no. 2 Starodávný
  3. Op. 46 no. 6 Sousedská
  4. Op. 72 no. 8 Sousedská
  5. Op. 46 no. 8 Furiant
• Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, with Michael Bochmann

Summer 2009

• Bizet’s Carmen Suite no. 1
• Rodriguez’s Cocierto de Aranjuez, with Liz Larner
• Sibelius’s First Symphony

Winter 2009

• Strauss’ Overture to “Die Fledermaus”
• Grieg’s Norwegian Dances
• Brahms’ First Symphony

Summer 2008

• Vaughan-Williams’ The Lark Ascending, with Amy Littlewood on 12 July, and Michael Bochmann on 19th July
• Vaughan-Williams’ (arr. Jacob) Suite on English Folk Songs
• Vaughan-Williams’ Job

Winter 2008

Birmingham Town Hall

• Mendelssohn’s Overture The Hebrides
• Vaughan-Williams’ (arr. Jacob): Suite on English Folk Songs
• Lucas (arr. Differ): The Magic Jigsaw (with Blue Coat School Choir, soloists and Nick Owen – narrator)
• Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony

Summer 2007

• Elgar’s Overture Froissart
• Elgar’s Cello Concerto, with Graham Morris
• Schumann’s First Symphony

Winter 2007

• Brahms: Academic Festival Overture
• Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (soloist: Jackie Hill)
• Dvořák: Symphony no. 9 (“From the New World”)

Summer 2006

• Mozart: Voi che sapete from The Marriage of Figaro (soprano: Holly Brain)
• Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 21 in C major, K. 467 (soloist: Sachika Taniyama)
• Puccini: “Signore, ascolta!” from Turandot (soprano soloist: Holly Brain)
• Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Sultan (including The Flight of the Bumblebee: xylophone solo: Amy Littlewood)
• Berlioz: Hungarian March from The Damnation of Faust

Winter 2006

• Borodin: Overture to Prince Igor
• Grieg: Peer Gynt, Suite no. 2
• Tchaikovsky: Slavonic March
• Tchaikovsky: Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet
• Borodin orch. Rimsky-Korsakov: “Polovtsian Dances” from Prince Igor

Summer 2005

• Rachmaninov: Vocalise (soloist: Rebecca Buswell – soprano)
• Bruch: Violin Concerto no. 1 in G minor (soloist: Jackie Hill)
• Smetana: “Vltava” and “Blaník”, from Má Vlast

Winter 2005

• Rossini: Overture to The Barber of Seville
• Mozart: Letter Duet from The Marriage of Figaro
• Canteloube (arr.): Berceuse (Brezairola) from Songs of the Auvergne
• Bizet: Seguedilla from Carmen
• Flinn: Love Lives Beyond
• Purcell: Dido’s Lament from Dido and Aeneas
• Delibes: Flower Duet from Lakme (soprano soloists: Charlotte Derry and Leanne Flinn)
• Dvořák: Symphony no. 8

Summer 2004

• Faure: Pavane
• Bach: Orchestral Suite no. 3
• Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 4 in A (“Italian”)

Winter 2004

• Butterworth’s The Banks of Green Willow
• Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major, K.488, with Anita D’Attellis
• Laurence Davies’ Overture in C minor
• Beethoven’s Second Symphony

Summer 2003

• Haydn’s Symphony no. 104 “London”
• Mozart’s Symphony no. 35 “Haffner”

Winter 2003

• Bizet’s Carmen Suite no. 1
• Schubert’s Eighth Symphony (Unfinished)
• Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony

Summer 2002

• Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, with Amy Monkhouse
• Schumann’s Fourth Symphony

Spring 2002

• Beethoven’s Overture to Fidelio
• Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances (from opus 46: F major, C minor and G minor)
• Brahms’s Third Symphony

Winter 2001

• Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute
• Grieg’s Peer Gynt, Suite no. 1
• Franck’s Symphony in D minor