Welcome to the 34th season of the Richmond Orchestra and Chorus!
We have some wonderful concerts lined up for 2019/2020, beginning in November with Amadeus — Mozart’s Final Year. The Requiem Mass is a piece of sublime beauty and poignancy, his last work and left unfinished at his tragic and untimely death in 1791. This was only one of many masterpieces from that year, which include the Magic Flute (whose thrilling overture we will begin with) and the sparkling and lyrical Clarinet Concerto. We are thrilled to welcome Stephen Robb as the soloist, whose work as an arranger-orchestrator we have also featured in several past seasons (including our rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody this past April!).
Moving on to Christmas, the choir and orchestra will come together again with a concert spanning centuries, from Charpentier’s beloved Baroque Messe de Minuit to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, from songs of the Golden Age of Hollywood to carols we all know and love.
In February, in partnership with the Richmond Music Festival the orchestra will again present Rising Stars, featuring winners of the Concerto Challenge performing a selection of virtuosic works across the repertoire. These young musicians are truly the stars of tomorrow, and it’s always a thrill to see them as they start to take flight.
The choir will take us on a journey around the Ring of Fire in March, exploring folksongs from all around the Pacific Rim. From the indigenous cultures of BC across to China, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, then down to Australia, New Zealand and Samoa, and back across the ocean to Ecuador and working our way back home, it will be a breathtaking musical adventure!
Libby Yu takes the stage in April, performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, an extraordinary virtuosic work for piano and orchestra. Amongst the many variations there is possibly the most famous, soaring, heart-breaking melody of all time! As 2020 is the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth the orchestra will also play the mighty Symphony No. 5, a work of staggering intensity spun from a single four note motif — perhaps the single best known snippet of music of all.
We always finish the season with a grand crowd-pleasing gala finale, and next year will be no exception as we let our hair down, sixties-style, with a Beatles evening. Let It Be will see the choir and orchestra joined by The Fab Fourever to present a magical mystery tour through the Beatles’ best loved hits, from Please Please Me all the way to Let It Be.
If these sound intriguing then consider a season subscription, to get a discounted rate to all six concerts — plus extra perks such as 30% off additional tickets and an invitation to our end-of-year reception!
Looking forward to seeing you at a concert soon,
Adele Armstrong, President
