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NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2006
Spring Concert
The March concert in Castle Douglas town hall on behalf of the local
branch of the British Red Cross was a tremendous success. It was
enjoyable for the orchestra to play before an audience in excess of
300 but more important was that the sound travelled well among
players, resulting in a good rapport between sections.
The soloists for the Vivaldi concerto, Sue Austen, Michael Sutcliffe,
Sue Best and Heidi Wilson, played beautifully and received much
praise after the concert. We are looking at ways to match these
qualities at our concert in November in the Easterbrook Hall,
Dumfries where the stage is much larger and "open". At this
venue, sound travels well out to the audience but it travels less
well within the orchestra. This puts extra pressure on us and our
conductor Geoff Keating to keep together and maintain balance.
Our programme for November includes the Brahms Double Concerto and
promises the exciting prospect of the return of violinist Leland
Chen, who gave such a thrilling performance of the Beethoven Violin
Concerto two years ago. He will be partnered by cellist Sally
Pendlebury, a founder member of the Vellinger quartet.
Other works to be performed are Fauré's orchestral suite drawn
from incidental music written for the play Pelléas et
Mélisande, Haydn's Symphony No.103 in E flat major, The Drum
Roll, and Beethoven's Egmont Overture.
When playtime is the best part of school
Sue Beeby, Mike and Sheila Stubbs, have been involved in the Youth
Music Initiative, which is a project to encourage Primary 5 children
to take up an instrument in Primary 6, at which point tuition is
provided in schools. They go into four schools in the Annan area and
give children the option of learning violin, cello, or bass free for
a year. They are then given an instrument from the region, free of
charge for the rest of the school year. Their aim is to make music
fun and at first there is no reading of music. After six weeks, the
children are given an instrument and a "Team Strings" book,
and lessons are then half and half. Some play by ear, a D scale,
"Merrily We Roll Along" "Frère Jacques"
etc, and then there is some reading and learning from the stave.
Recently, they attended a Saturday Play Day in Dumfries High School
and 36 of their youngsters took part and made a super little
orchestra. When they visit schools, they usually introduce an animal
theme to their programme with Sue's "Swan" and Sheila's
"Elephant" getting a good airing that day; even the
"Teddy Bears' Picnic" gets great applause.
Would you like to come and join us?
It is one of our aims to attract new players to the orchestra,
particularly for the string sections. We are hoping to have a large
orchestra for the November concert and would be grateful for any
referrals of potential new players. As a guide, they should be of
Grade 8 standard or above.
Please ask them to contact
us. We were fortunate at our last concert
to attract a new violinist, Ailsa Ramage, as a result of a referral
from one of our patrons.
We are also keen to promote the teaching of orchestral instruments to
youngsters at all levels and we have past and present members of the
orchestra involved in a number of projects in this region.
Strictly for the young violinists
The Galloway Suzuki Group was formed in 2000 and has grown to 16
families who receive individual and group violin lessons from Brenda
Smith in Castle Douglas. The group is affiliated to the British
Suzuki Institute (BSI), which is the umbrella organisation for all
the Suzuki teachers, parents and children in Britain.
Lessons are held in St Ninian's Church hall in Castle Douglas on
Thursdays and Saturdays with group lessons and theory lessons every
second Saturday. The children and their families come from Moffat,
Newton Stewart, Castle Douglas, Moniaive and Dumfries to play together.
Brenda also has to travel twice weekly to be with the group as she is
based in Ayr. The Suzuki method was developed by the Japanese
musician Dr Shinichi Suzuki.
He believed that all children can be taught to play an instrument and
the earlier they start the better. Important aspects of the method
are listening to music, the involvement of the parent, a nurturing
environment and the social interaction with other children. Fun is
important and at the beginning, various games are often used to
reinforce musical and technical skills. By always praising the
efforts of the children, parents and teachers encourage them on to
the next step. The Suzuki approach is aimed at producing a beautiful
tone in the simplest and most natural way.
As children learn to speak before they can read, so Suzuki children
learn to play music before they learn to read it. Once their aural
and digital skills are established, at around five or six, they are
taught to read music. Initially their playing skills are quite far
ahead of their reading skills, but their reading soon catches up. So,
the idea that Suzuki children can't read music is, in fact, a myth.
Brenda is a former member of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra and is certified to the highest level in
the Suzuki technique, having studied under Dr Suzuki in Japan.
She combines the Suzuki technique with traditional methods to create
well-rounded musicians and many of her former pupils are now playing
professionally. Nicola Benedetti and Leanne Alexander both began with
Brenda and the Suzuki method.
Although some children wish to study with a view to taking up music
professionally, Brenda's aim in teaching has always been to enable
youngsters to find their self-esteem, self-confidence and enjoyment
through studying the violin and to help each pupil to develop a
worthwhile and lifelong hobby.
Strings and arias at garden party
An informal "musical party" is to take place in Threave
Gardens Visitor Centre, Castle Douglas at 7pm on Sunday, May 28 2006,
to which all the orchestra, their families and our sponsors and
patrons are invited.
A few groups of players from the orchestra have volunteered to
provide entertainment for the evening. These vary from a nonet of
wind and string players, a couple of string quartets, a cello quartet
and even to a voice, with Christian Taylor, baritone entertaining us
with some background music.
A buffet will be provided and we are delighted to have the use of
this most attractive facility and of course good weather is assured.
Our website
For anyone with access to the internet, we have our own website that
gives information about the Solway Sinfonia, including future plans
and an account of our history and previous concerts.
It can be found at www.solwaysinfonia.org.uk If you have any
comments about this newsletter, or would like further information
about the Youth Music Initiative or Galloway Suzuki Group then please contact
us.