St Giles Orchestra
Encyclopedia
St Giles Orchestra is an amateur symphony orchestra founded in 1980 and based in Oxford
, England.
where its founder members fist met. The orchestra has grown over the years to its current size of 50 players at rehearsals and up to 80 at concerts.
concerts.
, and a fourth in November (often repeated) in Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
.
and Adrian Leaper
at Canford Summer School of Music, and is well known in Oxfordshire as a player of French horn and double bass
, and as composer of mainly romantic style pieces ranging from small ensembles to large-scale symphonic works. Many of his pieces have been premiered by St Giles Orchestra. Geoffrey is renowned for introducing players and audience to lesser-known and unjustly neglected repertoire. In November 2009, Geoffrey conducted his 100th concert of St Giles Orchestra.
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England.
Formation
St Giles Orchestra takes its name from the street of St Giles', OxfordSt Giles', Oxford
St Giles is a wide street leading north from the centre of Oxford, England. At its northern end, the road divides into Woodstock Road to the left and Banbury Road to the right, both major roads through North Oxford. At the southern end, the road continues as Magdalen Street at the junction with...
where its founder members fist met. The orchestra has grown over the years to its current size of 50 players at rehearsals and up to 80 at concerts.
Aim
The objects of the Orchestra are to promote, improve, develop and maintain the education of its members and the public in an appreciation of the art and science of music in all its aspects by the presentation of publicconcerts.
Membership and joining
There a minimum entry standard of Grade VIII with substantial orchestral experience. For key woodwind and brass positions, SGO usually holds informal auditions at a regular rehearsal. In other cases, there may be no audition, but there is a 2-3 week subscription-free trial period. Rehearsals run from the first Thursday in September until the June/July concert.Concerts
SGO gives four or five public concerts per year - January, April and June/July in OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and a fourth in November (often repeated) in Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
Didcot
Didcot is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire about south of Oxford. Until 1974 it was in Berkshire, but was transferred to Oxfordshire in that year, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire...
.
Repertoire
Repertoire is suggested by the members and is usually drawn from the Early and Late Romantic eras, utilising full symphony orchestra resources.First amateur performances
As far as can be ascertained, SGO has given the first amateur performances of:- Alfven: En skargardssagen (A Legend of the Skerries)
- Alfven: The Forest Sleeps
- Aulin: At Sea
- Bridge: Isabella
- Bruch: Symphony no 2 in F minor
- Soderman: King Heimer and Aslog
- Stenhammar: Florez and Blanzeflor
- Tchaikovsky: Symphony no 7 in E flat
Conductor
Conductor and Musical Director, Geoffrey Bushell, has directed St Giles Orchestra since 1983. He has studied conducting with George HurstGeorge Hurst
George Hurst is a British conductor.-Biography:Born in Edinburgh in 1926, Hurst studied at Bishops College School in Lennoxville, Quebec and the Royal Conservatory in Toronto Canada....
and Adrian Leaper
Adrian Leaper
-Biography:He is currently the conductor RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid. He was previously Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria from 1994 until 2001.He has made many recordings for the Naxos Records label.-External links:...
at Canford Summer School of Music, and is well known in Oxfordshire as a player of French horn and double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, and as composer of mainly romantic style pieces ranging from small ensembles to large-scale symphonic works. Many of his pieces have been premiered by St Giles Orchestra. Geoffrey is renowned for introducing players and audience to lesser-known and unjustly neglected repertoire. In November 2009, Geoffrey conducted his 100th concert of St Giles Orchestra.
List of conductors
- 1980 - 1981 Nicholas HooperNicholas HooperNicholas Hooper is a British film and television composer. He has scored the award-winning BBC productions Land of the Tiger and Andes to Amazon, as well as the TV movies The Girl in the Café and My Family and Other Animals among others...
- 1982 - 1983 Russell Humphries
- 1983 - present Geoffrey Bushell
List of leaders
- 1981 - 1982 Caroline Duffner
- 1984 - 1987 Noreen Petrie
- 1988 - 1990 Emily Ormerod
- 1991 - 1995 David Ormerod
- 1996 - 1996 Liz Hodson
- 1997 - present Emily Ormerod