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28th May 2007

St. Albans Symphony Orchestra Celebrates its 75th Anniversary

"We hope as many people as possible will join us in the Abbey to hear one of the most demanding and exciting programmes that the orchestra has ever played. We intend to make it a worthy celebration of all that has been achieved since the first concert back in 1932." (Conductor, James Ross)

The St. Albans Symphony Orchestra will be celebrating its 75^th birthday on Saturday June 9^th with some of the most thrilling and challenging of all works in the classical music repertoire
(St. Albans Abbey, 7.30pm).

Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring caused uproar at its 1913 premiere and even today its fast-changing rhythms and colourful scoring place exceptional demands on the players.

Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, commemorating Russia's victory over Napoleon, is also designed for large orchestral forces and – like the composer's Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet – has been a firm favourite with audiences for more than a century. Shostakovich's Festive Overture is less well-known, but its brilliant fanfares and sense of fun are sure to get the anniversary party, conducted by James Ross, off to a lively start.

The orchestra was founded as the St Albans Orchestral Society by five friends travelling back from a concert in London who decided that the city needed its own orchestra. It carried on playing through the war years and has gone from strength to strength, developing into one of the leading non-professional ensembles in the country. In recent years, its players have benefited from regular tutoring by professional musicians from the City of London Sinfonia (CLS) under a collaboration supported by the Arts Council, Eastern Orchestral Board and St. Albans Council. A number of CLS players will be performing with the orchestra on June 9th.

Dr Ross, who has been the orchestra’s conductor since 2001, said: "I doubt whether the five young musicians who met on a train 75 years ago imagined that they were launching such an enduring institution. The orchestra now gives six or more concerts a year in St. Albans, Harpenden and other venues in and around Hertfordshire. In addition to our continuing contribution to the cultural life of the district, we are especially proud of our fundraising activities that include concerts for individual charities and collections at the annual New Years Day concert."

"We hope as many people as possible will join us in the Abbey to hear one of the most demanding and exciting programmes that the orchestra has ever played. We intend to make it a worthy celebration of all that has been achieved since the first concert back in 1932."

Anthony Harris, a member of the orchestra since 1960 and now its Vice-President, added: “The wonderful thing about living in St. Albans is that there is such a wealth of musical talent. It’s very rewarding to have been associated with the orchestra for so long. The standards have just gone up and up.”

Tickets, price £16 & £13 (reserved), £10 & £5 unreserved, £1 accompanied children, £5 students are available from the St Albans Abbey Box Office 01727 860780, or the SASO Ticket Secretary 01727 857422

There are also pictures and more archives of the orchestra's history.

For further information, contact:
James Ross (conductor) 07768 810354
Anthony Harris (Longest-playing member) 01727 857122
David Utting (Press Officer): 01727 762855 or 07930 313790.

Tickets, price £12 and £8 (Under 18s £1, Students £5), are available from the SASO Ticket Secretary (01727 857422) or on the door.

For further information, contact David Utting, SASO Publicity Officer, 01727 762855.