St Andrews orchestra debuts in Glasgow

St Andrews Chamber Orchestra, the town and gown orchestra of the University of St Andrews, will make its Glasgow debut in March.

The orchestra, which provides a showcase for talented musicians at the University including students from the UK, Germany, Iceland and the United States, will perform at Cottiers in the city on Sunday 10 March.

Fife soprano, Jemma Brown, will join the orchestra in performing Hans Werner Henze’s reduced arrangement of the evocative Wesendonck Lieder by Richard Wagner.

Brown, a graduate of both the University of Glasgow and the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, has appeared at the BBC Proms, with the RSNO and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras and is a former Britten/Pears Young Artist.

The concert opens with Mussorgsky’s Prelude to his five-act opera Khovanshchina, and will feature Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony, composed in 1945 and initially intended to be a vast work celebrating the Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany.

By the time of its premiere, however, its ambition had been substantially reduced to that of a chamber symphony with neo-classical overtones recalling similarly-scaled works by Mozart and Haydn.

University Director of Music Michael Downes, who, together with Head of Instrumental Studies Bede Williams, will conduct the concert, said: “The St Andrews Chamber Orchestra is very excited to be making its first appearance in Glasgow. I very much look forward to performing this vibrant and unusual programme in the wonderful surroundings of Cottiers.

“I am particularly pleased that we are working with Scottish dramatic soprano Jemma Brown, a native of Fife but now based in Glasgow: she will bring a rich sound and extensive experience as a Wagner performer to the beautiful Wesendonck Lieder.”

The concert on 10 March begins at 3pm. Admission is £13.50, £11.50 (concessions) and £6.50 (students).