Sidcup Symphony Orchestra

10/07/2026

A pleasure to have Cllr Frazer Brooks, Bexley's Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress Allison Hartshorn at last week's concert at St.John's Church, Sidcup:

03/07/2026

Sidcup Symphony Orchestra concert tomorrow at St.John's Church, Sidcup, 7.30pm - Concert: Sousa, Fibich, Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3, Dvořák New World Symphony conducted by James Ross.

Antonin DvořákSymphony No. 9 in E minor, Op.95 "From the New World...

31/05/2026

Conveniently in time for our next concert, on Saturday 4 July, 7.30pm at St.John's Church, Sidcup, including Dvořák's Ninth Symphony, 'From the New World', conducted by James Ross:

The recording has great dynamic range and encompasses the most featherweight string pianissimos to the fullest orchestral tutti without discomfort.

24/05/2026

A pleasure to welcome Cllr Christine Catterall, the Mayor of Bexley, at Sidcup Symphony Orchestra's 'Pirates and Sorcerers' family concert yesterday at St.John's Church, Sidcup. We had a full house of adults and children, and were joined for three works by pupils from Haberdashers' Hatcham Primary School, led by Rob Bray, our Second Violin section principal.

Along with film scores by John Williams, Lalo Shifrin and Klaus Badelt, we performed a Walter Leigh's rarely played Jolly Roger Overture (with thanks to Kent Sinfonia for music), Berlioz, Le Corsaire Overture; scenes from Tchaikovsky - Composer's Swan Lake and Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird, and to finish, Paul Dukas, The Sorcerer's Apprentice. For some of our audience, this was their first time not only hearing a symphony orchestra live but playing alongside one too: a hugely rewarding day and thank you to everyone who made it possible.

22/05/2026

Saturday's Sidcup Symphony Orchestra, 4pm at St.John's Church, Sidcup, features scenes from Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird, his first great ballet.

The première of The Firebird at the Paris Opéra in 1910 transformed Stravinsky into a celebrity overnight. Yet if impresario Serge Diaghilev’s initial plan had worked, Stravinsky’s name would not have been on the bill at all. A more established Russian composer, Anatole Liadov, had been commissioned to write the score, but had failed to deliver on time. Diaghilev, back in St. Petersburg, happened to hear a remarkable brief piece for orchestra called Fireworks by Stravinsky, one of Rimsky-Korsakov’s most talented pupils, and immediately took a risk by handing over the commission to him.

The Firebird’s ballet scenario is drawn from Russian legend: The Firebird is a benevolent supernatural being who helps a young Czarevich to free and marry a princess enslaved to the evil King Kastchei. Underlying this fairy story is an allegory whereby Kastchei represents the frozen force of winter and the Firebird the means of liberation from it.

We start with the Infernal Dance, with a sudden fortissimo explosion from the whole orchestra. A jagged rhythmic figure on the horns introduces the demon Kastchei, then trumpets in octaves hurl out a menacing theme. The most radical and original section of the score prefigures Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in rhythmic fury, dissonance and orchestral virtuosity. The dance reaches a massive conclusion, after which a short quiet transitional passage leads into the Berceuse (lullaby). With her magic powers and a bassoon solo, the Firebird casts Kastchei to sleep. The music sinks to the quietest tremolo string chords before the horn introduces the finale and the Czarevich’s wedding to the liberated princess. The Firebird’s arrival at the celebration is marked by a sudden increase in tempo, leading into the final sequence of huge brass chords with which the music ends.

Here is a live performance of the 1919 Suite from the Presidential Symphony Orchestra's concert hall in Ankara, with the Ankara Kent Filarmoni Orkestrası in 2022, which I conducted:

Igor Stravinsky, The Firebird Suite (1919): Ankara Kent Filarmoni O...

22/05/2026

Join us on Saturday, 4pm at St.John's Church, Sidcup DA14 6BX for our Pirates and Sorcerers family concert, conducted by James Ross. Tickets available at the door:

Provided to YouTube by Warner ClassicsLe Corsaire, Op. 21, H 101 · Royal Philharmonic Orchestra · Sir Thomas BeechamBerlioz: Symphonie fantastique℗ A Warner ...