Darlington Orchestra, Darlington Arts Centre (From The Northern Echo)

Darlington Orchestra, Darlington Arts Centre

8:31pm Sunday 24th July 2011 in Music

Darlington Arts Centre was full to bursting last night for the summer concert by the popular Darlington Orchestra. While amateur choirs are a mainstay of British cultural life, the demanding skills required for orchestral instruments mean that amateur orchestras are less common, and the members of Darlington Orchestra must be congratulated for the time, effort and enthusiasm that they clearly give to their music-making amid busy lives.

Conductor David Plews and his orchestra sensibly avoided playing well-known classics, which are hard to listen to without preconceptions, and presented a fascinating programme of lesser known pieces. Riviera Scenes by Byron Brooke was written for an orchestra just like Darlington’s - the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra (which later evolved into the professional Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra). It was a delightful and descriptive piece, and was played with panache, particularly by the brass section, instantly evoking the joys of the seaside. The Grasshopper’s Dance by Ernest Bucalossi was included in the programme by audience request, and was much appreciated by my young son, with the melody hopping around between different instruments.

Dance music featured heavily throughout the programme, with the second half including a waltz Calinerie by Adalgiso Ferraris and Bal Masque - Parisian Sketches by Percy Fletcher and David Plews gave both light-hearted pieces plenty of swing. Throughout the programme the ensemble playing was notably good, particularly in the string section and there were plenty of solo passages throughout the evening to showcase the talents of the woodwind players.

Darlington Orchestra regularly invite guest performers to their concerts, and this time they were joined by mezzo-soprano Janet Walke and pianist Caroline Hodgson to present a selection of show songs. A jazz quartet made up of members of the orchestra joined them for George Gershwin’s Summertime, a piece which really suited Janet Walke’s powerful voice, and special mention here has to go to the gorgeous trumpet playing from Ben Heathcote. The Gershwin theme continued into the concert finale, a rousing medley from the movie “Shall We Dance” which sent us out into the warm summer evening with toes tapping.

Jane Shuttleworth, The Durham Singers