Community orchestra concert

THE Shetland Community Orchestra has unveiled a programme featuring a mixture of classical and contemporary works for its spring 2015 concert.

A spokesman said the orchestra invited new members to join back in January and it was not disappointed, adding players in every section, and the collective is now “going from strength to strength”.

The programme for Saturday’s concert was finalised after seeking suggestions from orchestra members and reflects a “wide range of musical styles and eras with the common theme of theatre and stage”, and the orchestra feels it has “all the ingredients for a great concert”.

It features ‘The Egmont Overture’ by Beethoven, a classic piece written by the great composer shortly after his fifth symphony and featuring a similar style of composition. ‘Night on a Bare Mountain’ by Moussorgsky, part of the BBC’s Ten Pieces repertoire, is well known in its own right as well as featuring in Walt Disney animate classic ‘Fantasia’.

Back to the stage and Borodin’s ‘Polotsian Dances’ is part of the opera ‘Prince Igor’. The orchestra will be joined for this by the voices of local collective Veev, who will also perform along with orchestra strings and percussion on ‘Spells’ by Bob Chilcott.

There will also be a song cycle setting four magical by Kathleen Raine to music – each an “exquisitely crated miniature which captures the mood and mystery of the words”.

Moving into the realm of modern musical theatre, there will be medleys from two fantastic shows. ‘Phantom of the Opera’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber will be performed by the whole orchestra, while ‘Chicago’ features brass, woodwind and percussionists supported by double basses.

• The concert on Saturday 7th March takes place in Lerwick’s St Columba’s Church at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced £8 (£5 for concessions) with a special offer available to families buying tickets for more than one child. They are on sale at Shetland Box Office.