Very best wishes to the Stirling Orchestra
as they compete in on All Together Now, which is being broadcast on BBC4 at 9pm
this evening.
The competition to find Britain's best
amateur orchestra is also testimony to the extraordinary efforts and
commitments of amateur musicians across these islands, and to the continued
local cultivation of vital traditions of orchestral music making.
Formed in 1983 by a small group of amateur
musicians, Stirling Orchestra now numbers 65 to 70 players. The membership is
drawn largely from the Stirling area, although several come from much further
afield, and embraces a wide range of backgrounds: professionals, students from
Stirling University, retirees and the unemployed. Stirling Orchestra performs
two or three concerts a year in Stirling’s Albert Halls and presents eclectic
repertoire ranging from the ‘classics’ to 20th century, film scores and more.
Recent performances include a musical
expedition to the South Pole, in which images from Scott’s ill-fated expedition
provided the backdrop for Vaughan Williams’s 'Sinfonia Antartica', and a double
matinee for families in which young children danced round the orchestra, while
their older siblings filmed the performance and tried their hand at playing the
instruments. Stephen Broad has been the orchestra’s conductor for the past 12
years. He is married to Joëlle Broad, who is leader of the orchestra.
