Symphony prepares for take off

THE title of Ballarat Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming Sunday afternoon live concert hints at what to expect.

Journeys Through Space and Time will take place on Sunday afternoon 29 March at the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts and will feature the full orchestra in performance.

“We’ve been working hard in preparation for our first concert of the year. It’ll be our biggest orchestra yet,” a BSO spokesperson said.

Bass trombone player and orchestra committee member Jeff Moran said the concert has been designed to appeal to young audience members, and a grant from Community Bank Buninyong has helped keep ticketing costs down, particularly for families.

“We’ll be presenting bold and dramatic melodies designed to introduce young people and families to the orchestra,” he said.

“We’ll also have an emcee, Jason Wasley who is a well known singer, and he will introduce the pieces.

“We’ve deliberately made it a bold and brassy concert to feature big sounds.”

The orchestra is preparing to transport its audience on a musical journey that will unfold over 70 minutes starting at 2.30pm with the grandeur of Strauss’ 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The audience can then expect to be rocketed away by Holst’s The Planets – fromMarsto Jupiter – and then back to Earth, with Dukas’ haplessSorcerer’s Apprenticewreaking havoc.

Calmer moments have been programmed to break the “journey” with a pause in a Renaissance court to be enchanted by Ancient Airs and Dances for Lute featuring the BSO’s strings section.

The program will then whisk the audience away to Morning in Greig’s Norway, before descending into the Hall of the Mountain King to finallyland inKiev with the music of Russian composer Mussorgsky.

The orchestra includes many of the region’s local music teachers and will be conducted by Andrew Leach with violinist Sarah Nieuwkerkthe orchestral leader.

Formed in 1987, the Ballarat Symphony has a long and proud history of live performance and its members are all volunteers who give their time freely and present three concerts each year at the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts, alongside performing at occasional community or other events.

To get tickets, visit the Ballarat Symphony Orchestra website.