Faith Court Orchestra Concert
Faith Court Orchestra Concert
Wednesday 21st of May, 2008
Reviewed By Cherie Lebrasse
This was the first concert for the classical department at WAAPA of the year and also Peter Tanfield’s debut as the orchestra’s conductor.
Peter Tanfield chose three works that reflected his personality, from serious virtuosic orchestral displays to charismatic movements of ballet suits. The turn out was good however the seats had not been distributed evenly, so the crowd; from a players point of view would have perhaps looked sparse.
The orchestra looked fantastic this year, with almost all the players wearing conservative clothing in a uniform black code. The aesthetics of the stage appearance from members of the orchestra to the lighting were nothing short of professional. The atmosphere was very serene and friendly with the odd chuckle coming from the audience members whenever any mishaps occurred, for example at one stage the conductor misplaced his music only to find it on the floor near the rise.
The pieces performed that in the first half of the evening were Giacomo Rossini’s Overture to “Semiramide” followed by Aram Ilych Kachaturian’s “Spartacus”, used for the theme music for the TV series “The Onedin Line”. In the second interval they performed the first act of Delibes’s “Coppelia”, a ballet.
Rossini’s overture was performed with a great stylistic understanding of both the overture style and the early romantic. It’s important to notice the great improvement that this orchestra has undergone under the care and supervision of Peter Tanfield. His guidance has not only sparked a renewal in the player’s beliefs in this orchestra but also in their beliefs in their own abilities as players. This was visible to everybody in the audience as the players could not and did not stop smiling. Overall the performance of this overture went along without a hitch.
“Spartacus” followed to stir emotions with soaring melodies and contrasting sections of furor and ardent passion. The orchestra members were tense to start off with but as the performance progressed they were able to relax and carry out a performance comparable to a professional standard. The orchestra performed harmoniously, from tempos to dynamics to the quasi choreographic bow movements. The audience’s response was astonishing.
And last but not least the grand finale of “Coppelia” a ballet by Delibes. The technical requirements for this piece were evident and the string players did a wonderful job at seeming relaxed and concentrating on the production of tone rather than every single note.
Overall this night was a great success and Faith Court raised the bar setting a new standard of performance not only for the orchestra itself but for the students them selves.
