Concerts – Monmouth Concert Orchestra

Music for Lovers – May 19th 2024

Love will be in the air at Monmouth Orchestra’s Summer Concert on Sunday, May 19^th as the orchestra will be playing a programme of some of the world’s most romantic music.

There will be two renditions of Romeo and Juliet – one by Tchaikovsky and one by Prokofiev. Plus the modern version of the Romeo and Juliet tale, Bernstein’s West Side Story. Other programmed works include The King and I, the Sound of Music, Porgy and Bess and Humperdink’s Evening Prayer.

During the afternoon the orchestra will also perform a version of John Miles’ Music was my first love, which has been arranged by the MCO’s violin and viola player, Ken Hunt.

Tickets for the concert are free and can be obtained from members of the orchestra. The concert will be at 4pm in Llangynidr New Village Hall. There will be a retiring collection for Bannau Brycheiniog Mountain Rescue.

Christmas Concert raises £400 for Blood Bikes Wales

Monmouth Concert Orchestra’s Christmas Concert on December 3^rd raised £400 for Blood Bikes Wales. A packed audience enjoyed an afternoon of festive music at St Mary’s Priory Church in Monmouth and relished the chance to join in with singing some of the Christmas numbers.

On the programme were Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival, Saint Saens Samson and Delilah Bacchanale and Wreath of Holly, a composition by the orchestra’s own bassoon player, Jane Pelham. The audience also enjoyed James Bond themes, music from the Harry Potter and Titanic films and a Salute to the Big Bands by Calvin Custer.

At the end of the concert Stuart Kramer from Blood Bikes Wales talked about the work of the volunteers who provide a vital service to the NHS. It provides a completely free courier service to the NHS, delivering blood samples, plasma, donated human milk, documents and other items all over Wales. The service is free of charge and operates on weekdays for some health board areas and across Wales from 7pm on Friday evening until midnight on Monday morning including bank holidays & even Christmas day.

Nature, Lakes and Gardens Summer Concert – Saturday, May 13th

Monmouth Concert Orchestra raised over £180 for the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) at its concert in Usk on Saturday, May 13^th.

A packed audience heard well-known tunes all on a theme of nature, lakes and gardens.

On the programme were Rossini’s Thieving Magpie overture, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Grainger’s Country Garden and South Pacific by Richard Rodgers. Plus works by Borodin, Khachaturian and Ketelby.

Teenage soloist, Milly Bowers, brought the house down with her wonderful performance of Paul Reede’s Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite for solo clarinet and orchestra.

The Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) is one of the volunteer search and rescue teams which covers the Monmouth area. They have 7 rescue stations, including Newport, Beachley, Sharpness and Tewkesbury. SARA is best known as the lifeboat organisation which covers the tidal rivers Severn and Wye, all the way up from the M4 Bridge, and for providing flood rescue – with the largest number of flood teams on the national register of any organisation. They typically attend well over 100 callouts a year across their area, including many searches for missing people on land and in the water. Their land team is part of the Mountain Rescue family and over the years has carried out many cliff rescues in the Wye Valley. SARA is 50 years old this year, has no paid staff and as a charity is entirely dependent on its own fundraising and the generous donations of local people and organisations.

Christmas Concert – Sunday, December 4th 2022

Monmouth Concert Orchestra presented its Christmas concert in St Mary’s Priory Church in Monmouth on Sunday, December 4th.

Platinum Jubilee Concert – Sunday, May 15th 2022

It was wonderful to be back playing for a live audience after more than two years due to covid. St Mary’s Priory Church in Monmouth was packed and the audience throughly enjoyed the programme of patriotic music from all four corners of the British Isles. The programme included Purcell’s English Suite, Vaughan Williams’ English Folk Song Suite, Mathias Serenade for Small Orchestra and Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs. In the Fantasia the orchestra’s pianist was transformed into Britannia and gave a rousing rendition of Rule Britannia complete with helmet and shield.

Another highlight of the concert was the world premiere of MCO viola player and celebrated local musician Ken Hunt’s Welsh Folk Songs Suite.

A retiring collection raised £400 which will be given to the Ukranian support group in Monmouth to help buy essentials for refugees who have settled locally to escape the war in Ukraine.

2019 Christmas Concert

Monmouth Concert Orchestra’s Christmas concert raised more than £500 for local charities including the Ted Senior Foundation.

Held at the Church of St Nicholas in Trellech, the orchestra wowed the packed church with a wide programme of music including Elgar’s Nimrod and Imperial March, the Pastorale from Corelli’s Christmas Concerto and Vaughan Williams Christmas Music.

The 150-strong audience was encouraged to join in with carols and Christmas favourites including White Christmas, Sleigh Ride and the Christmas Song.

Money raised from the concert will be split between the Ted Senior Foundation and church funds.