Christmas Musical Medley: Concerts and what's on in the Doncaster music scene this December

Sprotbrough Music Society

A Christmas Evening

Matt Beckingham (piano) and Guest

This annual event gives everyone a chance to enjoy an evening of music appropriate for this most magical of seasons.

In addition to the performance there will be a glass of wine and mince pies available.

Thursday 8 December, 7pm

St. Mary’s Church Hall, Sprotbrough, DN5 7RH

Tickets available on the door - £10

Doncaster Concert Band

A Musical Christmas Medley

Join the band for some heart warming music with a sprinkling of Christmas!

Thursday 8 December, 7.30pm

St Aidan’s Church, Wheatley Hills, DN2 5PE

Tickets available on the door £7 adult, £3 Child/OAP

Tickhill Music Society

Join in to hear the Rosie Hood Folk Band perform traditional and contemporary folk songs and, as this is the society’s Christmas concert, folk carols from South Yorkshire.

Carol-singing may be a traditional part of the Christmas celebrations, but Tickhill Music Society will be taking it a stage further on 9 December with the help of the Rosie Hood Band.

In addition to traditional folk songs and contemporary material, the band will be singing some traditional South Yorkshire folk carols – and if the audience are well-behaved, they may be invited to join in!

Alongside Rosie Hood (vocals/guitar), the line-up will consist of Nicola Beazley (fiddle/cello/vocals), Robyn Wallace (melodeon) and Rosie Butler-Hall (fiddle and vocals).

Regardless of your tastes in music, it promises to be a relaxing and entertaining evening.

For further information, contact Kate Doubleday on 07814 308014.

Friday 9 December 7.00 p.m. in St. Mary’s Primary School, Tickhill, DN11 9LZ

Non-members: £12 at the door. Accompanied children and students (16-19) – free

FESTIVE MUSIC IN THE MARKET PLACE!

Why not come along and enjoy these relaxed, festive events taking place in Doncaster Wool Market (DN1 1NG) this December?

All events are free.

See below for more details:

The Doncaster Youth Swing Orchestra

A foot tapping good old Christmas play along!

Saturday 10 December, 2pm – 4pm, FREE

Doncaster Choral Society

Carols sung by members of the society

Saturday 17 December, 11am - 1pm

Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra

Come and join in some festive cheer.

Saturday 17 December, 2pm – 4pm

Doncaster Choral Society:

A Christmas Festival

A Fantasia on Christmas

Carols – Vaughan Williams

Christmas Day, A Choral Fantasy on Old Carols – Holst

Carols for Choir and Audience

Soloists:

Fiona Ashforth ‘Cello

Edward Seymour Bass

Carey Williams Accompanist

Organ: Alan Horsey

Conductor – Simon Lindley

Saturday 10 December 2022 7.30pm

Alder Grove Methodist Church DN4 8RF

Tickets: £12 in advance, £14 on the door, students £3, school pupils FREE

Tickets available from: Ticket Secretary – 01302 360129

Members of the Society or wegottickets https://www.wegottickets.com/event/563197/

Come Sing with Doncaster Choral Society!

Do you enjoy singing? Have you always wanted to sing in a choir?

There are some vacancies in all sections so now is your chance!

Doncaster Choral Society began life towards the end of 1888 under its earlier name of Doncaster Musical Society. Little more than two months after its formation, Handel’s Messiah was presented with 230 performers and J M Kirk as its first conductor.

Membership flourished and, in a little more than five years, Kirk had established the Society on a firm basis and memorable performances were given. So things continued until 1915 when there was a break of four years during the course of the First World War.

The progress of the Society continued and it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1938 with a performance of Messiah.

Unfortunately, a decrease in membership numbers caused the Society to be disbanded in 1940.

However, in 1943 the Doncaster and District Choral Society emerged with most of the DMS’s members joining the new society. The first concert in 1945 was Acis and Galatea under its new conductor Eric Curtis, whose association with the choir lasted 25 years.

The choir was then directed for the next sixteen years by Robert Lawrence with increased numbers of members and an associated restoration of self-confidence. Since then the choir’s numbers have waxed and waned but the quality of its performances has continued to improve and the range of its repertoire expanded, especially under its distinguished conductor, the late Dr Roger Bullivant MBE, appointed in 1986 and continuing in office until 2003.

Throughout its life the Society has enjoyed the services of other notable musical directors of the calibre of Wilfrid Sanderson and Dr Percy Saunders, incumbent musicians at St George’s Parish Church (now Doncaster Minster).

More recently, and after a change of the name to Doncaster Choral Society, this tradition was continued with the accomplished Alan Eost who was Music Director up to 2010, until the current Music Director Dr Simon Lindley took the helm.

If you’d like to join, or would like more details, then please contact Margaret Hunt, Secretary, on 01302 349850 or via email: [email protected]

Alternatively, come to a rehearsal on Tuesday evenings from 7pm at Cantley Methodist Church, Highbury Avenue, DN4 6BT

You will be assured of a warm welcome.

If singing is not quite your forte but you’d still love to support Doncaster Choral Society (DCS) then you can!

There are several ways:

1. Why not become a patron? For a fee of £75 you not only provide valuable financial support but also receive a variety of benefits e.g. a free ticket and reserved seat for ALL

concerts.

2. Or become a Friend of the Society. For £35 you can become a friend, again giving valuable financial support with several benefits e.g. discounted tickets and reserved seats at

all concerts.

For further information about DCS Patrons/Friends please contact Marion Emmerson, 01302 360129

3. Sponsorship. DCS works with a variety of sponsors and have spaces available in their publications for adverts. These adverts are seen by a wide cross-section of people and are an additional cost-effective method of contacting the public. DCS also welcomes discussion about sponsorship of concerts, works or named soloists.

For further information about DCS sponsorship please contact Margaret Hunt, 01302 349850 or via email: [email protected]

The New Hallgate Orchestra - A festival of the Bach Family

On Sunday afternoon 16 October, at Chequer Road Baptist Church there took place a concert by members and friends of the (New) Hallgate Chamber Orchestra, this year celebrating its 40th birthday (conducted by Carey Williams and in a few items by David Tonkin) and entitled “Keep it in the Family” – the ‘family’ being the Bach family – pieces by no fewer than 12 members of that family.

Of course, JS Bach strongly figured in the programme, providing most of the best known pieces: Brandenburgh 5 (soloists Richard Ellis, piano, Charlotte Pinder, violin, and Shirley

Barningham, flute) comfortably the longest work heard during the afternoon, the Concerton for oboe and violin (Laura Skyers, oboe, and David Allison, violin) and two arias from Magnificat and the popular Sheep May Safely Graze, the latter seemingly bedevilled by problems in the accompaniment (Angela Hartley was the singer in those tow vocal items).

JSB had four or five musical sons, five of them quite well known : Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach kicked off the proceedings in style with Symphony Wq176, JohannChristian Bach was represented by a song (sung by Chris Bullough, soprano) and the Overture to Amades der Gaules.

JSBach’s other songs were Wilhelm Friedermann, exemplified by a Sinfonia in D and a Hymn, a “fun muse”, 18 variations on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star shared between Jonathan Gooing (organ), Mr. Ellis (piano) and Mr. Williams (harpsichord) and a beautiful movement from a concerto for piano and viola.

A son of JS Bach new to me (Gottfried Heinrich) whose intriguingly titled Tobacco Song was attractive.

Here I can convieniently mention JCF’s son, Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst, youngest of all the Bachs, whose seven pieces for brass were heard in the interval, directed by Mr.Tonkin. We come to collateral Bachs: Johann Michael contributed a sonata, there were organ pieces by Ernst (Mr. Gooing who also played Johann Lorenz’s organ Prelude and organ music by Johan Ernst. ) A comprehensive concert lasting three hours with the French overture first movement in D major by Johann Bernard Bach (1676-1749) a near contemporary of JSB.

Such a programme as this might be heard on Radio 3 but rarely, if ever in a “live” concert. Congratulations to Mr. Williams and his hardworking musicians for expanding our knowledge of the most famous of musical families.

Performances were in general more than adequate in addition to their intrinsic interest. A most enjoyable afternoon and a red letter day in Doncaster’s musical history.

More remains to be discovered as apparently 53 musical Bachs have been traced.

Sprotbrough Music Society - The German Romantic Viola

On 20 October, I was at a fine concert at Sprotbrough Music Society by Rachel Roberts (viola) and Tim Horton (Piano), members of Sheffield’s Ensemble 360 (Music in the Round).

Their programme consisted of four items, all from the German 19 th Century Romantic Period.

We began with Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro Opus 70 (originally for horn and piano – all four pieces were heard in versions different from the composer’s first thought).

This crisp performance was followed by Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata (the arpeggione was a possibly unique instrument of Schubert’s period – various modern instruments have renowned this piece of which the viola is perhaps the more unusual.

The contrasts in the music were strikingly realised. More Schubert after the interval, a transcription (originally for cello) of Schubert’s famous Standchen (or Serenade). An immensely enjoyable evening was the Brahms Sonata Opus 120 No. 2, originally for clarinet, one of two written for the clarinettist Richard Mulhfeld but authorised by the compeser to be done on the viola.

Luckily he did as the compatibility of its three movements (the last a set of variations) came across in this well planned concert, brilliantly executed.

Doncaster Concert Band with Music’All de Limonest

On 29 October a fantastic Amities-Infriendship, annual exchange concert between two bands took place with a programme of classic French and English music for band.

Doncaster Concert Band were joined by Music’All de Limonest for their annual Exchange concert at St Peter’s Chuch, Warmsworth.

The programme featured classic music from Britain and France including Ralph Vaughan Williams Folk Song Suite, Suites Française by D Milhaud and contemporary British music from the James Bond films, ‘Spectre’ and ‘No Time to Die’.

The highlight of the programme was ‘Lexicon of the Gods’, a suite by film music composer Rossano Gallante.

With 70 players strong, the combined band made an impressive sound and demonstrated a breadth of timbre and dynamics. It is testament to the work of both organisations that such a strong exchange is thriving after 30 years.

Doncaster Choral Society

Doncaster Choral Society’s (DCS) autumn concert (12 November), at Alder Grove Methodist Church, was entirely devoted to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams (RVW) in honour of the 150 th anniversary of his birth. It was the second RVW concert in Doncaster in a week, after Ensemble 360’s programme at Cast (5 November) and like it included some of his less heard compositions.

DCS began its programme with a setting of The Old One Hundredth VW did, in his words “ a mess up” of this for the 1953 Coronation. In this performance just one verse was for DCS and the others the audience joined in.

The other choral works were from relatively early in RVW’s output. The choral song Toward the Unknown Region (virtually a miniature cantata) and the Five Mystical Songs,

arguably the earliest truly characteristic Vaughan Williams work. This is for baritone solo (here Samuel Pantscheff, deputising at short notice for an indisposed Malachy Frame, and a richly sonorous voice, which I hope we will hear again with DCS), and for chorus – in actual fact one of the songs is for chorus alone, another for the soloist alone.

Apart from the former the choral part is rather accompanimental.

The DCS whose singing, conducted by Simon Lindley, returning after illness, in general sounded well rehearsed, was accompanied by Alan Horsey (organ) and a chamber sized orchestra drawn from the National Festival Orchestra, led by Sally Robinson who contributed the solo violin part in the romance The Lark Ascending with its later, orchestral accompaniment; the best known item, perhaps in the concert.

It is good that Doncaster Choral Society is ‘doing its bit’ for Vaughan Williams in reviving works which are not always the obvious ones.

Tickhill Music Society

The saxophone can be a Marmite instrument – you love it or hate it – but at Tickhill Music Society’s recent concert (11 November) the audience, from teenagers to octogenarians, were all enthusiasts.

Putting it through its paces was the talented Amy Green (2018 BBC Young Musician Finalist), who came with a programme chosen to demonstrate the versatility of the saxophone – from an adaptation of a concerto written by a contemporary of Vivaldi, to a piece specially written for Amy which employed techniques which would have astonished Adolph Sax (who invented the instrument in the 1840s).

Amy was accompanied by the pianist Christine Zerafa, who not only rose to the challenge of playing contemporary music but also treated the audience to two piano solos by Debussy and Szymanowski.

This was an occasion when the audience was handsomely rewarded for keeping an open mind by hearing music-making of the highest quality.