68TH Season

2007 – 2008

 
MEDIA RELEASE

WARWICKSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES NEW SEASON

 
The Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra announces its 2007-08 subscription season which begins with its popular Family Concert on Sunday 2nd December at the Royal Spa Centre, Leamington. Designed to appeal to all ages, the evening includes the story of Cinderella, delightfully orchestrated by Paul Reade and narrated by John Woodvine. John is well-known for both his Shakespeare roles and for his many TV appearances. The programme includes the prelude to Hansel and Gretel and Howard Shore's music for Lord of the Rings. There will be a quiz with prizes and carols for all.  The concert is being presented in association with Marie Curie Cancer Care.

On Saturday 1 March 2008, at the Guy Nelson Hall, the orchestra will present an all-American programme with Aaron Copland's An Outdoor Overture, The Pleasure Dome of Kubla-Khan by Charles T. Griffes and Gershwin's suite from Porgy and Bess. The WSO are delighted that Ruth Palmer returns as the soloist in Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. Classical Brit Award-winner Ruth played the Elgar Violin Concerto with the orchestra earlier this year to great acclaim.

On Saturday 3 May another well-known violinist guests when Rimma Sushanskaya joins with the WSO for Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto. Rimma was the last pupil of the legendary virtuoso, David Oistrakh. She now lives in Stratford-upon-Avon where she runs the Virtuoso Violin Festival. This concert is a Russian evening, opening with Borodin's Overture Prince Igor, and also includes Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Rimsky-Korsakov's Procession of the Nobles.

The last concert in the 07-08 season will take place on Friday 20 June and will form part of the International Church Music Festival. The Concert will be performed in Coventry Cathedral, where the orchestra will join with The Saint Michael's Singers of Coventry Cathedral in Ralph Vaughan Williams' Toward the Unknown Region and Holst's rarely heard Hymn of Jesus. Alistair Reid will play Saint-Saëns popular Organ Symphony with the WSO.   

The first three concerts will be conducted by Guy Woolfenden, who has been the orchestra's principal conductor since 1972.  With more than 150 scores for the Royal Shakespeare Company and an impressive list of credits with major European theatre companies, including the Comédie-Française, Paris, the Burgtheater, Vienna and the Norwegian National Theatre, Oslo, Guy Woolfenden's theatre music is highly regarded throughout the world. He will share the baton with Paul Leddington-Wright for the Coventry Cathedral concert.

Further Information and photos for press from Amanda Laidler, 07702-721775 or press@wso.org.uk

Regularly updated information may also be found on the orchestra's website at www.wso.org.uk