Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra looks ahead to autumn live performances

With just three performers and a socially distanced audience of 60, Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra has found its way back to live performance.
Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra Marcio Marcio da SilvaHastings Philharmonic Orchestra Marcio Marcio da Silva
Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra Marcio Marcio da Silva

Their first recital proved a big success, leaving high hopes – COVID-19 guidelines permitting – for further recitals in October, November and December.

Marcio da Silva, artistic director and principal conductor of Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra, was one of the three performers: “It went really well. We sold out. We had to set a limit to 60. We may be able to revise that a bit later, but for the next two events, we have got to keep it to 60 (Saturday, October 17 and Saturday, November 21).

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“But it was just really refreshing to be able to do it. For me personally, it was my first performance since March 13. I had a jazz night, and I remember we considered cancelling it. We had a very bad audience for that event. Things were starting to change, but I didn’t imagine throughout the whole thing that it would take so long to start up again. We were one of the first to stop and one of the last to start. It is just the way it is.

“We just hope, with the changing guidelines, that we will be able to continue to do something. But really the most important thing (with the first recital back) was that we were able to do something. We put so much thought into it. If you were booking by yourself, you had a seat either side of you; if there were two of you booking, you had your own family bubble. It just took a lot of time to prepare. Since this was the first time, we ended up making a seating plan which didn’t work so we had to change that. It was much more work… but it was absolutely worth it. We have had quite a lot of responses from the audience, and they were all saying how safe and comfortable they felt and how much they enjoyed the event. We did live-stream it, which was not the most successful live-stream in history. We tested it before but on the night there were a few issues, but I am confident it will be better next time and that it will go well. If we are allowed to do the next concerts, I am hoping that we will get an even wider reach.”

And the experience was good: “We set up the chairs in like a semi-circle with three rows so that the room still felt full. 60 is quite a good number for a recital anyway, and with people a bit further apart, it felt like they filled the room.”

Coming up are:

Saturday, October 17, 7.30pm, Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea. Helen May soprano; Ivanov & Chen Duo (Boyan Ivanov clarinet Lysianne Chen piano). Der Hirt auf dem Felsen Schubert; Song to the Moon – Dvorak; Caro Nome – Verdi; Jewel Song – Gounod; Carmen Fantasie – Sarasate/Bizet; Rhapsody in Blue – Gershwin; Rigoletto Fantasia – Bassi/Verdi.

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Saturday, November 21, 7.30pm, Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea. Ayşen Ulucan violin; Oli-ver Mansfield cello; Francis Rayner piano. Dumky Trio Op. 90 – Dvorak; Trio in C minor Op. 101 – Brahms; Trio in E flat major Op. 1 No. 1 – Beethoven

There will also be an orchestral concert: Saturday, November 14, 5.30pm, St Thomas the Martyr, Winchelsea; Marcio da Silva conductor; Tchaikovsky – Serenade for Strings; Elgar – Serenade for Strings; Sibelius – Romance in C; Nielsen – Bohemian Danish Folk Tune.

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