Digital Programme

Welcome to this evening's concert.

We are delighted, as always, to be back in Romsey Abbey and extend our thanks to Chris, Liz, and the Music in Romsey team for hosting us, by kind permission of the Vicar and PCC.

This evening's programme was originally intended to be performed in 2020 to coincide with the 160th anniversary of the birth of the composer Gustav Mahler. Mahler is a composer who has been incredibly important to me since I discovered his music while at university. I studied him deeply and his music has been with me through the ups and downs of my life. Of course, in 2020 the world fell to pieces for everyone. For a work that deals so deeply with life's biggest questions, the symphony stayed with me throughout those dark times of the pandemic, and I remained hopeful that we would one day have the opportunity to perform it. What better moment than this year, as the orchestra marks its twentieth anniversary.

It has been a humbling experience to manage and conduct this ensemble over the majority of its life so far, but I must acknowledge the founder and good friend of ours, Tom Horn, and all the people he worked with in putting on concerts. For the majority of my tenure as Chair I have been surrounded by a close committee of friends without whose advice, skills, knowledge and incredible patience the ensemble would not be the successful fundraising organisation it has grown into. Without the players, there would be no orchestra, and it is to them that my most heartfelt thanks go. Many of the players assembled here I have had the privilege of making music with for two decades (and more in some cases!). That phrase matters: making music together, alongside one another. I'm not a fan of a podium, never have been, and one of the most important parts for me is at the end being able to get off it and stand with the musicians who have brought this music to life. Getting to know the players over so many years has been something very special, and we get to make music in fantastic places like the Abbey and, even more importantly, fundraise for truly deserving charities.

Our nominated charity for this evening is Orchestras for All, and before we start the concert we will hear testimony about their vital work. We are also delighted that their Executive Director is joining us in the orchestra, and their Individual Giving & Campaigns Manager is joining us to sing! Please use the QR code to donate directly!

As we perform tonight, and the music takes over this amazing space, meditate on what the world means to you: what it was before the pandemic, what it became, and what it can still become if we believe in and treat each other and the planet with kindness.

Craig Lawton, Artistic Director and Conductor

My symphony is going to be something the likes of which the world has not yet heard. All nature is voiced therein, and it tells of deeply mysterious matters. . . at certain passages I myself am overcome with an uncanny feeling, and can hardly believe that I could have written them.

So wrote Mahler in August 1896. From 1891 to 1897 he held the position of first conductor at the Hamburg Stadttheater. Although desperately overworked—conducting and preparing opera on an almost daily basis—he had attained sufficient financial security to spend the summer months in the Austrian Alps, and his composing was concentrated into these holiday periods: he wryly described himself as "der Sommerkomponist". The overwhelming, even forbidding majesty of the Alpine scenery powerfully influenced the composer's broodings on beauty, life and immortality. This is the context in which Mahler wrote his Third Symphony in the summers of 1895 and 1896. (When Bruno Walter, visiting, gazed awe-struck at the scenery Mahler remarked, "You needn't bother to look at that, I've composed it all already").

Mahler originally gave titles to the various movements, though these were discarded after the first performances. The first movement (actually the last to be written down) was called Pan awakes, summer marches in. Pan is certainly present in his many guises: "the god of music, the god of poetry, the god of fertility, the god of nature." And summer was, at this period of the composer's life, the season of creativity. The opening march theme, which Mahler called a Wachruf (Reveille), is introduced by the horns. Summer marches in, but not without a struggle, and conflict between winter and summer, minor and major, darkness and light, forms the argument of this mighty movement. "It is frightening", wrote Mahler, "the way this movement caused me to grow beyond everything I have ever composed".

The remaining, much shorter movements Mahler regarded as the "second part" of the symphony. The second movement - What the flowers in the meadow tell me - is a gentle ländler, twice interrupted by a livelier tune. This movement won immediate popularity in early years and to Mahler's distress conductors took to playing it alone.

The third movement - "What the animals in the forest tell me" - opens with a melodic reference to an early song, the story of the cuckoo and the nightingale. Both birds are featured here against the background of forest rustlings. The Trio section is a haunting post-horn solo.

The fourth movement - What the night tells me - is a setting for mezzo-soprano of words from Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra - "O man, take heed! What says the midnight deep?"

The fifth movement - What the morning bells tell me - sets a poem from the Des Knaben Wunderhorn collection. This is sung by female voices and soloist while a children's choir imitates the chiming of bells.

The last movement - What love tells me - is Mahler's first full-scale symphonic Adagio. It opens with a theme of hushed reverence ("I could equally well call the movement 'What God tells me'," wrote the composer). Earlier movements are recalled as the music progresses to its resoundingly affirmative conclusion.

The symphony did not achieve a complete performance until 9 June 1902 when it was played at Krefeld, the composer conducting.

Programme notes provided by John Kane, 2007

Jessica Lawless - Leader

Jessica is a long-standing player with the Charity Symphony Orchestra who has since settled in Hackbridge to work as a performing musician and instrumental teacher. Jessica first began playing the violin aged 8, and is proud to have learnt through Hampshire Music Service. Jessica graduated with a Masters of Music (Solo Performance Certificate) from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2017, specialising in contemporary realisations and Mozart Opera. Jessica studied with globally recognised violinists including Lowri Porter, Nancy Johnson and Rachel Podger. Jessica has undertaken freelance performing with the National Symphony Orchestra, British Sinfonietta and the Taki Concordia Women's Orchestra under Marin Alsop. Passionate about music education and the power it has to change individual lives, Jessica is an experienced instrumental teacher who works for Sutton Music Trust and Surrey Arts Hub engaging with young people in schools and the community whilst maintaining a variety of musical interests. As well as touring internationally, Jessica has also performed at the Royal Festival Hall and St David's Hall and has worked with iconic conductors such as Carlo Rizzi and Wyn Davies.

National Orchestra for All (NOFA)

NOFA is the most diverse and inclusive, non-auditioned, national youth orchestra in the UK. NOFA is an 18-month programme where 100 young people aged 11-18 come together from across the UK to experience the life-changing benefits of ensemble music-making. The members attend in-person residentials and regional workshops, plus online events. NOFA is a completely free programme, ensuring that cost isn't a barrier to participating. Everything is covered for NOFA members including tuition, travel, accommodation and meals. NOFA was recently described by a participant as "a big, bright sonic boom that says anything is possible."

Modulo Programme

Modulo is designed to kickstart ensemble music-making in state secondary schools and community settings. We support teachers and leaders by providing bespoke resources and help them to develop the skills and confidence they need to set up and sustain a Modulo in their school or community group. Modulo ensembles join together twice a year to form large-scale orchestras in their regions. From Gateshead to Birmingham and Liverpool to London, we have welcomed thousands of young people from across the nation to take part in Modulo.

Music Leadership Training (MLT)

MLT is a continuing professional development (CPD) programme sharing our practice on inclusive approaches to building an accessible orchestra for music teachers, leaders and organisations. There are various modules from conducting to project management, available online and in person.

Youth Leadership

We empower young people to take ownership and lead throughout our organisation, believing they are the experts on their own needs. Young people are integral to our governance: a quarter of our Board, including the Co-Chair, are programme alums, and a dedicated 15-person Youth Board scrutinises charity decisions. An alum always holds the full-time paid position of Youth Leadership Coordinator. Within our programmes, young leaders (16–18) and paid Ambassadors (18+) support delivery and advocate for the charity externally. We also provide bespoke training pathways for alums who wish to develop their leadership further.

Thank you

Orchestras for All is an award-winning registered charity; support from the Charity Symphony Orchestra helps us keep our programmes free and accessible, expand our reach to those who need us most and ensure that every young person, regardless of background, has the opportunity to discover their potential, find their voice and experience the belonging and joy that comes from making music together. We're so grateful for the effort and consideration that has been put into this evening's event – thank you.

On stage this evening