Mendelssohn & Prokofiev - Aurora Orchestra - Bradford on Avon, Snape, Saffron Walden, London & Nottingham

25 November 2025, 22:00

It was wonderful to perform at Wiltshire Music Centre (21 November 2025), Snape Maltings (22 November), Saffron Hall (23 November), Highgate Wood School (24 November), and the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham (25 November) with the Aurora Orchestra; we performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with Chloë Hanslip and Mendelssohn’s 4th Symphony from memory under the baton of Nicholas Collon. It was great to revisit Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ symphony, which many of us memorised for performances alongside Berlioz’s Harold in Italy at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in June 2025.

It was great to perform Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with Chloë Hanslip, who was presumably playing her 1737 Guarneri violin. She was amazing! I played second trumpet; playing the modern trumpet with an orchestra is something of a rarity for me these days but I really enjoyed it. It was great to play this complex piece with such a fine orchestra. Sam Kinrade played first modern trumpet and we swapped around for the Mendelssohn and earlier works.

Nicholas Collon gave a brief presentation about the Mendelssohn ‘Italian’ Symphony. In Nottingham, in place of the presentation, we performed Mozart’s Overture from the Marriage of Figaro and the strings also performed Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro. In Wiltshire, Snape, and Saffron Walden the orchestra performed Caroline Shaw’s ‘Entr'acte’, a short presentation, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4.

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We also performed a somewhat condensed workshop version of the symphony for the students of Highgate Wood School on 24 November 2025: an enriching experience that was received with enthusiasm.

What else is there to say really? This is a very happy orchestra, a jovial social environment, and a life-enhancing musical experience for players and listeners alike. I’ve done a fair amount of Mendelssohn with the Aurora Orchestra: when I first played with this orchestra we played Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, as well as his Symphony No. 1, and the Andante from his Clarinet Sonata. In 2021, we also performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti in Nottingham, Snape, and London.

Russell Gilmour

writing on music, photography, engraving, travel and life as a freelance professional musician.

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