Under the very capable baton of Dr Michael Walsh, the orchestra gave us a feast of music worthy of Chichester’s Festivities beginning with Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture. Not an easy work and indeed, there were moments when some of the rank and file horns were several bars adrift in some exposed passages, but Dr Walsh’s firm beat pulled them back on board. There was rich tone from the strings who underpinned the evening’s music and coped with the tricky Brahmsian cross rhythms admirably.

Saint-Saëns’ Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso is a virtuoso work for solo violin and orchestra. In this, the orchestra’s leader Mark Hartt-Palmer as soloist, covered himself with glory. The orchestra accompanied him well, the conductor confidently catching the soloist after his cadenza-like excursions.  A stunning performance which brought tremendous applause from the capacity audience.

In the Peer Gynt Suite No 1 by Grieg, which followed, we heard the orchestra’s strings at their best particularly in the two inner movements. A silky muted tone with good intonation (except for a sharpened third in a minor chord slipped in by a naughty violist!).

Dvorak’s New World Symphony is a great favourite with audiences, but a difficult work to bring off. Here the orchestra gave of its best. After a tentative start from the woodwind, the full brass gave us a foretaste of the thrilling sounds to come. In the second movement, the famous Negro spiritual-like melody (familiar to modern audiences from the north country Hovis advert) was superbly played on the cor anglais by Margaret McSweeney. She was given a special ovation at the end. The third movement with its difficult cross rhythms and tinkling triangle was well managed. As the last movement built up, the orchestra’s relief was palpable. Sensing the winning post, it threw caution to the winds and encouraged by Dr Walsh, took us on an enthusiastic romp through Dvorak’s final Allegro
con fuoco before ending in a blaze of sound from the full orchestra. The near-capacity audience responded with loud applause, a tribute to the orchestra’s greatly improved playing and equally to the affection in which it is held locally.

David Burton Evans