Musical delights of Italy heading for Ripon’s Holy Trinity Church

Featured are Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony and two Albinoni concertos among others planned for the small orchestra at the venue.

Double bassist, Chris Shaw, said: “One of the many real joys of playing in St Cecilia Orchestra is that the big concerts in the stunning setting of Ripon Cathedral are complemented by the smaller scale, more intimate concerts in the equally beautiful Holy Trinity Church.”

Orchestra spokesman Helen Dawson said: “The concert opens with a scenic detour to Athens for a selection of excerpts from Mendelssohn’s ever-popular incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“Completed in 1842, the incidental music incorporates the overture Mendelssohn composed earlier in his career at the age of just 17.”

The orchestra will be joined by oboist, Josh Hall, and trumpeter, Ben Jarvis, in two concertos written by the Venetian Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni: for Oboe in D minor and for Trumpet in B flat major.

Liverpool-based freelance oboist Josh studied at Birmingham Conservatoire and the RNCM and has worked with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestra of Opera North.

As a soloist he has performed Strauss’ Oboe Concerto with the Wirral Symphony Orchestra and the Finzi Interlude with the RNCM Strings.

Ben is in his final year of studies at the RNCM and is currently on trial for the principal trumpet position at Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

He is a member of the Whitworth Septet, recipients of the Philip Jones ensemble prize, and a regular performer with the All Saints Brass Quintet.

Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony concludes the concert. This was inspired by the composer’s tour of Europe 1829-1831.

Though the finale, Saltarello, is based on a dance of Italian origin and the work is an expression of how Italy made Mendelssohn feel than a collection of Italian folk tunes.

Helen added: “His joyful exuberance is immediately apparent from the opening bars and the symphony as a whole is delightfully sunny in its outlook.”

Chris added: “If you’ve not tried one of our Holy Trinity concerts, then there would be no better one to start with than that on the 11th of June.”

Tickets, £15 for adults and free for under 18’s, from: www.st-cecilia.org.uk, Little Ripon Bookshop and Henry Roberts, on the door, or can be reserved by phone: 01423 531062.