Review of Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia’s ‘Spotlight on...’ trombone concert at Bishop’s Stortford College featuring soloist Peter Moore, youngest winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year

Richard Allaway went along to the Memorial Hall at Bishop’s Stortford College on Sunday April 27 to hear Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia perform its latest ‘Spotlight on…’ concert

Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia continued its successful series under the title ‘Spotlight on…’, in this case spotlighting the trombone in the form of a contemporary concerto.

But we were to hear much more than that of this underrated instrument, as well as contributions from a wide range of less common orchestral instruments in music from three masters of the art of orchestration.

In fact, the afternoon’s programme could almost have been packaged and presented as the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Part Two.

The sinfonia’s ebullient principal conductor, Rebecca Miller, dispensed with formalities as usual, turning to the audience with welcomes and some words of introduction before taking up the business at hand: Rossini’s ever-popular William Tell Overture.

This informal sharing of the pleasure of the occasion must surely be one of the things that ensures a full house for all the sinfonia’s concerts. We were given a quick guide to the four different sections to listen out for in the overture, including a dawn chorus from the cello section (admirably delivered despite being so very exposed), a storm scene dominated by those spotlit trombones, a bucolic interlude of what Miller termed “slow yodelling” by the cor anglais and an electrifying call to arms from the trumpets to bring in the final quick march.

From one of the best-known works in the classical canon, we moved to “something completely different” – a concerto for the trombone written just four years ago by British composer Dani Howard.

The soloist was none less than the work’s dedicatee, Peter Moore, who, shortly after becoming the youngest winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2008 at the age of 12, became principal trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra only six years later.

Howard’s concerto has become one of the most important works in his repertoire, initiated in the Covid lockdowns and depicting the impact of the pandemic on our social attitudes, especially towards the contribution and dedication of our key workers.

On paper that might sound an academic exercise, but the musical journey from the tortured, searching harmonies at the work’s slowest moments through to the life-affirming energy of the final bars turned out to be captivating.

Howard concocts a series of arresting sonorities from all the instruments at her disposal, including well-judged use of percussion. Particularly effective was the trick of shadowing the soloist by the orchestra’s trombones, producing a spooky echo effect.

This was the first time the sinfonia has programmed a major 21st-century piece, something it could certainly not have done in its early years. Not only has the orchestra’s own confidence and competence greatly increased, but its policy of thoughtful and imaginative programming has progressively built up the trust of its regular audience to a point where it is not afraid to get to grips with something a little more challenging.

Before the interval, Miller announced a surprise item, inviting the orchestra’s own three trombonists to come out from their hiding place at the back of the rostrum and join Moore, first in a little Q&A session and then in performing a wistful version of the folksong Scarborough Fair (made famous by Simon and Garfunkel) in a delightful arrangement for four trombones. Yes, this is definitely the sort of thing that gets audiences coming back for more.

The single work following the interval was Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged for orchestra by Maurice Ravel. The procession of varied solo instruments given their moment in the sun continued, with contributions from bass clarinet, alto saxophone (eerily romantic in The Old Castle) and tuba (portraying a heavy ox-cart) all adding colour to the music and bringing the titular Pictures to life.

The playing by all sections of the orchestra continues to be of the highest quality and their enjoyment of Miller’s enthusiastic leadership was evident on the musicians’ faces throughout the programme, from the soul-searching depths of the trombone concerto to the triumphant closing chords of Great Gate of Kyiv.

The sinfonia’s 10th anniversary season is now in the planning stage and, on the basis of this performance, we can expect great things in the months to come.