{"id":259,"date":"2017-09-27T14:06:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T13:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/?p=259"},"modified":"2017-09-27T14:07:39","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T13:07:39","slug":"tchaikovsky-unwrapped-at-turner-sims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/2017\/09\/27\/tchaikovsky-unwrapped-at-turner-sims\/","title":{"rendered":"Tchaikovsky Unwrapped at Turner Sims"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robin Browning, conductor of the\u00a0S\u00d3N <\/a>orchestra\u00a0talks Tchaikovsky, classical music, dress\u00a0codes,\u00a0iPad’s as instruments and\u00a0more with Jamie Harris, pianist and arts coordinator at Arts at University of Southampton<\/span><\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/u>Image: Chris Christodoulou
\n<\/p>\n

Hi Robin, thanks so much for talking with us. For those that don\u2019t know, who are S\u00d3N?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

S\u00d3N <\/a>are Southampton\u2019s first and only professional orchestra. The orchestra gave its inaugural concert in November 2015 at Turner Sims<\/a>, located on the University of Southampton\u2019s Highfield campus, and has since become a mainstay of Turner Sims\u2019 international concert season. The orchestra have also performed as part of the Music at Romsey Abbey <\/a>series. We found it incredible that a large and vibrant city like Southampton could not boast its own professional orchestra which ultimately drove S\u00d3N\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n

Your latest concert \u201cTchaikovsky Unwrapped<\/a>\u201d is part of a series of \u201cUnwrapped\u201d events. Can you tell us a bit more about how they work?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Unwrapped series of concerts are designed to explore the work and life of a composer using musical extracts performed at the piano and by the orchestra.<\/p>\n

The first half features David Owen Norris<\/a>, BBC broadcaster and Head of Keyboard at the University of Southampton dissecting Tchaikovsky\u2019s music in a fun and informative way that’s\u00a0relevant to new and experienced concert goers. These events have proved popular with audiences with Classic FM\u2019s John Suchet helping to unwrap Beethoven\u2019s Eroica Symphony and David Owen Norris investigating the work of Sibelius, Elgar and now, Tchaikovsky.<\/p>\n

The first half will feature David, myself and the orchestra dissecting Tchaikovsky\u2019s 5th<\/sup> Symphony in the first half, followed by a performance of his\u00a0Souvenir d\u2019un lieu cher <\/em>performed by our fabulous leader Victoria Sales. The second half will be a complete performance of Tchaikovsky\u2019s mighty Fifth Symphony <\/em>that the audience will listen to with David\u2019s insights fresh in their minds!<\/p>\n

\"Victoria
Victoria Sales, s\u00f3n orchestra leader. Credit Chris Christodoulou<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Based on what you\u2019ve said, combined with the dramatic music of Tchaikovsky, might this be the ideal concert for people to attend who have never seen an orchestra or classical music live?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Definitely. There can be so many implied barriers for classical music newbies to attend a live concert – the dress code of the audience and orchestra (no suits required in this case!), not knowing when to clap, or having never heard of the music all contribute to new audiences simply being put off. Through David\u2019s good humour and ability to bring the music to life and S\u00d3N\u2019s passion to share this music with new audiences, this is an ideal concert to introduce yourself to something completely new. On that note, Tchaikovsky\u2019s music is filled with spine tingling moments of excitement and drama as well as some beautiful and memorable melodies that are sure to delight all in attendance.<\/p>\n

What will those familiar with Tchaikovsky and his music get from the concert?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There will undoubtedly be gems of knowledge that David will\u00a0can impart on those familiar with\u00a0Tchaikovsky\u2019s music and that\u00a0have heard the Fifth Symphony<\/em> many many times! Focussing on smaller extracts of the work to discover new depths about the piece will ensure that hidden meanings within the symphony do not remain so. David will be focussing on Tchaikovsky\u2019s use of melody and what impact that has upon the music.<\/p>\n

What are S\u00d3N\u2019s plans for the future?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This year we are taking a step back and doing slightly fewer concerts. We want to use the extra time to think about how S\u00d3N\u2019s can work with the community in the large and diverse city of Southampton. We are interested in coupling art and music with issues of wellbeing and mental health and want to use music as a vehicle for change in people\u2019s lives. We are currently working with Southampton Music Hub<\/a> as hub partners to work on a series of education projects in schools, including performing an iPad concerto at Shirley Warren school with pupils there. Back in the concert hall, John Lill the acclaimed Beethoven pianist will begin a series of Beethoven final piano concertos starting in January 2018 and culminating with the famous Emperor Concerto in 2020, Beethoven\u2019s 250th<\/sup> birthday.<\/p>\n

How can students get involved with S\u00d3N\u2019s in addition to going to your concerts?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

S\u00d3N runs an active internship scheme that has had students working on marketing, orchestral management and a creative internship that focuses on creating blogs, podcasts and other media content. We have also run workshops for some of the more accomplished music students at the University with members of the orchestra, as well as including them in certain performances where appropriate. For those with an idea or to express an interest, students should head over to our website <\/a>for more information.<\/p>\n

When is the concert and where can I get tickets?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The concert is taking place at Turner Sims on Saturday 30 September 2017, 19:30. Tickets can be booked by calling 023 8059 5151, booking online <\/a>or heading to the Turner Sims box office. Student tickets are only \u00a39!<\/p>\n

Thanks for your insights Robin. Best of luck for the concert on Saturday and to S\u00d3N in the future!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\u00a9
\u00a9 s\u00f3n at Turner Sims- Chris Christodoulou<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robin Browning, conductor of the\u00a0S\u00d3N orchestra\u00a0talks Tchaikovsky, classical music, dress\u00a0codes,\u00a0iPad’s as instruments and\u00a0more with Jamie Harris, pianist and arts coordinator at Arts at University of Southampton.\u00a0Image: Chris Christodoulou<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2268,"featured_media":262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15,72,8,25,1],"tags":[76,6,31,75,74,22,73,4,77,79,78,28,80],"class_list":["post-259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-concert","category-interview","category-music","category-southampton","category-uncategorised","tag-concert","tag-culture","tag-internship","tag-interview","tag-live-music","tag-music","tag-orchestra","tag-southampton","tag-student","tag-tchaicovsky","tag-tickets","tag-turner-sims","tag-unwrappped"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/149\/2017\/09\/S%C3%93N-%E2%80%93-Southamptons-professional-orchestra-under-founder-conductor-Robin-Browning-%E2%80%93-credit_-Chris-Christodoul.jpg?fit=4256%2C2832&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc9CSZ-4b","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions\/272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/arts-at-unisouth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}