The first outing of Poulenc’s Gloria was with Bristol Choral Society and the National Children’s Orchestra in Colston Hall conducted by Howard Williams with Rhiannon Llewellyn as soloist. In fact the NCO run several orchestras, and we performed with the most senior of them. I reflected what a lot of dedication and hard work must go into running these ensembles, with so many auditions and re-auditions.
Apart from the Poulenc, the concert was (mostly) well known pieces that showed off the orchestra’s considerable talents. The concert began with Elgar’s Cockaigne overture and the second half opened with an arrangement of Rachmaninov’s Vocalise for orchestra, the solo part being distributed around various instruments. Then Enesco’s first Romanian Rhapsody, which was ‘staged’ slightly, as groups of performers stood up when their instruments were prominent. The concert concluded with Ravel’s Bolero. I had my usual seat near the percussion (and was interested to find out what a prominent role they had in parts of the Poulenc). However the side-drum player who played throughout the Ravel was placed in the middle of the orchestra. Most impressively, when a second side-drummer (among the percussion) joined him part way through, they were completely in time with one another.
This orchestra deserves an audience beyond the relatives and supporters who I think made up most of it.