The Borders Sinfonia / Sinfonia y Ffin is an orchestra with local roots. Many of the musicians grew up in North Wales or the North West of England. Most are professionals recently graduated from Bangor, Manchester or Leeds Universities, the Royal Northern College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama or London Conservatoires, or are senior students there. Other colleagues may not have graduated quite so recently, but are expert musicians currently actively involved in music at a professional level, living and working in or close to the Welsh and English borders. Many of the instrumentalists play regularly with full time orchestras such as the Hallé, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra of Opera North and the Northern Sinfonia.
The orchestra's next performance will be accompanying the chorus of the Ellesmere Port Music Society in 'The Creation' by Joseph Haydn on November 14th 2009 in Ellesmere Port Civic Hall. On this occasion the orchestra will be led by Rosie Skelton, formerly of the CBSO. As much an orchestral showpiece in its time as Carmina Burana was to be 130 years later, 'The Creation' will feature an exceptional team of musicians, many of them distinguished soloists in their own right. With the aid of the 130 strong chorus of the Music Society and soprano Emma Peaurt, tenor Oliver White and bass Michael Pearce, the orchestra will depict the wonders of creation, the heavens and the seas, creatures great and small, tempests and pastoral scenes and at approximately 9.15 p.m., transport us to paradise! Future plans include a full orchestral concert in North-East Wales with an internationally famous soloist, which may be toured to England or elsewhere in Wales.
Although the name is new, the orchestra has performed in four major concerts in Mold and St Asaph: Haydn’s Creation, Handel’s Chandos Anthems, Brahms’ German Requiem, and works by Gounod and Fauré are amongst the masterpieces it has expertly accompanied for the Mold & District Choral Society, or performed alone under the batons of Shan Griffiths, David Poulter and Tim Stuart, with leader Edward Davies.
For the concert on May 10 2008 in St Asaph's wonderful cathedral, the orchestra was fortunate to have the celebrated Welsh violinist Cerys Jones as guest leader, with James Pattinson as co-leader. The challenging programme consisted entirely of music composed within the last one hundred years. Carmina Burana was the formidable vehicle which displayed the instrumentalists' virtuoso talents. The audience, which was a 'full house', gave the performers a standing ovation.
Earlier in the evening the orchestra's more sensitive side had been to the fore in Samuel Barber's beautiful song 'Sure on this Shining Night' and the popular 'Eliza Aria' (well known as the music for the Lloyds TSB television advertising campaign).
Additionally the audience heard Debussy's most famous instrumental solo 'Syrinx' and Takemitsu's dramatic 'Voice' performed by the orchestra's principal flautist, Miriam Hughes, and Luke Das Gupta performed the solo trumpet part in the well known choral work 'Yr Utgorn' (The Trumpet) by the North Walian composer Matthews-Williams.
Please send any requests for further information to: sinfoniayffin@gmail.com