December 2010

Celebratory concert of the Bloomsbury Woodwind Ensemble and BWE2 held at St. John's, Smith Square with the world première of Journey Through Time by Alan Bullard

Music of London An explosion of music arranged for woodwind ensemble, on the theme of London, featuring works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Edgar Elgar, Gustav Holst, Arthur Sullivan and Herbert Howells.

Our Spring 2011 Charity Concert was in aid of the work of the Jonas Foundation’s Music School for young people based at Elephant and Castle in London. Anthony Bailey, director of the music school, was the clarinet soloist in Sonatina by Szałowski. The programme featured ballet and dance music by Prokofiev, Ravel, Khachaturian, Stravinsky, Gluck, Grainger, Debussy and Tchaikovsky.

Our Winter 2010 Concert was the first joint concert by the two ensembles in the Bloomsbury Music Group. The programme entertained a large audience at St John’s Smiths Square with music that explored monarchy, astrology, folklore and the myths of our own creation. The highlight of the programme was an original composition by Alan Bullard to celebrate the launch of BWE2. Popular works by Holst, Dukas and Grieg were contrasted by modern works for wind ensemble by Christopher Hussey and Guy Wolfenden.

Our Spring 2010 Charity Concert was in aid of St Mungo’s – a London-wide charity for homeless people.

Our concert featured the story of Les Six and the musical scene in Paris in the 1920s, and included music by Milhaud, Stravinsky, Poulenc, Honegger, Satie and Debussy.

Our Christmas 2009 concert featured a programme of Scandinavian music for woodwind ensemble.

The Bloomsbury Woodwind Ensemble presented music by Wirén, Grieg, Nielsen and Svendsen including the youthful Karelia Suite by Jean Sibelius and Crusell’s Rondo from the second Clarinet Concerto with soloist Anthony Bailey. The programme included festive carols served with a generous helping of mulled wine and mince pies!

This concert was in aid of the Coram Foundation, which provides services to children in London.

Our July 2009 concert showcased some Organ music, from the early harmonies of Tallis, the classical structure of Boëllmann and Mendelssohn, leading into the pantheon of great organ works of the twentieth century including the rhythmically complex ‘Joie et Clarté des Corps Glorieux’ by Messiaen framed with a special performance of Handel’s Concerto in F for organ and ensemble, with Nicholas Sherwood on the organ.

This concert was in aid of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund.

The BWE’s Spring 2009 concert was in aid of Add Action, a charity supporting people with drug and alcohol problems and their families.

Our concert featured operatic music, with masterworks by Puccini, Smetana, Nicolai, Bizet and Verdi.