Music / BBC Proms
Preview: The Virtuous Circle – The Paraorchestra reinterprets Mozart
Symphony No.40 by Mozart is undoubtedly one of the most performed pieces of music in the orchestral repertoire. Its lilting and soaring score is familiar to many and widely used in popular culture.
But here is an opportunity to hear and ‘see’ Mozart’s evergreen composition in a new light.
The programme, billed as The Virtuous Circle, will feature Mozart’s 40th Symphony interspersed with new work by Ivor Novello Award-winner Oliver Vibrans.
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The concert is one of four taking place as part of the BBC Proms Bristol leg at Bristol Beacon, and is a first appearance at the Proms for the Paraorchestra, an ensemble founded in Bristol in 2011.
The Paraorchestra played the opening night of the Bristol Beacon’s main hall in November 2023 – photo: Bristol Beacon
The Paraorchestra is the UK’s only ensemble of disabled and non-disabled professional musicians, and will be led by founder Charles Hazlewood at Saturday’s concert.
Speaking to Bristol24/7, Jonathan Harper, chief executive of the Paraorchestra said: “It’s wonderful to have the Proms coming to Bristol for the first time and we’re thrilled to be performing as part of a wide-ranging programme at Bristol Beacon.
“The Proms is all part of our journey to see Paraorchestra be part and parcel of the biggest and best events across the globe. It reflects as much our standing as it does the increasingly diverse and far-reaching approach the BBC now takes take to one of the greatest music festivals in the world.
“I’m very conscious that the visibility of disabled musicians at the Proms to date has been incredibly limited over decades of concert programming,and we hope that Paraorchestra can be a catalyst for positive change from here on.”
They will perform from memory and move among the aisles to provide the audience with an immersive experience. The performance will also incorporate choreography, devised by Tom Jackson Greaves.
It is a return to the Beacon for the Paraorchestra, which performed at the venue’s opening night in November 2023, playing Trip The Light Fantastic to a standing ovation.
The Paraochestra will play on Saturday under the baton of its founder Charles Hazlewood – photo: Bristol Beacon
On playing Mozart with a fresh twist Harper said: “Without wanting to reveal all the secrets of the show, The Virtuous Circle, is a concert where the audience are in close proximity to the orchestra.
“It’s going to be a beautiful and emotional experience for everyone with musicians and dancers choreographed to move in and around those audience members that will be standing on the floor of the Beacon Hall.
“It’s more than Mozart’s music too as our award-winning composer Oliver Vibrans has created a series of responses that will be dispersed amongst the 40th Symphony, bringing it into the 21st century in an exciting new way.”
There will be two back-to-back performances on Saturday, at 6pm and 8.30pm.
The other Bristol Proms concerts over the August Bank Holiday weekend will feature the BBC Singers; the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with soloist Evelyn Glennie; and Kwamé Ryan of the Southbank Sinfonia leading a special family-friendly ocean-themed CBeebies concert.
The performance will be broadcast live on BBC 3 on Saturday.
For tickets visit https://bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/bbc-proms-2024-the-virtuous-circle/
Main photo: Victor Frankowski
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