Waterside Sinfonia at Sale High School Review
Waterside Sinfonia
Sale High School
26 October 2014
Reviewed by Cathy Porteus
The Waterside Sinfonia Orchestra is made up of professional musicians who are based around Sale in Manchester. This concert was part of the Sale Waterside Arts Centre 10th birthday celebrations but took place at Sale High School, as part of their aim to take art out into the community.
The first piece was Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, better known to many as the theme from the Antiques Roadshow. The lovely piece was played beautifully by the ensemble, I particularly enjoyed the harpsichord. Next came Haydn’s Violin Concerto No 1 in C major, which tested the lead violinist Adi Brett, the leader of the Manchester Camerata, but she came through with flying colours.
After the interval, we were then treated to a lively number by Carl Nielsen, one of Denmark’s most famous artistic exports. The Serenata in Vano translates roughly as a “Serenade in Vain” and you could imagine the musicians trying their best to tempt their amours out to see them. Sadly it is in vain and they remain alone. I enjoyed the commentary at the beginning, which explained that Nielsen was commissioned to write a piece which didn’t need a violin or viola, as these players wanted a break and insisted that a number was available for the remaining members of the strings to perform without them.
Finally the orchestra played Mendelssohn’s String Octet in Eb Major. This was also a spirited piece, written by the composer when he was just 16, which seemed appropriate in the setting of Sale High School. The audience applauded loud and long, showing their appreciation for the top class performance of all the musicians.
The children from Sale High School were on hand to greet and direct visitors which they did very politely and cheerfully, they were a credit to the school and themselves.
The community concert was the brain child of Cheryl Law, the artistic director of Sallow Tree Concerts. They hold regular concerts in the Waterside Arts Centre, so if you enjoy good quality orchestral performances, check out their schedule on Sallowtreeconcerts.com. They are having a family concert, Fiddlesticks, on Saturday 8th November at 11.30am at the Waterside Arts Centre, which looks like a fun outing where everyone will be encouraged to make a noise!
Rating: 5/5 
For more information visit www.watersideartscentre.co.uk.
