25 years of music

Nov 21 2008 by Kaiya Marjoribanks, Stirling Observer Friday

STIRLING Orchestra is celebrating a silver jubilee of music-making.

The orchestra consists of a core of around 45 mainly amateur musicians from the area, including Stirling University.

And in the quarter of a century since it was established the orchestra is estimated to have played around 230 different pieces of music.

The musicians don’t just play the “big” works, but also feature modern pieces and works by other composers.

Along with weekly Thursday evening rehearsals in th new Wallace High School, the orchestra also performs three concerts each year, their most recent regular venue being the Albert Halls in Stirling.

For almost the first decade concerts took place at the old Wallace High School and occasionally within the Albert Halls. However, in 1993 the concerts were moved in the Church of the Holy Rude.

More recently the Albert Halls has been the regular venue.

Three of the original members are still with the orchestra – Campbell Hannah and his wife Maggie and leader Lois Stewart.

The first conductor was Hugh McDonald.

Hugh studied music at the universities of Edinburgh and Amsterdam and at the Royal College of Music in London. he was a university lecturer in music for 10 years, three of them in Hong Kong, and from 1979 to 1985 at Stirling University where he conducted the university choir and Stirling Orchestra.

In 1985 he joined the BBC as a music producer in Glasgow for Radio 3 and Radio Scotland, becoming producer with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in 1988. He was later appointed Head of Music for BBC Scotland.

On his departure, interim conductor Paul MacAlindin took over.

In the early 1990s the orchestra marked the opening of its 10th anniversary season by performing the piece “Scenes From Old Stirling”, commissioned by Central Regional Council’s youth orchestra a few years earlier from Glasgow composer William Sweeney.

The piece was made up of five songs the composer reckoned gave an account of the town’s history – Rigs O’ Rye, The Bonnie Earl O’ Moray, Collier Laddie, The Battle of Sherrifmuir and My Last Farewell to Stirling.

In 1994 the orchestra won a Glenfiddich Living Scotland Award worth around £2000 which enabled them to commission a work from Edinburgh-born composer Jane Gardner.

Leader of the orchestra at that time was the late Jacqui Mengler, who studied violin at the Royal Academy in London and played with, among others, the BBC Scottish Orchestra. As a teacher in Central Region she was well known for her contribution to music in the area.

From Germany herself, Jacqui arranged an exchange visit with musicians from the country, with the orchestra members playing host to the visitors.

The hospitality was later reciprocated when the Stirling musicians performed over in Germany.

One of the orchestra’s most memorable concerts was one which they feared may be their least successful.

In May 2005 they discovered their performance was to clash with one by the Scottish National Orchestra just down the road.

However, the evening still proved popular – with then provost Colin O’Brien and his wife opting to show their support for the local orchestra.

The O’Briens became good friends of the orchestra and it was the former provost who suggested the musicians do something special for the Wallace 700 celebrations – which marked the 700th anniversary of the death of William Wallace.

The orchestra heralded the start of a raft of local events with a programme of Scottish music in the Church of the Holy Rude.

For further details about the orchestra contact Robin Kelsall on 01259 761303 or e-mail: mail@stirlingorchestra.org.uk or go to www.stirlingorchestra.org.uk

The orchestra is set to mark its milestone with its 25th Anniversary Concert in the Albert Halls on Sunday November 30 at 7.30pm.

Music for the evening will be Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture and Symphony No1, and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with soloist Helen McVey.

Conductor is Stephen Broad and leader Lois Stewart.

Tickets are £8 (concessions £6, children £2) and available at the door.