Alice sparkles on a 
good night for BHSO

Unless, of course, it is in the ranks of the Burgess Hill Symphony Orchestra, along with fellow trumpet player Andrew Baxter.

But Alice deserves special mention for the many highlights she delivered during a challenging and successful concert at St Andrews Church, Burgess Hill. on Saturday evening.

Alice had plenty of scope in a programme that featured consistently good overall playing by the whole orchestra of Verdi’s Overture La Forza del Destino, Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony No 8, Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod, The Triumphal March and Ballet Music from Verdi’s Aida, and a powerfully performed final piece, Wagner’s Symphony in C Mayor.

In the Wagner symphony Alice showed plenty of brio in a first movement marked allegro con brio, while in different vein the strings and cellos played sweetly and elegantly in the andate. The whole orchestra packed a real punch in the closing moments of the fourth movement to climax a very satisfying performance of a piece Wagner wrote in only six weeks at the age of 19.

Obviously Alice and her trumpet got plenty of chance of punctuating the proceedings in the rousing Aida and, in contrast, there was also some marvellous mellow playing by woodwind.

The tricky tonality and complex colours of the Liebestod were well handled by the musicians, with some fine horn playing emerging as every section of the orchestra seemed to hit form.

In the lovely La Forza the brass players not only made mighty a sound when called upon but also deftly handled melody lines beautifully.

Conventions about not clapping between movements were broken for the happiest of reasons by the sheer excellence of first movement in the Schubert. Conductor Michael Stefan Wood handled it all with his usual good humour, turning to the audience and saying with a smile “There’s more”. There was, and very good it was too.