Hastings Sinfonia promises “most exciting concert yet" to celebrate ten-year anniversary

Hastings Sinfonia's Queen Piano Concerto Concert will be at 4pm on Saturday, July 16 at White Rock Theatre, Hastings.

Chairman Sandra Goodsell said: “The programme will feature The Queen Piano Concerto with Queen’s greatest hits arranged by Simon Proctor and performed by international pianist Oliver Poole.

“The Queen Piano Concerto is an exhilarating ride through 12 of Queen's greatest hits, such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Don't Stop Me Now, We Will Rock You etc all seamlessly joined together into a mouth-watering, edge-of-the-seat display piece for piano and orchestra.

“Oliver Poole is an incredibly talented and charismatic British pianist and composer.

"He gave his first solo performance with the National Youth Orchestra at the age of eight and has since performed all over the world in many prestigious venues with many renowned orchestras and many leading artists. His mantra is to make the world a better place through music.

“Simon Proctor is a British composer and pianist who graduated from The Royal Academy of Music with several prizes for composition, orchestration and piano.

“He is known for his works for unusual instruments, probably the best-known being Concerto for Serpent and Orchestra and arranging works from Queen to Andrew Lloyd Weber. He has played principal keyboard for shows such as Les Miserables.”

Also in the concert will be Kings Royal by Paul Lewis; Aegean Dusk by Chris Nicolaides; Wonder And Storm by Polo Piatti (dedicated to Oliver Poole); A Night On The Bare Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky; and Pitates Of The Caribbean by Klaus Badelt.

“The Hastings Sinfonia Orchestra has built a reputation and loyal following for performing popular, well-known classics together with some exciting new works giving a balanced programme suitable for everyone. The orchestra performs regularly at community events such as the Hastings Mid Summer Fish Fest as well as its winter and summer concerts. The Hastings Sinfonia consists of local professional and talented amateur musicians who meet twice a month throughout the year.”

Wonder and Storm by Polo Piatti was not only dedicated to Oliver Poole but was conceived from the start with him in mind as a performer.

Polo said: “Like most world-class pianists, Oliver possesses a world-class virtuosity and at the same time an extremely fine sensitivity at his disposal. I have been lucky to witness both: his passionate, stormy style and his most delicate, wondrous pianistic touch. In this piece, consequently, I have tried to allow both aspects of Oliver’s abilities to shine – the Storm and the Wonder. I am very excited to witness Oliver himself performing the world premiere of this work.”

Tickets £17-£20; under the age of 18 free (ticket required); available from www.whiterocktheatre.org.uk or 0343 310 0031.