This is a concert not to be missed for several reasons – and it’ll be a great chance to sit and cool down after Fortismere's Music Festival in school!

The programme is a combination of light, bright, thrilling music perfect for a summer’s evening. There are going to be several instantly recognisable bits – the Waltz from Khachaturian’s Masquerade being one of them. (It was covered by the rock band Sky in their 1982 single ‘Masquerade’ and featured in the film War and Peace.) Another one will be the Borodin Polovtsian Dances, probably just as widely known now as the tune for the song Stranger in Paradise!

It’s also going to be a special concert because of our cello soloist on the night, Ashok Klouda, who will be playing a cello which, amazingly enough, was made by an actual member of the Fortismere Orchestra, Tibor Semmelweiss. For nearly 12 years, the cello and Ashok have performed together all over the world, and now it is coming home for this concert where its creator will playing alongside at the same time. As you can imagine, this is not something that happens often!

Programme:

Ligeti: Concert Românesc

Khachaturian: Masquerade Suite

Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme

Borodin: Polovtsian Dances

Conductor: Thomas Gregory

Leader: Alexander Casson

Soloist: Ashok Klouda