York chamber orchestra to perform summer concert

The Academy of St Olave’s, York’s acclaimed chamber orchestra, will round off their 2021-22 season with a summer concert this month.

Featuring Alexandra Nightingale as soloist in the Richard Strauss Oboe Concerto, the concert will commence at 8pm on Saturday 25 June, in the beautiful setting of St Olave’s Church, Marygate.

The concert will begin with Beethoven’s tempestuous Coriolan overture, followed by The Unanswered Question by American composer Charles Ives, who splits the orchestra into three instrumental groups to consider “the perennial question of existence” posed by a solo trumpet.

This will be followed by the Strauss Oboe Concerto – two years later than originally planned! Considered by many to be the finest oboe concerto of the 20th century, Strauss composed it in 1945 during his “Indian Summer” at the suggestion of an oboe-playing American soldier serving in Bavaria at the end of World War II. The concert will conclude with Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 in E flat, one of his best-loved works.

The Academy’s guest conductor, John Bryan, said: “I am delighted to have the chance to work again with this fine orchestra – and an outstanding soloist! – on such a varied programme.

“Audience members are sure to enjoy two lesser-known masterpieces by Ives and Strauss, alongside old favourites such as the Beethoven overture and Mozart symphony.”

The concert is in aid of York Against Cancer, an independent local charity offering practical help and support for patients and their families living with cancer in York, North and East Yorkshire.

Ticket prices are £15 and £5 for accompanied children (18 and under). Advance booking via the website is strongly encouraged; any remaining tickets will be sold on the door from 7.15pm.