Click on the picture above for Edward Morgan's collection of pictures of the concert below Click on the poster above for a full sized pdf version for printing Benjamin Britten Spring Symphony Britten’s assembly of poems, most of them ‘ancient’ and largely unknown, is a masterpiece in itself. Together they stand as an example of written English at its loveliest. Add Britten’s almost exotic music and you have The Spring Symphony, a stunning 45 minute musical journey through the glories of an English Spring and Summer: sweetness and warmth, rising sap and its human equivalent, joy and happiness - and perhaps most of all fun. This is a brilliant score demanding a virtuoso orchestra and some very hard work by the singers. We have greatly enjoyed learning it and hope that you share our enthusiasm through this performance: the Woodbridge Choral Society’s own celebration of the centenary of Suffolk’s premier and world famous composer. Woodbridge Choral Society presents in association with Home-Start Suffolk Coastal Benjamin Britten Spring Symphony The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Howard Blake The Passion of Mary Snape Maltings Concert Hall 7.30pm, Saturday 16th March 2013 Our concert will celebrate Britten’s centenary and Blake’s 75th year. It was Andrew Leach’s masterstroke to programme these two works which both require the combined forces of the Choral Society and Ipswich School’s Chapel Choir together with the orchestral talents of the Kingfisher Sinfonia. This ambitious undertaking by local singers and musicians will bring these works largely for the first time to a local audience. Tickets at £20, £16 and £13 available from Snape Maltings Box Office (01728 687110), Alan Vaughan (01394 386764) or any member of the choir Home-Start Suffolk Coastal provides volunteers to visit families at home each week, supporting parents in situations as diverse as isolation, bereavement, multiple births, illness, disability or who are just finding parenting a struggle. Volunteers provide non-judgemental practical and emotional support and help build the family’s confidence and ability to cope. Howard Blake The Passion of Mary Composer Howard Blake, renowned for his work on film scores and especially The Snowman and its theme song Walking in the Air, shows his talents to the full in his work The Passion of Mary. In what is a little over 50 minutes he gives us one of the greatest stories, that of Christ as told by Mary. This is a beautiful, dramatic and emotionally charged oratorio, which left a resounding impression at its UK premiere in London’s Cadogan Hall in 2006. Patricia Rozario and Richard Edgar-Wilson, two of the original soloists, front a talented line up. The Woodbridge Choral Society and Kingfisher Sinfonia are looking forward to performing The Passion of Mary at Snape Maltings Concert Hall in what will be a fitting celebration of Howard Blake’s 75th anniversary.