St Albans Symphony Orchestra 14OCT23 'Sun and Dance' concert

St Albans Symphony Orchestra

St Albans Symphony Orchestra (SASO) returns to St Saviour’s Church in St Albans on Saturday October 14th 2023. Doors open at 6:50 p.m. for a 7:30 start.

We are delighted to welcome our former guest conductor Bill Carslake back, now as our Artistic Director and Principal Conductor.

The concert will commence with contemporary composer Sarah Jenkins’ And the Sun Stood Still, followed by Nielsen’s Helios Overture, then Night Ride and Sunrise by Sibelius.

Following the interval, the concert will conclude with Rachmininov’s Symphonic Dances.

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And the Sun Stood Still was composed in 2018, inspired by the winter solstice and the primal, prehistoric resonance that it holds.

A stay in Athens gave Nielsen the inspiration for the Helios Overture, depicting the sun rising and setting over the Aegean Sea.

Sibelius’s inspiration for Night Ride and Sunrise was a sleigh ride from Helsinki to Kerava during which he saw a striking sunrise.

Rachmaninov’s richly-orchestrated Symphonic Dances was his last major composition, written in exile but full of nostalgic longing for his Russian homeland.