Concerto for Tuba!

Havant and District Orchestral Society

Havant Symphony Orchestra presents a packed programme of no less than five great classics including one that may be a bit of a surprise – a concerto for tuba!  The composer Edward Gregson is particularly well known for his works for brass band and he produced versions of his tuba concerto for both brass band and symphonic wind band.  The original, though, was for orchestra and we are delighted to have outstanding young student Tom Torley to play it for us.
Accompanying Gregson on this programme are four of the greats of classical music – Mendelssohn, Borodin, Schubert and Dvorak.  The delightful overture ‘Ruy Blas’ was written by Mendelssohn for a play by Victor Hugo.  Borodin wrote his ‘In the Steppes of Central Asia’ for an event celebrating the reign of Czar Alexander II – the event never actually happened but the music found a place in concert programmes everywhere.  Schubert left quite a few works incomplete but the name ‘Unfinished’ has popularly stuck to this Symphony of which only two movements exist.  Ending the concert, the lovely Symphonic Variations by Dvořák were based on one of his own songs.