Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO) is a youth orchestra
based in Leicester
, England. The players, aged between 15 and 18, are all drawn from secondary schools in the county of Leicestershire
and the City of Leicester
.
O.B.E., with the backing of the Leicestershire
education committee headed up by the visionary Director of Education, Stuart Mason.
By the mid 1960s, Eric Pinkett - supported by the patronage of Sir Michael Tippett - had managed to put the LSSO on the UK musical map. The orchestra also established an international reputation due to its regular concert tours of major European cities, an annual tradition that started with visits to Essen in 1953, The Hague in 1954, Aarhus in 1955 and Oslo in 1956.
(Alleluia Timpanis), Bryan Kelly
(Sancho Panza, Sinfonia Concertante), Anthony Milner
(Te Deum), Alan Ridout
(Concertante Music, Symphony No.2, Funeral Games for a Greek Warrior), Brian Bonsor
(The Pied Piper of Hamelin), William Mathias
(Sinfonietta), Herbert Baumann
(Variations on an Old English Folk Song), and Herbert Chappell (Overture Panache).
, Sir Arthur Bliss, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Malcolm Arnold, Sir Charles Groves, Norman Del Mar
, George Weldon
, Rudolf Schwarz
, James Loughran
, Laszlo Heltay, Herbert Chappell, Bryan Kelly
, Alan Ridout
, Herbert Baumann
, Douglas Cameron, Lesley Woodgate, Stanford Robinson
, Oivin Fjelstad, Bernard Keeffe, Alexander Goehr
, Russell Burgess, Uri Segal
, Havelock Nelson
, Willy Gohl, Dan Vogel
, Maurice Handford, Pierre Cao
, Myung Whun Chung, Douglas Young, William Mathias
and André Previn
.
rehearsing them in works by Glinka
, Beethoven and Rachmaninov
and a series of programmes for BBC television in the mid 1980s called Music Time (see video links below).
Several television programmes have featured Sir Michael Tippett and the orchestra and in 1968 a chamber group drawn from the LSSO appeared in the television series Sounds Exciting to perform Herbert Chappell's Dead in Tune with the composer conducting and Robin Ray
narrating. In 1970 a studio recording of Dead in Tune was also released by Argo
. Other commercial recordings by the LSSO have been issued on Pye
, Argo, CBS
, Unicorn
, Cameo Classics, Virgin and Performance labels.
the LSSO was hailed as "Britain's best cultural export".
Press Review: Berliner Zeitschrift 15/9/69
's music for the Unicorn and CBS labels in 1972 and 1974 respectively. To read more about these recordings please refer to the Havergal Brian
Wikipedia article.
, who had worked regularly with the orchestra since 1966 at home and abroad, notably their concert in the Vienna Musikverein in 1968.
Eric Pinkett was followed by Peter G. Fletcher
(1976–84), Stuart Johnson (1984–93), Don Blakeson (1993–97) and Russell Parry (1997–2009). The orchestra is currently conducted by Andrew Bound who took over from Russell Parry in 2009.
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, England. The players, aged between 15 and 18, are all drawn from secondary schools in the county of Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
and the City of Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
.
History
The Leicestershire County School of Music was founded in 1948 by the county's first Music Adviser, Eric PinkettEric Pinkett
Eric Pinkett O.B.E. , was the founder of the internationally famous Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra. He established the Leicestershire County School of Music in 1948 and continued to conduct the orchestra until his retirement in 1976.His memoirs were published in 1969 by way of a 21st...
O.B.E., with the backing of the Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
education committee headed up by the visionary Director of Education, Stuart Mason.
By the mid 1960s, Eric Pinkett - supported by the patronage of Sir Michael Tippett - had managed to put the LSSO on the UK musical map. The orchestra also established an international reputation due to its regular concert tours of major European cities, an annual tradition that started with visits to Essen in 1953, The Hague in 1954, Aarhus in 1955 and Oslo in 1956.
Repertoire
Over the years the orchestra's repertoire has included a number of specially commissioned works by composers such as Sir Michael Tippett (The Shires Suite), David BedfordDavid Bedford
David Vickerman Bedford , was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music....
(Alleluia Timpanis), Bryan Kelly
Bryan Kelly
Bryan Kelly is a composer whose compositions include evening canticles in C and A flat for Church of England evensong. His Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in C incorporate Latin American rhythms...
(Sancho Panza, Sinfonia Concertante), Anthony Milner
Anthony Milner
Anthony Milner was a British composer, teacher and conductor.Milner was born in Bristol, and educated at Douai School, Woolhampton, Berkshire. He won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he studied piano with Herbert Fryer and theory with R. O. Morris...
(Te Deum), Alan Ridout
Alan Ridout
-Life:Born at West Wickham, Greater London, England, Alan Ridout studied briefly at the Guildhall School of Music before commencing four years of study at the Royal College of Music, London with Herbert Howells and Gordon Jacob...
(Concertante Music, Symphony No.2, Funeral Games for a Greek Warrior), Brian Bonsor
Brian Bonsor
James Brian Bonsor MBE was a Scottish-born composer and teacher specialising in the recorder.-Life and career:...
(The Pied Piper of Hamelin), William Mathias
William Mathias
William Mathias CBE was a Welsh composer.-Brief biography:Mathias was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and composing at the age of five. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Lennox Berkeley, where he was elected a fellow...
(Sinfonietta), Herbert Baumann
Herbert Baumann
Herbert Baumann is a German composer. He studied composition at the Internationalen Musikinstitut Berlin with Paul Höffer and Boris Blacher...
(Variations on an Old English Folk Song), and Herbert Chappell (Overture Panache).
Conductors
Since the late 1950s, many illustrious musicians have conducted the orchestra and these have included Sir Michael Tippett, Alan RidoutAlan Ridout
-Life:Born at West Wickham, Greater London, England, Alan Ridout studied briefly at the Guildhall School of Music before commencing four years of study at the Royal College of Music, London with Herbert Howells and Gordon Jacob...
, Sir Arthur Bliss, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Malcolm Arnold, Sir Charles Groves, Norman Del Mar
Norman Del Mar
Norman Del Mar CBE was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialized in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. He left a great legacy of recordings of British music, in particular Elgar, Vaughan Williams,...
, George Weldon
George Weldon
George Weldon was an English conductor.-Biography:Weldon was educated at Sherborne School and at the Royal College of Music. He studied conducting with Malcolm Sargent and Aylmer Buesst...
, Rudolf Schwarz
Rudolf Schwarz
Rudolf Schwarz may refer to:* Rudolf Schwarz , German architect* Rudolf Schwarz , Austrian-born British conductor...
, James Loughran
James Loughran
James Loughran CBE, DMus., FRNCM, FRSAMD is a Scottish conductor.-Early life:Educated at St Aloysius' College in Glasgow, Loughran conducted at school and afterwards, while studying economics and law...
, Laszlo Heltay, Herbert Chappell, Bryan Kelly
Bryan Kelly
Bryan Kelly is a composer whose compositions include evening canticles in C and A flat for Church of England evensong. His Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in C incorporate Latin American rhythms...
, Alan Ridout
Alan Ridout
-Life:Born at West Wickham, Greater London, England, Alan Ridout studied briefly at the Guildhall School of Music before commencing four years of study at the Royal College of Music, London with Herbert Howells and Gordon Jacob...
, Herbert Baumann
Herbert Baumann
Herbert Baumann is a German composer. He studied composition at the Internationalen Musikinstitut Berlin with Paul Höffer and Boris Blacher...
, Douglas Cameron, Lesley Woodgate, Stanford Robinson
Stanford Robinson
Stanford Robinson OBE was an English conductor and composer, known for his work with the BBC. He remained a member of the BBC's staff until his retirement in 1966, founding or building up the organisation's choral groups, both amateur and professional.Between 1947 and 1950, Robinson was Assistant...
, Oivin Fjelstad, Bernard Keeffe, Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr is an English composer and academic.Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Oliver Messiaen's...
, Russell Burgess, Uri Segal
Uri Segal
Uri Segal is an Israeli musical conductor.Segal studied violin and conducting at the Rubin Academy of Music . From 1966 to 1969, he attended the Guildhall School of Music....
, Havelock Nelson
Havelock Nelson
Havelock Nelson was a composer and conductor. He joined the BBC in Belfast in 1947, having been educated at Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He conducted the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra, also the Studio Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Singers...
, Willy Gohl, Dan Vogel
Dan Vogel
Daniel Arlon Vogel is the author of a number of books related to early Mormon history. He is a former member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an atheist and a skeptic.- Joseph Smith biography :...
, Maurice Handford, Pierre Cao
Pierre Cao
Pierre Cao is a Luxembourgish composer and conductor. He was the musical director for both the 1973 and 1984 Eurovision Song Contests, staged in the Grand Duchy at the Nouveau Theatre. He conducted Luxembourg's winning song in 1973...
, Myung Whun Chung, Douglas Young, William Mathias
William Mathias
William Mathias CBE was a Welsh composer.-Brief biography:Mathias was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and composing at the age of five. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Lennox Berkeley, where he was elected a fellow...
and André Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
.
Broadcasts
The orchestra has broadcast regularly on radio and television both at home and abroad, including an appearance in the BBC Omnibus programme The Other LSO with André PrevinAndré Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
rehearsing them in works by Glinka
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
, Beethoven and Rachmaninov
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
and a series of programmes for BBC television in the mid 1980s called Music Time (see video links below).
Several television programmes have featured Sir Michael Tippett and the orchestra and in 1968 a chamber group drawn from the LSSO appeared in the television series Sounds Exciting to perform Herbert Chappell's Dead in Tune with the composer conducting and Robin Ray
Robin Ray
Robin Ray was an English actor, musician and broadcaster, the son of comedian Ted Ray and the brother of actor Andrew Ray.-Career:...
narrating. In 1970 a studio recording of Dead in Tune was also released by Argo
Argo Records (UK)
Argo Records was a record label founded in 1951 by Harley Usill , and musicologist Cyril Clarke with £500 capital, initially as a company specialising in "British music played by British artists" , but it quickly became a company primarily specialising in spoken-word recordings and other esoteric ...
. Other commercial recordings by the LSSO have been issued on Pye
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
, Argo, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Unicorn
Unicorn-Kanchana
Unicorn-Kanchana was a British independent record label. Originally known as Unicorn Records, the name Kanchana was added later to distinguish the company from Unicorn Records of Montréal, Canada...
, Cameo Classics, Virgin and Performance labels.
Concerts
The orchestra has given concerts in some of Europe's major concert halls including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, the Haydnsaal in Esterhazy Palace (Eisenstadt), the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Robert Schumann Saal in Düsseldorf, the Hans Sachs Haus in Gelsenkirchen, the Fairfield Hall in Croydon and London's Royal Festival Hall. In a press review of one of the concerts given by the orchestra during their 1969 tour of Germany with Sir Michael Tippett and Richard Rodney BennettRichard Rodney Bennett
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
the LSSO was hailed as "Britain's best cultural export".
Press Review: Berliner Zeitschrift 15/9/69
The LSSO Havergal Brian recordings
The LSSO made the very first commercial recording of Havergal BrianHavergal Brian
Havergal Brian , was a British classical composer.Brian acquired a legendary status at the time of his rediscovery in the 1950s and 1960s for the many symphonies he had managed to write. By the end of his life he had completed 32, an unusually large number for any composer since Haydn or Mozart...
's music for the Unicorn and CBS labels in 1972 and 1974 respectively. To read more about these recordings please refer to the Havergal Brian
Havergal Brian
Havergal Brian , was a British classical composer.Brian acquired a legendary status at the time of his rediscovery in the 1950s and 1960s for the many symphonies he had managed to write. By the end of his life he had completed 32, an unusually large number for any composer since Haydn or Mozart...
Wikipedia article.
The LSSO following Eric Pinkett's retirement
Eric Pinkett retired from his post in 1976 and died in 1979. His memorial concert, held at the De Montfort Hall, Leicester in 1980, was conducted by Norman Del MarNorman Del Mar
Norman Del Mar CBE was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialized in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. He left a great legacy of recordings of British music, in particular Elgar, Vaughan Williams,...
, who had worked regularly with the orchestra since 1966 at home and abroad, notably their concert in the Vienna Musikverein in 1968.
Eric Pinkett was followed by Peter G. Fletcher
Peter G. Fletcher
Peter G. Fletcher was a noted British orchestral and choral conductor, music educator and author.-Early life and education:...
(1976–84), Stuart Johnson (1984–93), Don Blakeson (1993–97) and Russell Parry (1997–2009). The orchestra is currently conducted by Andrew Bound who took over from Russell Parry in 2009.
External links
- Official LSSO website (Leicestershire County Council)
- Eric Pinkett Era website (1948 - 1976) Articles, photographs, audio clips, videos and memorabilia items.
- Videos of the orchestra on YouTube