Review: Lord of the Rings music and more by talented young Warwickshire musicians

Peter Simmons of Spires Youth Orchestra with his euphonium.

What a bright start to 2014, with Spires’ young musicians from across Warwickshire delivering a most enterprising new year concert.

Thanks to the inspiration of conductor Roger Coull, a few hours of hectic rehearsals and support from a few mentors, Spires coped most capably with works by Shore, Guilmant and Dvorak.

Anyone under 25 will be well-versed in the written works of JRR Tolkein, the films based on the books and most probably Shore’s Symphonic Suite from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Shore uses folk tunes with an Irish flavour, making big demands on the resolute flute section and giving the double basses, horns and pounding percussion the opportunity to be part of a dramatic opening piece.

Star of the afternoon was Stratford’s Peter Simmons’ astonishing euphonium-playing of Guilmant’s Morceau Symphonique, Opus 88. Simmons is a student at King Edward VI School and supports Birmingham Symphonic Winds as their euphonium principal. This was Simmons’ first public performance of this piece and the noisy, enthusiastic response from the audience was a true indication of how well it was played by a young confident musician.

With beautiful winds, strings for the most part in good form, cellos holding their own and remarkable trumpet fanfares, Spires enthusiastically tackled the big symphony – Dvorak’s No 8 in G. The folk tunes we associate with Dvorak were plentifully evident and the flute section again excelled with their ‘bird call’ melody. The finale, a complex theme and variations, opens with a most dramatic trumpet fanfare. This brought a hugely successful event to a fine finish.

It is hard to believe that Warwickshire’s young musicians can lift their performances to such heights with the limited rehearsal time available. Well done.

Clive Peacock