City of Southampton Orchestra

City of Southampton Orchestra open their new season with three orchestral masterpieces.

John Adams wrote The Chairman Dances alongside his 1987 opera Nixon in China, which told the story of President Nixon's 1972 visit to Chairman Mao's communist China. The music has Adams's trademark minimalism, mixed with the glamour of Hollywood. Adams describes it as a "foxtrot for orchestra".

Sibelius's Violin Concerto presents formidable technical challenges for the soloist, and we are delighted to welcome prize-winning violinist Savitri Grier to perform this famous concerto. Born in 1992, Savitri read Music at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with 1st Class Honours, and is currently undertaking a Masters at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama studying with David Takeno. Awards include 1st Prize at the Oxford Philomusica and Tunbridge Wells International Competitions. In 2015 she was selected for representation by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT).

In the second half of the concert, the orchestra will play Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances. Composed in 1940 it was Rachmaninoff's last composition, and combines rhythmic energy with some of the composer's lushest harmonies. The work is remarkable for its use of the alto saxophone as a solo instrument for the only time in a Rachmaninoff composition.

The concert will showcase the full capabilities of the orchestra and make a wonderful evening to begin the season.