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Welcome to an exciting season of concerts
CELEBRATING MY 25 YEARS WITH WSO
2023to
May 2024
2023/2024 season of orchestral concerts at Worthing’s Assembly Hall featuring Worthing Symphony Orchestra - the
professional orchestra of West Sussex.
It is my 25th season as Music Director and the Orchestra’s 97th year - just three years short of its centenary. It is also the 40th anniversary of the
formation of Worthing Symphony Society - the support organisation for WSO, whose hard work and generosity are integral to the Orchestra’s survival.
Headlining the season are two young soloists taking the world by storm: Jess Gillam on saxophone and Jeneba Kanneh-Mason on piano. We are also delighted to welcome violinist
Simon Zhu who is clearly destined to follow in the footsteps of a previous WSO soloist Johan Dalene – both major winners in the Yehudi Menuhin Competition.
There are many classics to look forward to this season including Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, one of Mozart’s most popular Piano Concertos, Brahms’s First Symphony and Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto with Sussex born Maria Marchant returning after her captivating Gershwin concert last season.
There are also some exciting discoveries to be made including a Ukrainian Accordion Concerto, the Symphony of Liberation by Bernard Stevens which won first prize in a competition to celebrate the end of WWII, Schumann’s astonishing Konzertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra - showcasing WSO’s horn section - another Malcolm Arnold Symphony, and the astounding Great Animal Orchestra by distinguished TV and Film composer Richard Blackford. This extraordinary work blends recordings of the natural world with orchestral textures – how else could we start my Silver Jubilee season than hearingthematingcallsoftheGibbon? JohnGibbons
It gives
me the greatest pleasure to present the
MUSIC DIRECTOR
September