by Bonnie Collings

Continuing its 10th anniversary year celebrations, Gippsland Symphony Orchestra will take audiences on another stunning musical journey this Sunday at the West Gippsland Arts Centre.

The second concert in the "Symphonic Journeys" series, Sunday's GSO performance is titled "The First". The name pays homage to the first symphony the orchestra performed 10 years ago, Beethoven's Symphony No 1, which will feature as the main work of Sunday's program.
The program also will feature a special set of work from Henry Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas" performed by the Gippsland Chamber Singers.
GSO conductor David Williams said reperforming Beethoven's Symphony No 1 was a special way of marking the orchestra's 10th anniversary.
"We thought for our 10th year, we would celebrate by replaying our very first concert," David explained. "Over the course of the three concerts this year, we're playing the three pieces we played in our first concert."
"For our first concert (in 2015), we played at Wesley of Warragul and we had 21 or 22 players in the orchestra. For this concert we're going to have about 35 players."
The concert will start with Beethoven's "King Stephen Overture", a piece that the GSO were set to perform before COVID lockdowns.
"We had it up and running and everyone enjoyed it – but we never got to actually do it, so we put it in (the program)," David said.
The program also features "Adagio for Strings" by Barber, a classic, emotive string piece audiences are sure to recognise.
"It's one of those incredibly emotive and emotional pieces that is used a lot in movies and and played a lot at funerals," David said. "It's the most exquisite writing by Samuel Barber."
"There's a couple of little gems in there (the program), and it will be great to have the chamber singers with us," he said.
The Gippsland Chamber Singers will join the GSO on stage for a selection of work from Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas". Mandie Lee from the Gippsland Chamber Singers said the group were looking forward to performing with the orchestra.
"We usually sing unaccompanied music, so it's a real treat for us to sing with orchestra," she said. "The pieces we've chosen highlight the orchestra underscoring the vocals. We'll be coming on stage for a little set, mainly with string accompaniment but there are some songs that also feature some brass and woodwind."
Mandie said the singers were looking forward to hearing the full impact of the orchestra and vocals during the performance.
"Because we're not microphoned at rehearsal, I think it's going to be great to come together at the end and have that balance," she said.
"I think that's probably the most exciting part - we can hear it, but we can't really hear the full effect yet. It'll really be a treat for the audience to hear it all come together."
David said rehearsing the pieces from "Dido and Aeneas" was an exciting challenge for the orchestra.
"The thing which is different to a lot of contemporary operas (is that) all the melodies that are sung are doubled in the orchestra," he explained.
With the mirrored melodies, the orchestra and singers need to work together and listen carefully to each part to make sure the sounds matched.
Reflecting on 10 years of the GSO, David said it was special to "still be doing it."
"I think it's pretty well established now that there's a place in the community pantheon for the the Gippsland Symphony," he said. "It's a celebration of the great musicians that we have in Gippsland, the sort of music culture that we're trying to be a part of and continually evolve and develop. It's just nice to be a part of it."
The GSO and the Gippsland Chamber Singers will perform at the West Gippsland Arts Centre on Sunday, June 22 at 2pm. The concert will run for about 96 minutes, including a 20 minute intermission.
Tickets are available to purchase online at sales.wgac.com.au