The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s third concert of the year takes us through works by Benjamin Britten, Don Bank, and Jean Sibelius.

The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s third concert of the year begins with Benjamin Britten’s flamboyant showpiece, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell) Op.34 from 1945. Although originally commissioned for a documentary film to introduce the instruments of the orchestra to children, it has since become a staple of the orchestra concert repertoire, with carefully crafted variations (all on a theme by Purcell) and a fiery and ingenious fugue to finish.

The Orchestra will then be joined by one of the talented Conservatorium staff members, Carla Blackwood, to perform Bank’s Horn Concerto from 1965. Banks studied at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and wrote this concerto for fellow Australian Barry Tuckwell whilst they were both living in London. Our concert will conclude with a performance of Sibelius’s glorious Symphony No.1 from 1899.