Orchestra North East is increasing the tempo of preparations for its forthcoming concert at The Sage, Gateshead in aid of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
The ambitious amateur orchestra is made up of people from across the region with a wide variety of day jobs ranging from doctors, civil engineers and accountants alongside those who make their living out of music.
Orchestra North East treasurer, Geoff Wright, says: “Our orchestra is made up of people from all walks of life but one thing we all have in common is a passion for music and a commitment to performing at a professional standard.
“We are thrilled to be performing within a world-class venue like The Sage and in aid of such a deserving regional charity. Unfortunately some of our members have been directly affected by cancer and indirectly we all have.
“It’s a pleasure to support a charity which is helping cancer patients in our region and working hard to find better treatments for this awful disease.”
The orchestra will be performing Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No 1, Mozart’s Horn Concerto No 4 and an orchestral symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 5 in E Minor, which was chosen by the general public as The North East’s Favourite (in a poll supported by The Journal).
Geoff adds: “Rather than dictate the programme for the evening we thought it would be an interesting exercise to find out what our audience would like to hear in advance.
“We’re extremely happy with the result which features a beautiful melody for solo horn. I imagine Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 5 will be the highlight of the night.
“I have no doubts it will be a wonderful evening and this is a great opportunity to experience the power of feeling delivered by a full symphony orchestra right here in the north east.
“This is particularly poignant given the recent announcement by The Sage that there will be no visiting symphony orchestras in 2012, so I’d recommend joining us to enjoy the experience while you can and help to support a great local charity in the process.”
Orchestra North East is performing at The Sage, Gateshead, on Sunday 12 June at 7.30pm. Tickets are £20.00 (£16 concessions, £6 students with ID and children under 16 free with a paying adult) and are available from The Sage box office on 0191 443 4661 or www.thesagegateshead.org.
