Havant Symphony Orchestra

This was the annual event at Hayling Island Community Centre and was conducted by Jason Lai former bursary conductor of the Havant Symphony Orchestra and now well known due to his appearances on TV - notably on Maestro! as a tutor and Young Musician of the Year where he was a judge.

Maria was playing 2nd Trumpet as usual and can't be seen in the picture as she is behind Jason! They kindly reserved me an aisle seat to help with my arm. I wore a sling partly to warn people off and partly to hold the arm. We just missed the last parking space at the centre so had to walk from Tesco Metro's car park which has a maximum wait of two hours. Luckily they didn't seem to notice we stayed there nearly three hours.

They played pieces by Beethoven Overture Consecration of the House, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor Op 64 and Dvorak Symphony No 8. The violin soloist in the Mendelssohn was Jeanine Thorpe. It was very well done - only a few minor errors by the orchestra that I noticed - not that I'm an expert. The soloist and conductor were both very good indeed. The Hayling concert is a bit more "fun" than the ones they normally do at Fareham. They can take themselves very seriously at Fareham, they try and be very professional. This is a good thing but it can be a bit pompous and stuffy at times. Hayling Island Community Centre doesn't lend itself to that as a venue.