Drone footage to feature in orchestra's state-of-the-art concert
Dramatic drone footage shot high above Llangollen will be projected on three giant screens during the world premiere of a new piece of music to celebrate the 10th anniversary of an orchestra.
The NEW Sinfonia was established in 2011 by brothers, Robert and Jonathan Guy, who will be marking the orchestra’s birthday with a series of 10 performances, Ten4Ten on the weekend of November 26-28.
Events are planned at St Giles’ Parish Church in Wrexham and at the town’s community arts hub Tŷ Pawb.
The church performance will be the first of its new, Great Sound Exhibition performances funded by the Arts Council of Wales and in partnership with Disability Arts Cymru.
Drone images will be projected onto the massive transparent screens – the largest of which will be the central screen standing eight metres high and six metres wide. It will be flanked by two slightly smaller screens.
Jonathan Guy has written new music for the concert called Where Light Meets Dark while the footage was filmed by Llangollen-based visual artist Ant Dickinson who spent much of lockdown flying the drone above the Dee Valley.
“Audiences will be able to see through the screen as the orchestra is playing but at times we will be able to transmit associated digital images and films on it which will intrinsically link up with the music being played. We want to immerse people’s senses in the music,” said Jonathon.
The orchestra recently became a registered charity with a board of trustees appointed. It is appealing for patrons and supporters to help take it into the mid 2020s.
NEW Sinfonia is also the resident orchestra of the North Wales International Music Festival which has been able to return to St Asaph Cathedral this year with a hybrid event featuring online concerts as well.
Robert idirector of the University of Manchester’s elite undergraduate conducting programme, Head of Choral Programmes and Director of Ensembles, said: "We’re so proud of all our fellow musicians and hugely thankful to everyone who has supported us over the last ten years.
“We started as a relatively young orchestra simply with the aim of providing an outlet for talented young musicians from around North Wales to get together and perform great music together. But it’s phenomenal how we’ve grown beyond that as individuals and as an orchestra.
“Many of our members are now much in demand for their instrumental skills and they play with renowned orchestras worldwide. But amazingly they still come back home to NEW Sinfonia when we have a concert on. They make strenuous efforts to get here and play together no matter what.
“We all want to nurture and help develop the next generation of young North Wales classical musicians. We want to offer them a chance to perform with a full orchestra, just like we had that chance.”
“We are also keen to introduce family friendly events into our repertoire, concerts where parents can come along with their young children."
