November 2019

For thirty minutes Victor Maslov, 22, from Moscow, had us spellbound as he played Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no 2. It may have been arctic outside, but this young Russian warmed our hearts. In the second half, Dvorak’s Symphony no 7 went down a storm. What a wonderful evening.

July 2019

What a glorious summer evening it was for this operatic concert with no fewer than seven singers. The first photograph shows the view from the orchestra as soprano Jane Strand and mezzo Helen Temple sang the beautiful Sull’Aria duet from the Marriage of Figaro. Our other equally fabulous singers were mezzo Sandra Booer, tenor Richard Rowe, baritones Jordan Bell and Michel Kalipetis and bass Nick Gee. The audience was clearly delighted with what they heard and we loved it too!. Thank you to everybody who came. Special thanks to Rev Elis Matthews for his kind welcome.

March 2019

Well. We’ve never had so much cheering or such a large standing ovation as we did for our Spring Concert which began with Finlandia (Sibelius), Peer Gynt Site 2 (Grieg) and Ravel’s Pavanne. We thought the concert was fantastic and evidently so did our audience. Thank you! This panoramic photo was taken in the interval just before that AMAZING Saint-Saens Symphony No 8, the organ symphony. Still got goosebumps? So have we!

Nov 2018

A spectacular solo performance by violinist Fenella Humphreys left our audience breathless last night with her Saint-Saens Rondo Capricciso for Violin and Orchestra. It was a joy to work with Fenella, winner of BBC Magazine 2018 Instrumental Award, and great to share a drink with her afterwards in the pub. What a wonderful evening.

July 2018. What an extraordinary concert in sweltering temperatures. Thank you to soloist Ben Goldscheider for playing the notoriously difficult Weber Concertino for Horn as if it were easy. Thank you to our own lovely Ester Kosar for her beautiful singing of Wagner’s Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde. And on the day that England played Sweden in the last eight of the Football World Cup 2018, thank you to the England football team for providing a brilliant atmosphere before anybody had even walked through the door.

A Musical Journey through Central and Eastern Europe, March 2018. A wonderful performance from soloist Idlir Shyti who played the Shostakovich Cello Concerto. Idlir, 26, is from Albania and has learned the piece especially for us.

An Evening of Romantic Music, December 2017. Soloist Vitaly Pisarenko, from Moscow, blew us away with his phenomenal performance of the Liszt Piano Concerto No 2. Vitaly, who had learned the piece for us, is clearly destined for Great Things. Cheers and standing ovation from the audience, and quite right too. The rest of the evening – Verdi’s Nabucco Overture and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4, also went down a storm. Congratulations everyone. With thanks to Izabela Musial.

A Night at the Opera, July 2017. Something happens when you combine an orchestra with wonderful singers, a hot summer’s night, and a beautiful audience of friends, family and supporters. Thank you to our FIVE soloists; you were fabulous. Thank you to our MD Olsi Qinami and our leader Nicola Garty. You were also fabulous. And thank you to everyone who bought tickets and made this possible; you are very much appreciated. With thanks to Izabela Musial. (Programme, a selection from Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Puccini: La Bohème, and  Rossini: Overture from The Barber of Seville, Mozart: Overture from The Magic Flute, Schubert: Symphony No 5, with with soloists Sofia Troncoso: soprano, Charlotte Schoeters, Laurence Panter, Oskar McCarthy and Michel Kallipetis)

March 2017. What a wonderful evening. Huge thanks to our fabulous soloist Joseph Spooner for his spectacular peformance of Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, to our lovely new music director Olsi Qinami, and to everyone who came to listen to this gorgeous programme, which also included Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 and Smetana: Ma Vlast, Vltava. We had a great time and we look forward to playing for you again in July.

Hounslow Symphony Orchestra performing at the National Trust ‘Real to Reel’ press launch, Osterley Park House. 17th July 2012

Hounslow Symphony Chamber Players performing at the Chelsea Fringe event, Gunnersbury Park House. 2nd June 2013

The Spring concert at St Mary’s Church, 22nd March 2014. Photos courtesy of Philip Wilson.