A night of live, classical music is coming to Armagh this month as The South Ulster Sinfonia holds its annual summer concert.
The community-based group is made up of around 40 members, aged from 18-83, who meet not just to keep their musical skills in tune but also to have a bit of fun and craic.
The concert will take place on Saturday, June 24 at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, starting at 7.30pm.
The programme will include Hadyn’s Surprise Symphony & Trumpet Concerto, John Williams’ Jurassic Park and an arrangement by Michael Russ of Irish reel Garrai Eóin, to name just a few.
The performance will be conducted by Philip Walton, a member of the Ulster Orchestra, and led by Fionnuala Toman. The soloists will be Jan Faulkner, Michael Russ and Catherine Holland.
The South Ulster Sinfonia was formed around 20 years ago.
Having started off with around a dozen string musicians, it expanded to cover woodwind, percussion and brass sections.
Many of its members played for the SELB Music Service, and found they had nowhere to pursue their love of music after leaving school.
While some could do so through the South Ulster Concert Band, there was no such equivalent for stringed instruments, and Sinfonia was launched to fill that void.
One of its members, Lois Bennett, the group’s only oboist and a teacher at St Patrick’s PS in Armagh, said: “Everybody gets on so well. We have a lot of fun and we like to get out into the community – we have played at Rushmere Shopping Centre and Bow Street Mall, and we perform with schools and other musical groups as well.”
To date, they have raised money for a range of charities and hope to support the homeless by performing in Royal Avenue, Belfast, this Christmas.
The group practises at the Hub in Craigavon and welcomes new members.
Admission to the concert is £10 and £6 for concessions.
They are available online at sinfoniasummerconcert.eventbrite.com
The South Ulster Sinfonia can also be followed on Facebook and on Instagram.
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