Stane Street Sinfonietta offer live music in Horsham

Conceived in 1918 as a small, cheap, transportable theatre piece that could tour villages in Switzerland after the First World War, The Soldier’s Tale is based on an old Russian folk tale telling the story of a soldier walking home on leave who sells his violin to the Devil disguised as a strange old man. In a poignant parallel to today, its first performances were severely affected by the Spanish flu epidemic of 1919.

Stane Street Sinfonietta was set up in 2018 by conductor Steve Dummer and composer John Woolrich to gather together professional musicians who live in Sussex.

Steve said: “Although original plans for a series of concerts this autumn have had to be shelved, the orchestra has managed to organise a series of small-scale events to a socially distanced audience at St Mary’s Church. The first day of concerts was a great success with three performances of William Walton’s Façade played to packed houses.

“It was a very joyous day with musicians delighted to be playing again and a very grateful audience to have something to go out to watch” said Steve. “Under present conditions it felt a bit daunting to be running a public event but with the help and enthusiasm of the team at St Mary’s Church and being careful to follow all the guidance to enable a safe environment, it turned out to be a very positive day and we’re all really looking forward to more concerts.”

Joining them as the narrator is actor Steve Watts who has worked on the West End stage and with the National Theatre. Amongst the musicians in the orchestra are professional trombonist Ryan Hume who played in the Horsham Symphony Orchestra as a schoolboy and now works around the world with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia; Andrew Thurgood, an ex-member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and now a member of Ensemble Reza; and Toril Azzalini-Machecler, who recently made a huge impression in the percussion section final of the BBC Young Musician.

Steve Dummer, conductor of the Stane Street Sinfonietta, is well known to local audiences as the conductor of the Horsham Symphony Orchestra and grew up in the area. He was a member of the West Sussex Youth Orchestra and Symphonic Band in the 1980s.

The performances, lasting about an hour, will follow Government safety guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 including socially-distanced seating, hand sanitisers on entry and a requirement for audience members to wear facemasks.

Tickets are £12 and £5 for under 18s and are only available in advance. For more details including information about Covid-19 safeguarding, how to buy tickets and future events in the series visit the orchestra’s website http://www.stanestreetsinfonietta.com

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