Sandra Horne will be conducting a local orchestra in “A Pastoral Serenade” at Turramurra Uniting Church on Sunday June 15th at 2:30pm. With three familiar pieces: Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending, Tchaikovsky – Serenade for Strings and Beethoven – Symphony No. “Pastoral” it should be a wonderful afternoon of music.
Johnathan Mui, whom Sandra Horne has called “a phenomenal violinist and incredibly humbling to have Johnathan agree to play”, will be Lead violinist. Johnathan (Barker College class of 2008) recently won the Gisborne Violin Competition and has been touring in Europe. Sandra is a local success story, growing up in Wahroonga and attending Barker College in Hornsby (Class of 2007).
Horne has spent the last two years living and working in Europe. Based initially in London, Horne has attended several orchestral master classes including the London Conducting Workshops, Crescendo Summer Institute in Sárospatak, Hungary and also the St Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic Conducting Master Class. The St Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic Conducting Master Class also has a conducting competition where Sandra has got through to the finals in the last two years.
Horne has been offered an unconditional place to attend the Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting at the Birmingham Conservatoire in England, commencing in September. As a further demonstration of her success, her place is partially funded as a scholarship from the Conservatoire, something that is rarely offered to international students.
Sandra says that Birmingham itself has a wonderful orchestra, called the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, founded by Neville Chamberlain in 1920 one of its first notable conductors was Edward Elgar. The opportunity to work with CBSO is a key component in her decision to go. The orchestra has had a string of significant conductors including Sir Simon Rattle who was Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser, and in 1990, Music Director. Their current conductor and 12th Principal Conductor is Andris Nelsons from Latvia.
As Horne points out, “Podium Time” is a critical component of learning the craft of the conductor and the Birmingham Conservatoire will give her the required time in front of an orchestra. Podium time is very difficult to get consistently because for every conductor training you need fifty or more people within the orchestra to play.
Paul Spicer is the head of the department at the Birmingham Conservatoire and is an active composer and Choral Conductor. Sandra is going to specialise in orchestral conducting but is keen to observe choral conducting so that she can learn both styles and techniques so that she can develop a holistic approach to conducting. With an eye to the future, Sandra would like to work with opera.
Starting her career at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sandra Horne fell in love with conducting. Her stint at the Birmingham Conservatoire will last two years and then she wants to make world class, high quality music which is accessible for every to come and experience. To do that, she will continue to make the rounds of the high quality international competitions and also to seek and internship with a chief conductor as their assistant.
The concert in Turramurra is a great opportunity to experience some high level orchestral music and conducting in Kuringai with some impressive talent.
Tickets will be available at the door for $10.00 plus there will be an afternoon tea available for a donation.
