Patsy & Ken's home page
The orchestra (previously organised by Patsy Moore) now has a separate Web site Purely for Pleasure Orchestra
The 2003 event took place on Sunday, September 7th at Radley College, Oxon, England, organised by Simon Payne and Michael Garrod.
Players are invited individually, usually as a result of personal contact. Most are amateur musicians with lots of experience of orchestral playing. Music is available for study before the event.
The work played this year was the second symphony by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, conducted as usual (and as were the three previous events mentioned below) by Mark Fitz-Gerald.
In 2002 we played the Symphonia Domestica by Richard Strauss.
In 2001 we played Karol Szymanowski's lush Concert Overture and Alban Berg's Three Orchestral Pieces.
In 2000 we played Messiaen's Turangalīla-Symphonie,
with the demanding ondes Martenot and piano parts played by two young Japanese
students from Paris, pianist Tomomi Okubo and ondes player Wakana Kojima who had
studied the part with Messiaen's sister-in-law Jeanne Loriod. They were extremely
well prepared as well as radiating great enthusiasm, and the orchestra of about ninety
players had a most enjoyable and exciting day. Mark is extremely good at pacing these
intensive workshop events so that we finish them with a
real sense of achievement.