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West Oxfordshire Winds

 

WOL's programme

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - H Arlen

Lockdown Waltz - W Marks

Inspector Clouseau (from The Pink Panther) - H Mancini arr. Kazik/Marks

Raiders March  (from Raiders of the Lost Ark) - J Williams arr. Bullock

When You Wish Upon a Star - Harline & Washington arr Marks

Somethin’ Stupid - C Parks arr. Bernaerts

The Lazy Leopard - G Lyons

Beauty and the Beast - Menken & Ashman arr. Sweeney/Marks

The Bare Necessities - T Gilkyson arr. Marks

 

WOC's programme

Little Prelude No. 1 - J S Bach arr. Marks

Allegro, Allegro (Opus 6 No. 1) - G F Handel arr. Marks

Adagio – K411 - W A Mozart arr. Morin

Danzetta - R Percival

The Non-Pareil Rag - Scott Joplin arr. Marks

St. Louis Blues - WC Handy arr. Christensen

Foxtrot  - P Buttall

 

November 2019

West Oxfordshire Clarinets & West Oxfordshire Learners Spring Concert

After a pandemic-enforced break from live performances for over two years, it was wonderful to have an evening of live music from these two local orchestras in Freeland Hall. The evening began with a 9-piece performance from the West Oxfordshire Learners. WOL is a mixed age group that first started playing together in 2016. By chance more than design the programme formed an impromptu "Night at the Movies", with the performances being mainly pieces from TV and film. Somewhere Over The Rainbow was a fitting start as this had very much  become the anthem of the COVID pandemic, and the mixture of flute, clarinets, oboe, saxophones and cornet worked together perfectly. The arrangements took us time-travelling through the different cinematic eras as we listened to favourites old and new, including music from Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Disney classics such as Beauty And The Beast and The Bare Necessities. Although playing together as "learners" the musicians were extremely accomplished and the overall performance was so polished and professional it was hard to believe that for some it was their first ever performance and were still quite new to their instruments.

 

Next up were the West Oxfordshire Clarinets who are a group of more experienced musicians which included alto and bass clarinets. The programme took us on a chronological passage through musical history starting with Bach, Handel and Mozart. The mood and style then changed dramatically as we whizzed forward to the twentieth century and we were treated to several more contemporary pieces including a slow ragtime from Scott Joplin and a classic from the Father of the Blues, WC Handy.

 

Both orchestras played magnificently, with the music being expertly arranged and conducted by Wendy Marks. Both WOL and WOC clearly enjoyed being able to play together in real life, rather than via Zoom, and it was certainly food for the soul to be able to enjoy such wonderful live music again. The proceeds from the tickets and a retiring collection raised £455 in aid of the DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

(Richard Brown)