News

NEW CONCERT ON SALE – Bardi Wind Celebrate VE Day 80 this June

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21st February 2025

On Sunday 8th June, join the Bardi Wind Orchestra for their 19th annual De Montfort Hall charity gala concert, this year supporting the Army Benevolent Fund as the country celebrates VE Day 80!

To mark this important historic occasion, the Bardi Wind will be performing evocative music from classic war films including The Dam Busters, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Spitfire Prelude, 633 Squadron and The Great Escape as well as favourites from the war-time era by Glenn Miller and Vera Lynn.

Formed in 1992, the Bardi Wind Orchestra have been performing charity concerts across Leicester and Leicestershire for over 30 years. This year they are once again joined by the Oadby and Wigston Lions Club, a long-time partner with the Orchestra in their fundraising efforts for The Army Benevolent Fund, the Army’s national charity which supports soldiers, past and present and their families.

Join us for an afternoon of music and song celebrating this historic anniversary and supporting a great cause.

Bardi Wind Orchestra

We’ll Meet Again: A Concert Celebrating VE Day 80

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Bardi Symphony Orchestra Workshop Day 2025

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18th February 2025

The Bardi Symphony Orchestra held their annual Workshop on Saturday. Conducted by leader Adam Summerhayes, the players enjoyed a very rewarding day getting to grips with Prokofiev’s Symphony No.5. 

The idea of the day was to rehearse a challenging work that the orchestra had not done before which concluded with an exciting complete run through of the 45 minute symphony. The workshop was held in Holy Trinity Church on Regent Road in Leicester, a familiar venue to the Bardi and the staff were, as always incredibly helpful. 

It was also a social day for the players who enjoyed a nice lunch together and afterwards there was general agreement that a good day of music making had been had by all. A small group of supporters of the orchestra who had watched the run through were very complimentary and said they couldn’t believe that they had witnessed such a polished performance given such a short rehearsal time. Here’s to the next one…

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Congratulations Bardi Young Musician 2025, Prakash Easwar for a fantastic winning performance

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28th January 2025

Saturday 25th January saw the latest in the Bardi Young Musician Competition concert series which was again held at Holy Trinity Church on Regent Road in Leicester.

An enthusiastic audience witnessed 2025 winner Prakash Easwar play French composer Paule Maurice’s Tableaux de Provence suite for Alto Saxophone and orchestra. A student at Leicester Grammar School, the talented 15-year-old saxophonist produced a virtuoso performance of musicality and technical prowess, with the resulting cheers and applause fully justified.

The 2025 Young Musician award was then presented to Prakash by the Bardi Orchestra Manager Robert Calow.

Conductor Paul Hilliam, and the symphony orchestra were also on top form in a classical programme including Beethoven’s Prometheus Overture, Haydn’s ‘London’ Symphony No.104 and the beautiful Five Variants of Dives & Lazarus for Strings and Harp by Vaughan Williams.

The Bardi Orchestra is proud to be continuing this competition which showcases local instrumental music students.

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Meet Prakash Easwar, our Bardi Young Musician 2025

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17th January 2025

On January 25th, at Holy Trinity Church, Regent Road, you can watch a star of the future performing with the Bardi alongside other classical favourites.

For his prize-winning performance, Bardi Young Musician 2025 Prakash Easwar, performs a charming, rarely heard suite for Saxophone by French composer Paule Maurice. Written between 1948 and 1955, Tableaux de Provence (Pictures of Provence) is a programmatic suite dedicated to French saxophone virtuoso, Marcel Mule. The movements describe the culture and scenery of Provence, south east France, where the Mules, Paule Maurice and her husband, composer Pierre Lantier, spent vacation time together. 

A 15-year-old academic and music scholar at Leicester Grammar School, Prakash is a passionate musician who plays the violin, saxophone and piano. Supported by the school’s music department and inspired by his saxophone teacher, John Barker, Prakash holds Grade 8 qualifications in both piano and violin and has recently completed his ARSM diploma in saxophone, achieving a high distinction. He is an active member of the Big Band and First Orchestra, enjoys performing Bollywood, folk and jazz music, and has played violin with the Market Harborough Choral Society. Prakash has won several piano competitions at Leicester MusicFest and regularly performs in local cultural celebrations.

In addition to his musical pursuits, Prakash balances his interests with a passion for sports, particularly cricket and tennis. He is a member of his School 1st Team Cricket and plays for Kibworth Cricket Club. He finds inspiration in his violinist brother and hopes to pursue music further alongside a medical career, aspiring to become a doctor while keeping music as an integral part of his life.

Prakash’s performance is programmed alongside, in the first half, Vaughan Williams’s sumptuous Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus one of his most popular works with audiences and the composer himself, who said he loved the tune all his life. Opening with Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus Overture, the concert concludes with the last of Haydn’s 104 symphonies, the ‘London Symphony‘.

Click here to book your tickets today for this concert showcasing a star of the future!

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Merry Christmas from the Bardi!

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23rd December 2024

For almost a quarter of a century, Christmas for many Leicester folks has begun with the Bardi Wind Orchestra’s Christmas concert!

With its engaging blend of the familiar and the less familiar music interspersed with carefully chosen seasonal readings (which allow the players to get their breath back!), Saturday’s ‘Christmas Festival’ was the 23rd concert and, like vintage wine, the concerts just get better and better!

A large audience in the beautifully decorated Holy Trinity Church, Regent Road, were treated to a concert of two halves. The brightly dressed players performed music by Leroy Anderson, Bach, and suites seasonal films along with Christmas carols and specially arranged Christmas music done by a couple of the BWO players.

After the interval, the Orchestra was transformed by a colourful array of fancy dress costumes some of which had the audience wondering how they would play their instruments. Play them they did when all the popular Christmas favourites were given an airing: Walking in the Air, White Christmas, Sleigh Ride and of course Merry Christmas Everybody which sent everyone out into the night (sadly no snow) all set for Christmas. Thanks to all who attended another highly successful Bardi Wind Christmas concert!

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A Truly Memorable Concert At De Montfort Hall

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2nd December 2024

Bardi’s biggest audience this year, almost 900 concert goers, enjoyed a fantastic concert on Sunday afternoon, and the enthusiastic comments from the enthusiastic audience are still coming in!

The music was a celebration of centenaries for three of the four pieces which featured in the programme: Sibelius Symphony No.7, Respighi’s Pines of Rome and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. 

Conductor Jonathan Lo struck up an immediate rapport with the Orchestra in rehearsals and the result was an electric performance. Joining the Orchestra for the Gershwin was internationally known pianist Tom Poster, an old friend of the Orchestra, and he and Jonathan clearly enjoyed themselves in the piece. 

Many have commented on the mesmeric performance of Ravel’s Bolero too, including several who had never heard it live before. More guests joined for the Pines of Rome in the shape of the Kibworth Band who appeared on stage in their striking green jackets and featured in the stirring last movement evoking Roman legions marching down the Appian Way. The piece reached a crescendo when joined by De Montfort Hall’s magnificent Taylor organ with all the stops out.  

Certainly a concert which will remain long in the memory of those who came, and those who played.

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Photography by Chris Roe

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Jonathan Lo previews Sunday’s concert of centenaries

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25th November 2024

The Orchestra spent an enjoyable and very rewarding day rehearsing with conductor Jonathan Lo on Sunday.

Jonathan is the second of our guest conductors this season and this was the first time that he had met the Orchestra, and players immediately formed a bond with him. 

Jonathan leads an interesting and varied life as Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Australian Ballet as well as being a staff conductor for the Royal Ballet in London. He has conducted in concerts, broadcasts and recordings for orchestras such as the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta and the Manchester Camerata. He is currently in the UK to conduct a virtually sold-out run of performances in December and January of the Royal Ballet’s production of Cinderella at the Royal Opera House.

In a very busy day rehearsing with the Bardi he even found time to record an introduction to the concert, which you can watch above, in which he described the Orchestra as ‘sounding fantastic’. As Jonathan says, the concert features a range of centenary performances including Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with soloist Tom Poster. The programme also includes Sibelius’s Symphony No.7, Respighi’s rousing Pines of Rome and, just four years in advance of its centenary, Ravel’s iconic Bolero.  

Ticket sales for this concert are going very well and Sunday promises to be very memorable indeed. Book your tickets today.

Pines of Rome in rehearsal on Sunday

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Students from LGS Perform Alongside The Bardi

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12th November 2024

An impressive array of talent was on show on Sunday in the annual Bardi/Leicester Grammar School concert.

A whirlwind tour through music history from the Baroque to John Williams saw the Orchestra accompany gifted young LGS players in concerto movements, whilst others sat alongside Bardi players in the Orchestra. 

The concerto players chose movements from composers ranging from Vivaldi, through Mozart, to 20th century French composer Paul Maurice played on instruments including cellos, trumpets, bassoon and saxophone. The orchestra was showcased in the overture from Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken, a movement from Brahms mighty Symphony No. 4 and the concert culminated in a John Williams Tribute selection of music from the composers best known film scores. Each concert item was greeted with loud applause and was pronounced ‘the best yet’ by audience and players alike.

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Prakash Easwar is our Bardi Young Musician 2025 Winner!

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8th November 2024

Bardi Young Musician 2025 is saxophonist Prakash Easwar, a 15-year-old academic and music scholar at Leicester Grammar School.

Prakash beat stiff competition in what the audition panel said was probably the highest standard field of candidates since the competition began in 2012. 

Prakash plays the Violin, Saxophone, and Piano. Supported by the school’s music department and inspired by his saxophone teacher, John Barker, Prakash also holds Grade 8 qualifications in both Piano and Violin and is soon completing his ARSM diploma on Saxophone. He is an active member of the school’s Big Band and First Orchestra, and also enjoys performing Bollywood, folk and jazz music. Away from school he has played violin with the Market Harborough Choral Society, has won several piano competitions at Leicester MusicFest and regularly performs in cultural celebrations. He plans to pursue music further and finds inspiration in his violinist brother, balancing his musical interests with cricket and tennis!

You can book tickets to see Prakash’s performance with the Bardi Symphony Orchestra on Saturday 25th January here.

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