A Centennial Thank You from the Oadby & Wigston Lions to Robert and David Calow

Oadby & Wigston Lions Club presented the first of its ‘Centennial Certificate of Appreciation’ awards to Robert and David Calow.
Robert is the Orchestra Manager and David the Orchestra Conductor of the Bardi Wind Orchestra. Together the Bardi Wind Orchestra and the Lions Club have staged a Charity Concert at the De Montfort Hall, Leicester every year for the past nine years. Each year the concert has helped a different charity and has raised thousands of pounds over the nine years.
The award gave the Lions Club a way of saying a BIG thank you to Robert, David and the Bardi Wind Orchestra. The next charity concert will be on the 16th June in aid of the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance.
Picture: (L to R) Robert Calow Orchestra Manager, Richard Darlaston Vice President of Oadby & Wigston Lions club, David Calow Orchestra Conductor.

The Bardi marked the centenary of the end of the Great War with the War Requiem by Britten

To mark the centenary of the end of the Great War and the armistice, the Bardi Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Music Director Claus Efland performed the War Requiem by Benjamin Britten. The concert took place on Saturday 10th November at 7.30pm at De Montfort Hall, Leicester in font of a large and attentive audience. Before the concert, John Florance and Orchestra leader Adam Summerhayes discussed the Craiglockhart Violins and Adam played a meditation on the “Robert Graves” violin.

The Orchestra was joined for the first time by all four of Leicester and Leicestershire’s leading choirs; The Leicester Bach Choir, Leicestershire Chorale, The Leicester Philharmonic Choir and Leicester Cathedral Choristers.  Three outstanding soloists sang; Soprano Ilona Domnich, Tenor Mark Milhofer and Baritone Malachy Frame.

The Bardi opened the new season at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre on Sunday 7th October!

The Bardi opened the 2018/19 Season at the newly refurbished Leicester Haymarket Theatre.
Music Director Claus Efland conducted a concert of popular favourites which began with The Hebrides Overture “Fingal’s Cave” by Mendelssohn.
Then the Bard’s Principal Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Horn from the Orchestra were showcased in Mozart’s Wind Sinfonia Concertante K297b.
The concert concluded with a magnificent performance of the First Symphony by Brahms.

Bardi concert at Leicester Grammar School

The Bardi Symphony Orchestra performed their annual concert at Leicester Grammar School on Saturday 15th September. The concert featured concerto movements and solo items by LGS students and a performance of the suite from The Sound of Music and Mendelssohn’s 4th symphony “The Italian”.

Bardi Wind Orchestra perform to a sell-out Bradgate Proms!

The Bardi Wind Orchestra under the baton of Music Director David Calow performed at the third Bradgate Proms to an audience of over 900 on Saturday August 18th 2018.
The music showcased the best of Stage and Screen with a last Night of the Proms Firework Finale to the stirring Dam Busters March.
Bardi Chairman Colin Blackler was the compère with local soloists Soprano Jenny Saunders and Tenor David Morris.
The Wind Orchestra have already been invited back for the 4th Bradgate Prom in August 2019.

The Bardi announce the new 2018/19 Concert Season at De Montfort Hall and the Haymarket Theatre

Haymarket Theatre Concert 

Sunday 7th October 2018                                 

3.00pm

Conductor: Claus Efland                                                    

The Bardi Wind Soloists

Oboe – Linda Backhouse
Clarinet – Andrew Piper
Bassoon – Ceri Beaumont
Horn – Mark Penny

Mendelssohn – Hebrides Overture, ‘Fingals Cave’
Mozart – Sinfonia Concertante K.297b
Brahms – Symphony No. 1 in C minor

The Bardi open their 2018/19 season at the newly refurbished Haymarket Theatre in Leicester!

The concert will include Mendelssohn’s “Fingal’s Cave” Overture and Brahms’s powerful Symphony No.1.
The principal Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Horn from the Orchestra are also showcased in Mozart’s Wind Sinfonia Concertante.

 

De Montfort Hall Concert            

Saturday 10th November 2018          

7.30pm

Conductor: Claus Efland

With Leicester Philharmonic Choir, Leicester Bach Choir & Leicestershire Chorale
Soloists; Ilona Domnich, Mark Milhofer & Malachy Frame

Britten  War Requiem

To commemorate the centenary of the ending of the Great War, the Bardi are joined by Leicestershire’s three leading Choirs in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s powerfully moving War Requiem.

 

De Montfort Hall Concert            

Sunday 17th February 2019      

3.00pm

Conductor: Claus Efland                

Viennese Concert – to include

Johann Strauss I & II – Waltzes, Polkas, Marches
Schubert – Symphony No.8 ‘Unfinished’
Von Suppe – Light Cavalry overture

Vienna is celebrated in style by the Bardi in music by Johann Strauss Father & Son, including the Radetsky March and The Blue Danube Waltz. Schubert’s 8th Symphony, his ‘Unfinished’ and the rousing Light Cavalry Overture are also in the programme.

 

De Montfort Hall Concert          

Sunday 24th March 2019                                  

3.00pm

Conductor: Claus Efland                                  

With Dance Activate

Ballet Concert – to include  Tchaikovsky  – The Nutcracker Act 2

Following the successful collaboration with the Bardi last season in Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird, Dance Activate return in a Ballet Gala concert which includes the 2nd Act of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

De Montfort Hall Concert          

Sunday 19th May 2019                                    

3.00pm                     

Conductor: Claus Efland
Piano: Katya Apekisheva

Northern Rhapsodies

Sibelius – Karelia Suite
Rachmaninov – Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Nielsen – Symphony No.5

Russian-born Pianist Katya Apekisheva makes a welcome return in a performance of Rachmaninov’s famous Paganini Variations while Sibelius’s popular Karelia Suite and Nielsen’s powerful 5th Symphony complete the Bardi’s final concert of the season.

 

Please click on the De Montfort Hall link on the home page to book tickets for the 4 DMH concerts.

SPECIAL SEASON TICKET OFFER

Season Tickets in three price levels are available for the 4 De Montfort Hall Concerts. £ 32  £44  £52

 

Please go to the Haymarket Theatre Booking Office 0116 2961236 to purchase tickets for the first concert of the season.
The Haymarket Theatre Box Office is open 12noon – 2pm only Monday-Friday
The box office website is:  boxoffice@haytheatre.com

 

 

Bardi Wind Orchestra Gala Concert Stage & Screen Spectacular!

 

The Bardi Wind Orchestra conducted by Music Director David Calow presented a “Stage and Screen Spectacular!” at De Montfort Hall on Sunday 24th June at 5pm. The Charity Gala Concert was again in association with Oadby and Wigston Lions Club and supported the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre Children’s Heart Hospital Relocation. An enthusiastic audience enjoyed the mix of well known favourites from the musicals and movies including Superman, Titanic, Schindler’s List, The Mission, Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, Chariots of Fire and ending with a rousing Sound of Music sing-a-long! The encores included a 75th Anniversary tribute to The Dam Busters and the march from Wallace and Gromit!

Martin Ballard from BBC Radio Leicester was the compère and the soloist were Soprano Jenny Saunders and Tenor David Morris.

The Bardi Young Musician 2018 Concert at Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre on Sunday July 8th 2018 3pm.

Bardi Young Musician 2018 is Trumpeter Evie Dunn.
The 2018 Bardi Young Musician Concert was held at the newly re-opened Haymarket Theatre in Leicester on Sunday 8th July 2018 at 3pm.

The concert included the Mother Goose Suite by Ravel and Beethoven’s Symphony No.6 Pastoral.
Bardi Young Musician Evie Dunn played the Arutiunian Trumpet Concerto

 

Conductor Paul Hilliam and Bardi Young Musician 2018 Trumpeter Evie Dunn.

The Bardi are the first orchestra to rehearse in the newly opened Haymarket Theatre

The Bardi Symphony Orchestra were at the newly opened Haymarket Theatre in Leicester over the Bank Holiday weekend for the first time to rehearse. The photograph shows Music Director Claus Efland conducting Schubert’s Symphony No.8 “Unfinished”.

The Orchestra will be performing in concert for the first time at the Haymarket on Sunday July 8th at 3pm in the Bardi Young Musician Concert 2018.

The Bardi end the 2017/18 De Montfort Hall season in style!

Marina Chiche, Guy Johnston and Tom Poster.

On Sunday 13th May 3pm The Bardi Symphony Orchestra ended the 2017/8 De Montfort Hall season with a concert showcasing three stunning international soloists and a major performance of a work not heard in Leicester for fifty years.

Beethoven’s Triple Concerto featured in the first half of the concert with a line up of soloists well known to the Leicester International Music Festival audiences; Marina Chiche violin, Guy Johnston cello and Tom Poster piano.

The second half saw a stunning performance of Richard Strauss’ large-scale tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life). The autobiographical work is scored for a huge orchestra and was a fitting way to end the De Montfort Hall season.

The photo shows Music Director Claus Efland rehearsing Ein Heldenleben at Leicester Grammar School and the concert in De Montfort Hall, Leicester