The rather glossy Programme for the LGSO (London Gay Symphony Orchestra) outing on (Sun., Feb 17) entitled the affair a Farewell to Winter Concert. I managed to arrive late – again – and missed the first item, Georges Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody in A major (the first of two). I have never really taken to Enescu, but I would have quite liked to hear this ‘live’ and by this band, who (along with the conductor Simon Bowler) are very good advocates for not very fashionable music ‘ Bax, for example.

The first item I heard properly was a premiere, Wonderland, by Andrew Brinded. This is “a musical interpretation of an imaginary prequel to Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland”" – the movements of this wee symphony are Primordial Soup and Butter, The March of the Solemn Dodo, The Marmalade Heart and The Cook’s Flatulence and her Deadline. You will probably find explanations of these headings on http://www.andrew-brinded.co.uk/. In 2004 Andrew got an MFA (Master of Fine Arts, in Music Theatre Writing) from New York University. He already had a BA (Hons) in Music Composition and Professional Practice (the Brit university is unnamed) he works for EMI.

What was the music like? A bit Soul-less but that is not really a criticism (more a critique (cough)). It might have worked better as background music to the cartoon film Andrew Brinded may have had in mind. It was well-scored and clever, and reminded me of the music Ray Ellington provided for the Goon Show, many moons ago (that’s a compliment).

After the interval came Appalachian Spring (Ballet for Martha) – Suite, the phrase in brackets refers to the fact that Martha Graham, the choreographer, simply picked the Appalachian Spring title out, not of the air, but Hart Crane’s The Bridge. Copland was in his ‘American’ / New Deal (and possibly ‘fellow-travelling’ – for which he paid dearly in the 1950s) period. This was one of a series of ‘folk’ ballets preceded by Billy the Kid and Rodeo (the concert piece El Salon Mexico is mentioned in Dominic Rudd’s programme notes). It (the Ballet for Martha) was scored for a band of eighteen players, but this performance was by a pretty big orchestra, presumably a re-scoring by Copland. That is probably why the slightly sludgy sound a big band can produce was not noticeable, though I felt some of the Suite was (very slightly) leaden-footed (we are talking nanoseconds here). That, and some – asperities – in texture and sound, probably had to do with my sitting in the organ loft. I’ll have to come early to get a downstairs seat next time (April 27, an all-French programme).

The last item waSean Overture! ‘ Gershwin’s Cuban Overture to be precise. The only thing that needs to be said about it is that everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. The half dozen people in the kitchenware department were having a ball – as you should, really – it’s essentially dance music. One person in the percussion, ‘Aidan’ appears not to have a surname, the ‘Leader’ is Richard Souper. The overall ‘Leader’ (the first violin) is Jenny Koral, replacing Jo o Carneiro. Ms. Koral has a BMus from King’s College, London and is studying for an MMus in Musicology. She has been on the fiddle (sorry) since she was seven, and been involved in a number of youth, school student and university student orchestras.

The LGSO wants singers for the July (6th) performance of Verdi’s Requiem in Cadogan Hall (I got lost when I tried to find it – it is two minutes walk from Sloane Square underground). The LGSO has usually a collection for charity, not necessarily LGBT-oriented, at this concert there were two, Music for Alice (details: www.musicforalice.org.uk) and Mugurameno Basic School Charitable Trust (near Lusaka, Zambia – www.asiz.org). The London Gay Symphony Orchestra is also a charity and wants your money, bodies, and ideas www.lgso.org.uk.

Dee Flatt