Our Repertoire
By tradition the Port Sunlight Orchestra played (and still plays) the lighter kind of classical music exemplified by the waltzes of the Strauss family, Emil Waldteufel and others; by the operatic and occasional overtures of Rossini, Weber, Herold, Suppe, Offenbach, Wolf-Ferrari and others; and by selections from light opera, operetta and musicals by Lehar, Offenbach, Massenet, Rodgers and Hammerstein and others - all robust, tuneful music with an instant appeal and relative brevity which lends itself to the controlled length of the regular concerts in the Lady Lever Art Gallery (LLAG). This traditional part of its repertoire reflects the Orchestra's origins: the Lady Lever Art Gallery was originally conceived not just to house Sir William Lever's art collection and as a memorial to his wife, but as a place for the people of Port Sunlight to meet and find enjoyment (the activities there even included dancing until the practical problems inherent in juxtaposing works of art and a vibrating dance-floor led to its being disallowed).
Since Eric Jennings took over as Conductor in 1998 the repertoire has progressively broadened in scope to include more of the classical repertoire proper - without however losing sight of the PSO's traditional role in providing musical entertainment. In the past five years PSO programmes have featured works by Elgar, Handel, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovski, Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, Haydn, Grieg, Albinoni, Moszkowski, Khachaturyan, Dvorak, Grainger, Vivaldi, J.S. Bach, Percy Grainger and Eric Coates. The 2011-12 season featured some notable film scores by Ron Goodwin (633 Squadron, Legend of the Glass Mountain,....) and others.
The PSO's four regular concerts at the LLAG have traditionally included an instrumental or vocal soloist. Among the soloists who have appeared with us in recent years are Stephanie Oade (cello), Kathryn McGuckin (soprano), Gillian Winstanley (soprano), Jonathan Archer (flute), Chris Pople (horn), Paul Davis (trombone), Matthew Dunn (clarinet), Neil Raisbeck (tenor horn), Diana Clementson (oboe) and Myra Bennett (piccolo). Orchestra members including Sylvia Barry (violin, Leader until 2008) and Mark Powell (trumpet) have also appeared as soloists. In variance of the traditional format some of the 2010-11 Season's concerts featured individual sections of the Orchestra in place of visiting soloists.
