The Sinfonia Stellaris

23/10/2023

It was fantastic to be able to watch one of our Viola Players, Peter Whitehead, perform Brahms' Viola Sonata No. 1 in F minor, today to a packed out hall at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire- fantastic playing, Pete!

23/08/2023

Did you hear François‐Xavier Roth and Les Siècles perform Mozart last week at the proms?

On the 30th of September at Routh Hall you can hear TSS and the amazing Di Xiao play Mozart's beutuful Piano Concerto in C minor, K491

Book now: https://www.bromsgrove-school.co.uk/whats-on.aspx

Listen again: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001pmzw

Live at the BBC Proms: François‐Xavier Roth conducts Les Siècles in Mozart.

21/08/2023

Exciting news! Tickets are now on sale for our Summer Classics Concert at the Routh Hall - 30th September

https://www.bromsgrove-school.co.uk/whats-on.aspx

Book now to see the return, by popular demand, of international piano star - Di Xiao and the Orchestra's Founder and Principal Conductor - Annette Jackson, conducting a special performance of Haydn's 'Farewell' Symphony

23/12/2022

Hello to all our discerning music lovers and creators.....
I have been wonderfully surprised today by an 80th birthday gift which has, quite unbeknown to me, cleverly and secretly planned by Andrea, Shulah and other members of the orchestra. Along with a delightful card signed by members of TSS came the gift of a very beautiful Patio Potted Rosebush which has been personalised with name 'The Sinfonia Stellaris' (after the orchestra). The time and effort which must have been taken in bringing about this delightful subterfuge has left my in a sort of 'happy speechless wonderment', but, as my fingers are still working, I have been able to write this thank 'you post' to you all. It was a very moving and lovely thought and my heartfelt thanks go out to you all.....
And now to concerts..... I am delighted to inform you that the TSS Spring Concert for 2023 will be held in St Mary's Church (Centre of Shrewsbury) on Saturday the 29th of April with a probable earlier start of 6pm which will allow our exhausted musicians more time to return to their homes across the Midland after the event. I am delighted with this location because I feel that, at last, we have managed to secure a venue which marks the extreme West of our allocated region.
We seem to be concentrating our efforts in the West for 2023 as the Autumn Concert will take place once again in the St Laurence Church, Ludlow on Saturday September the 30th. I know you will all be delighted when I tell you that Di Xiao, who so enjoyed performing with us in the Routh Hall this year, will be joining us again, this time in a performance of the Mozart Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K491. (which along with, K453, 482, 488 and 503, contains some very lovely parts for the orchestras wind section). These are difficult times for all of us , but, had our list of Small Benefactors increased a little, we could well have marked 2023 as a THREE concert year as the Routh Hall has also expressed a wish for our return......
Having been told that my posts, when they do turn up, tend to be on the long side (!) I shall now sign off by wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and as prosperous (as possible) new year when we shall look forward to performing for you all again. Bless you all, Annette

17/09/2022

Hello again to all our concert going discerning music lovers (it gets longer each time...!).
With Dexter's help, our newly appointed Assistant Conductor, I have managed to attach a lovely photograph of Di Xiao to this Post, and, now having completed my three mile daily walk (keeping me fit enough to carry on waving a baton) on this gorgeous sunny morning - even if it is a sad weekend - I shall continue with this Post to you all.
We are now close to our Autumn Concert on the 15th of October in the Routh Hall, Bromsgrove. The orchestral players are now all sorted out (those who can't make it having been replaced by some excellent new comers - normal practice in the English freelance world) and so is the programme. For those who have forgotten its contents, we are performing.... Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro (By request - it seems to be very popular with our audiences), Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 in G major (this explains the Di Xiao photo!), Haydn's Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (Performed by our wonderful Griffith Wadkin and conducted by Dexter Drown) and, lastly (although a little extra item often gets tagged onto the end ), Beethoven's Symphony No 2 in D major (of which Berloz said "Everything in this symphony smiles").
As you must all know by now, we have the magnificent sponsorship of MFG Solicitors to thank for the appearance of our international guest pianist, Di Xiao. I spent a very pleasant afternoon with her last Thursday (It was lovely to meet again after five years - she looks the same, I've grown white!) in which we caught up on old times. Between us we have sorted out just how she wishes to interpret the Beethoven concerto and I'm delighted to report that we are both of like minds - Beethoven's wishes come first. (This not always the way with some pianist who feel that they must make their mark with an INDIVIDUAL performance at all cost!).
We were also accompanied by, Dan, an extraordinary photographer (with a CV as long as Di's and my own) who, working on behalf of the MFG's marketing department, took a seemingly endless photo shoot through most of the afternoon. I managed to escape most of it (I've always preferred to hide in the wings, so to speak, as then, I can't be traced....) but have to admit that, since MFG have decided to share the end product with the orchestra, we will now have some long awaited quality footage at our disposal which TSS could never have afforded.
Many of you have contacted me to say that you have already bought your tickets but one or two felt it worth while to point out that the Routh Hall Box Office is the sole selling agent for this concert, and that a clear link on the Posters may be of value to those who haven't purchased as yet. This link will take you directly to the appropriate page on our website https://thesinfoniastellaris.co.uk/upcoming-event/ This page will take you to the Bromsgrove School Box office. There is also a phone number 01527 579679 ext 616 for the Box Office for ticket sales, and details about disabled parking and wheelchairs. Hope this helps.
We know how much all of you love to see our Griff performing on 'cello. This time he starts off the second half of the programme with the same lovely concerto as before. What a treat.....
My very best wishes to you all and I look forward to seeing many of you again on October the 15th. Annette.

The Sinfonia Stellaris is a Professional Chamber Orchestra for the Western Midlands, north of Worcest

21/05/2022

Hello again to our discerning music lovers. Sorry it's taken so long to write but, following the Spring Concert payout to our musicians, I escaped to my bolthole in the wild and wooly depths of Shropshire to get rid of conductors cramp in the arms - thats a new one for me! Of more concern was the cramp in both legs as I don't usually wave those at my long suffering players.....!
Well - April the 30th saw the performance of, in my opinion, one of the best and most interesting concerts this orchestra has delivered. The venue was a new one with a highly appreciative audience, though disappointingly small, and an interesting acoustic in which the lingering fortissimo reverberating around the arches and pillars drowned, without trace, any of the pianissimo passages which followed them! End result - testosterone filled volume (almost) from beginning to end. This may prove to be a slight exaggeration as I recently completed three days of editing some excellent video footage in which there are some quiet passages. Louse Manser will perform her magic touch on this material next Wednesday with the end result, I hope, that we will have, for the first time, yards of excellent footage for the Website and for our page. I'm hoping that Louise can convert several extracts into pdf so that I can send copies to our Small Benefactors and use them for marketing.

As the programmes to our concerts are now free, the audience will have been aware that several new and experienced musicians joined our ranks for this concert. A large thank you to them all for their skills particularly as they survived those fortissimos with an expressed desire to remain playing as a part of TSS.

As you know, we are introducing Dexter Drown into our Autumn Concert on the 15th of October in the Routh Hall. Dexter is, of course, our newly appointed Assistant Conductor (at least I hope he is as I have been trying to contact him for over a week....!). I'm hoping that he and Griffith Wadkin will team up for the repeat of the Haydn Concert in C major for Violoncello and Orchestra (following Griff's stunning performance in Ludlow) which will open the second half.
The first half will feature the wonderful Di Xiao (pianist of international fame) performing the gorgeous G major Piano Concerto No 4 by Beethoven. We are delighted that mfg Solicitors have magnificently agreed to come forward as Di Xiao's sponsors. All you concerto fans out there cannot afford to miss this concert. What a feast......! Beethoven's 2nd Symphony in D major which, in my own humble opinion, is a magnificent tome which is not performed nearly as frequently as it should be, will be the final offering on the programme.
Work is already under way in preparation for October. However, by the time I write to you again, I hope this page will have a new Header Photograph from the April 30th collection. No doubt I shall be in contact with our Small Benefactors with more updates long before then.
Best wishes to you all and have a lovely summer. Annette

26/04/2022

Hello again to all our discerning music lovers.
'Days to go' can now be counted on the fingers of one hand! The music is 'marked up', the string parts are bowed and united with our fabulous performers and now, at last, we are all ready to gather together as guests of St Mary and All Saints Church in Kidderminster to deliver our Spring Concert for 2022 at 7pm on Saturday - the last day of the month. This will be the first time that St Mary's has used their wonderful floor space and acoustic for a pro-orchestra concert. The magnificent opening chords of the Overture to the Magic Flute will reverberate their way around the

majestic pillars followed by a wonderfully 'English' little symphony by William Boyce and, to close the first half, the whole edifice will ring to the magnificent calls of the trumpets and horns to open the Second Suite of Handel's Water Music. Following a break to regain your land legs, Mozart, as with the opening, will provide another overture - This time, The Marriage of Figaro with all its funny accents and dashing about in the strings. When performing music in a church, what comes naturally to mind? Yes, the organ! Hilary Norris of organ virtuoso fame (who just happens to be around as she is also our Harpsichordist for the evening) will delight us with Handel's wonderfully dramatic Concerto for Organ and Orchestra in G minor. An amazing work as it also includes two other soloist - Shulah Oliver (our Leader) on solo violin, and Griffith Wadkin (our principal 'cellist) rounding up the trio of soloist.... I wonder, was this the first Triple Concerto ever written?! Finally, the hugely exciting 1st Symphony of Beethoven in all its glory should probably bring the house down around our ears. We shall be gone long before the Bishop surfaces from the rubble seeking an explanation....! As always, there will be a little extra musical treat on the end..... It should all be over by about 9.30pm. Just in time to catch the end of the snooker final - or is that on Sunday?
Those of you who have not yet bought tickets, please don't have a heart attack, you can still buy them on the door with one swipe of your card or, if you are feeling adventurous, real money!! (Correct change please).
Further details are available on
We look forward to meeting you all again and to once more enjoying your company. P.S. Programmes are now free - Wow, thats new! We love playing for you, Annette.

A very warm welcome to The Sinfonia Stellaris Chamber Orchestra. We thank you for taking the time to visit our site and hope you enjoy finding out more about our Orchestra.

12/03/2022

Hello again to all our discerning music lovers. I have some "breaking news" for you all ..... WOW !

mfg solicitors have decided to sponsor the fee for Di Xiao to join us in October in a performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 in G major.

mfg solicitors have been present in the life of this orchestra from the time of its setting up at Companies House, to the gaining of its Charitable Status, and with countless bits of advise from time to time to keep us on the straight and narrow in a very confusing world. For this we shall always be grateful. However, this might almost be referred to as "above and beyond" for without their timely intervention, the performance of an international pianist for your pleasure would have been way beyond our means.

This is just a short announcement but, of course, there will be a great deal more information once our 'much looked forward to' concert in St Mary and All Saints, Kidderminster on the 30th of April (7pm) has been delivered. Tickets are already selling - see our website www.thesinfoniastellaris.co.uk

Thank you again mfg solicitors

Best wishes to you all. We just love playing for you.... Annette

A very warm welcome to The Sinfonia Stellaris Chamber Orchestra. We thank you for taking the time to visit our site and hope you enjoy finding out more about our Orchestra.